Cross-asset risk assessment on network level

The CEDR-project "X-ARA - Cross-Asset-Risk-Assessment" aims at the development of a comprehensive framework for the network level assessment of asset risks and impacts. A literature review on risk assessment in road asset management has been carried out and several European road administrations have been interviewed on the current practice of risk assessment in their asset management procedures. Based on asset-specific risk assessment considering pavement, structures, drainage, tunnels, road furniture and geotechnical assets, a procedure for the transformation and accumulation of these risks onto network level is an essential part of the project. X-ARA will enable a road administration to execute a risk-based assessment and comparison of different maintenance strategies on network level, and then "overlay" the effects of broad influencing factors to assess "what if" outcomes. In considering a bottom-up-approach (from object level to network-level) the risk can be calculated and finally cumulated by using asset-specific information, which are available for most of the European road administrations

Monitoring and inventory of road signs and road markings. State of the art – a review of existing methods and systems

This paper is a review of different methods and systems for monitoring and inventory of road signs and markings across Europe. The motorization rate has grown rapidly in recent years and traffic increases. Moreover, autonomous vehicles are being developed and it is expected that vehicles with conditional automation are driving on motorways from 2019. One of the greatest challenges for advanced driver assistant systems (ADAS) is Environment detection, perception and prediction – the capability to perceive a vehicle’s environment using sensor ADAS systems use a variety of sensors and cameras to observe its surroundings, to locate itself on the road and help it to drive safely. Cameras e.g. detect road signs and Lidar and Radar sensors help to detect the edges of roads and identify lane markings. These developments have implications for road operators too. Road marking and road signs need to be consistently inventoried; their condition needs to be in a reliable state to allow a trusting use by humans and automated cars. Measurement of surface characteristics as skid resistance, evenness, texture and deterioration with high-speed systems and emerging equipment are well established, while others for monitoring and inventory of road signs and markings are not. So far, very little attention has been paid to the condition of these two road assets. The purpose of this paper is to review different methods and devices for inventory and condition data collection of road signs and markings across Europe. Measurement systems and experience are reported and the gaps in the existing methods were identified. In addition, the necessary inventory data for project level and network level are determined. Taken together, these results suggest methods and systems for collecting condition and inventory data for road signs and markings

Critical ride comfort detection for automated vehicles

In a future connected vehicle environment, an optimized route and motion planning should not only fulfill efficiency and safety constraints but also minimize vehicle motions and oscillations, causing poor ride comfort perceived by passengers. This work provides a framework for a large-scale and cost-efficient evaluation to address AV’s ride comfort and allow the comparison of different comfort assessment strategies. The proposed tool also gives insights to comfort data, allowing for the development of novel algorithms, guidelines, or motion planning systems incorporating passenger comfort. A vehicle-road simulation framework utilizable to assess the most common ride comfort determination strategies based on vehicle dynamics data is presented. The developed methodology encompasses a road surface model, a non-linear vehicle model optimization, and Monte Carlo simulations to allow for an accurate and cost-efficient generation of virtual chassis acceleration data. Ride comfort is determined by applying a commonly used threshold method and an analysis based on ISO 2631. The two methods are compared against comfort classifications based on empirical measurements of the International Roughness Index (IRI). A case study with three road sites in Austria demonstrates the framework’s practical application with real data and achieves high-resolution ride comfort classifications. The results highlight that ISO 2631 comfort estimates are most similar to IRI classifications and that the thresholding procedure detects preventable situations but also over- or underestimates ride comfort. Hence, the work shows the potential risk of negative ride comfort of AVs using simple threshold values and stresses the importance of a robust comfort evaluation method for enhancing AVs’ path and motion planning with maximal ride comfort

Cross Asset Risk Management (X-ARA)

This paper presents an outline of the CEDR Transnational Road Research Programme funded research project X-ARA cross asset risk assessment. Objective and scope of the project are described and the approach is outlined. The main part of this paper presents the findings of a desk study, carried out during the project, on literature related to risk assessment in asset management and the current practice on risk assessment of several European road operators

Cross-asset Risk Assessment on Network Level

AbstractThe CEDR-project “X-ARA – Cross-Asset-Risk-Assessment” aims at the development of a comprehensive framework for the network level assessment of asset risks and impacts. A literature review on risk assessment in road asset management has been carried out and several European road administrations have been interviewed on the current practice of risk assessment in their asset management procedures. Based on asset-specific risk assessment considering pavement, structures, drainage, tunnels, road furniture and geotechnical assets, a procedure for the transformation and accumulation of these risks onto network level is an essential part of the project. X-ARA will enable a road administration to execute a risk-based assessment and comparison of different maintenance strategies on network level, and then “overlay” the effects of broad influencing factors to assess “what if” outcomes. In considering a bottom-up-approach (from object level to network-level) the risk can be calculated and finally cumulated by using asset-specific information, which are available for most of the European road administrations

