A Vehicular Environment Perception Platform for Safety Related Applications

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to present a perception platform developed for vehicular safety applications. The work described here is part of the work carried out in the interactIVe project and more specifically inside the PERCEPTION sub project. InteractIVe is a large scale integrating project co-funded by the European Commission as part of the FP7-ICT for Safety and Energy Efficiency in Mobility. One of the main objectives of this project is the implementation of a reference perception platform with a general purpose interface to the applications

Next Generation Automated Emergency Calls

The Internet of Things (IoT) potentials to transform our modern society into smart environments that facilitate living and boost all types of transactions are becoming more and more evident as the number of interconnections between the physical and the virtual world keeps increasing. Cyber-physical systems, wide end-to end connectivity and handling of big data are some of the mainstream concepts brought forth to materialise the IoT umbrella. Yet, emergency services, a domain of paramount importance to society, reveal multiple challenges for the adoption of applications that capitalise on the capabilities of smart devices and the interoperability among heterogeneous platforms. In this paper, we present the continuing work [4] on next generation automated (non- human initiated) emergency calls by specifying the pathway to implementation of NG eCall and sensor-enabled emergency services

Evaluation platform for 5G vehicular communications

Cellular vehicle to everything (C-V2X) communications is presented as the cornerstone for next-generation connected vehicles. C-V2X can support efficient vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure data transmission, and is said to be a key enabler of cooperative connected and automated mobility (CCAM). Performance of 5G New Radio (5G-NR) is expected to address bandwidth and delay requirements of services for autonomous vehicles. This is the theory and what particular research works have showed through simulation or limited prototypes. On the contrary, this work focuses on evaluating real 5G deployments (including 5G-NR) of network operators in CCAM scenarios, with particular emphasis on cross-border settings and service continuity under inter-operator handovers. The paper presents an evaluation platform to gather cross-layer measurements, homogenise results, perform comparative assessment of figures of merit, and calculate network and CCAM key performance indicators (KPIs). The platform is evaluated through implementing a use case for autonomous overtaking, involving two 5G-NR operator deployments at the Spanish-Portuguese border. Results reveal good network performances and correct operation of the service, thanks to 5G-NR and edge servers, although significant impact of handovers is detected on network and overtaking KPIs.This work has been supported by the grants EC 825496 (5G-MOBIX), funded by the European Commission; PID2020-112675RBC41 (ONOFRE-3), funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033; RYC-2017-23823, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ESF Investing in your future”; PGE-MOVES-SING-2019-000104 (MECANO), funded by the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge; and RED2018-102585-T (Go2Edge), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities

SafePASS - Transforming marine accident response

The evacuation of a ship is the last line of defence against human loses in case of emergencies in extreme fire and flooding casualties. Since the establishment of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Maritime Safety is its cornerstone with the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) spearheading its relentless efforts to reduce risks to human life at sea. However, the times are changing. On one hand, we have the new opportunities created with the vast technological advances of today. On the other, we are facing new challenges, with the ever-increasing size of the passenger ships and the societal pressure for a continuous improvement of maritime safety. In this respect, the EU-funded Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme project SafePASS, presented herein, aims to radically redefine the evacuation processes, the involved systems and equipment and challenge the international regulations for large passenger ships, in all environments, hazards and weather conditions, independently of the demographic factors. The project consortium, which brings together 15 European partners from industry, academia and classification societies. The SafePASS vision and plan for a safer, faster and smarter ship evacuation involves: i) a holistic and seamless approach to evacuation, addressing all states from alarm to rescue, including the design of the next generation of life-saving appliances and; ii) the integration of ‘smart’ technology and Augmented Reality (AR) applications to provide individual guidance to passengers, regardless of their demographic characteristics or hazard (flooding or fire), towards the optimal route of escape