The newly launched EU-funded FRONTIER project will bring together the private and public sector with academia to develop solutions that support multimodality and interoperability among transport systems.
With 19 high-profile partners from across Europe, the consortium includes partners from several universities and research institutes, as well as companies, organisations and authorities in transport, infrastructure and information technologies.
The aim is to “empower a seamless transition to a new era in transport management”. In a statement, the consortium says, “In a world where transport can negatively affect climate change, traffic management will play a very crucial role in overcoming transport related risks and challenges. A new vision of transport is emerging in Europe in which a much more integrated transport model promises to make the continent a global leader in the field.”
The project will bring together multidisciplinary teams of experts across a broad range of mobility technologies including wireless traffic sensing, artificial intelligence, big data predictive analytics, connected and autonomous vehicles, intelligent traffic management, mobile apps for passengers and transport operators, and multimodal transport modelling.
FRONTIER says it is the sheer range of partners representing urban rail, buses, trams, toll roads, inland waterways, and freight transport that will be key to achieving multimodality among transport means and interoperability among transport systems. Both, it says, are key ingredients necessary for automating the sector, reducing traffic and minimising transport related emissions.
The programme includes the involvement of the International Road Federation, the Swiss not-for-profit organisation, which is being tasked with developing a “Smart Road Infrastructure Classification Index”.
This will lay the groundwork for enabling different transport systems to communicate with each other more effectively and “push transport interconnectivity to new heights”.
The intention is that technologies that emerge through the programme will be deployed in pilot projects in Antwerp, Athens and Oxfordshire.
FRONTIER is funded by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), a funding body launched earlier this year to advance the European Green Deal through high-quality programme management.
Also in the news:
Joby plans to build out “skyports” at car park rooftops across the US
UK Government backs location data innovations to solve contemporary transport challenges
Suncor and ATCO seek fiscal support for potential CCS hydrogen project in Alberta
Siemens US initiative aims to increase accessibility to EV charging solutions