Impact on the perceived landscape quality through renewable energy infrastructure: A discrete choice experiment in the context of the Swiss energy transition

This paper examines how mixes (wind, photovoltaic, power lines) of different renewable energy infrastructure (REI) impact people's preferences for various landscape types. This does not only involve the visual character but also meanings that are assigned to these landscapes, which together influence the perceived landscape quality. The research is based on a representative online panel survey of Swiss residents (n = 1062). A discrete choice model (15 choice tasks) was implemented to estimate people's preferences for different REI scenarios across several landscape types. Hierarchical Bayes analysis allowed us to determine preferences of the different respondents, while choice simulation allowed us to estimate preferences for every potential scenario (n = 224) of the discrete choice experiment. While the results show a heterogeneous picture of people's preferences, they also reveal common general patterns. Near-natural, mid/high-elevation landscapes in the Alps are clearly rejected for REI implementation. Landscapes dominated by settlements or intensive agricultural use and landscapes in mountain tourist areas are preferably selected for REI developments. REI scenarios including overhead power lines perform consistently lower than scenarios without power lines. Overall, high preferences for scenarios with low REI indicate that society still lacks awareness of the need for massive REI implementation to achieve a sustainable energy transition.ISSN:0960-1481ISSN:1879-068

PREMiUM – Understanding network-level measurement and management of road equipment

The PREMiUM project aims to deliver improvements in the ability to manage road equipment at the network level, focusing on road markings, road signs, vehicle restraint systems and noise barriers. The key condition characteristics a road administration should include in their asset management strategy to manage the risks of loss of performance have been established. Following this, the views of users were sought on the characteristics that should be measured at the network level to manage the risks of loss of performance, and the alternative technologies available to obtain this data identified. The project has proposed survey regimes that could be implemented, subject to suitable development, to provide the key condition data that would assist in understanding and managing these assets. It has then considered the parameters that such a network level monitoring regime would provide, and proposed a set of condition indicators that could be utilised to quantify the condition of each of the assets, and how these could be used to assist in targeting maintenance planning

steuerBAR? Wo wollen wir "Energielandschaften" und wo nicht?

Die vorliegende Studie befasst sich mit den Präferenzen der Schweizer Bevölkerung in Bezug auf Infrastrukturen zur Produktion erneuerbarer Energie (engl. IPRE: Wind, Photovoltaik) in charakteristischen Schweizer Landschaften. Es wurde eine repräsentative Online-Panelumfrage (n = 1063) durchgeführt, die ein visuelles Entscheidungsexperiment beinhaltete. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass das Vorhandensein von Energieanlagen die wahrgenommene Landschaftsqualität in den meisten Fällen reduziert, in einigen Landschaften mehr (Berggebiete abseits von Infrastrukturen,Voralpen, Jura), in anderen weniger (siedlungsgeprägtes Flachland undentsprechende Berggebiete (Alpentäler), touristisch geprägte Berggebiete). Dasgänzliche Fehlen von Photovoltaik-Infrastrukturen wird in letzteren von der Bevölkerung sogar negativ bewertet, doch eine Kombination mit Wind-Infrastrukturen kann die Beurteilung positiv beeinflussen. Der Einbezug der Bevölkerungssicht in die Planung von IPRE wird im Hinblick auf deren Akzeptanz empfohlen. This study deals with the preferences of the Swiss population with regard to infrastructures for the production of renewable energy (IPRE: wind, photovoltaics) in characteristic Swiss landscapes. A representative online panel survey (n=1'063) was conducted, which included a discrete choice experiment. The results suggest that the presence of energy installations reduces the perceived landscape quality in most cases, in some landscapes more (abandoned mountain areas, Prealps, Jura), in others less (lowland & mountain areas (alpine valleys), tourist mountain areas). The total absence of PV infrastructures in the latter is even rated negatively by the population, whereas a combination of PV and wind infrastructures can have a positive impact on the assessment. The inclusion of the population’s perspective in the planning of IPRE is recommended with a view to its acceptance.ISSN:2296-3448ISSN:2296-345