Public Funding for Galliford Try Infrastructure Limited

The ElectroRoad project is a comprehensive study of an innovative Electric Road System (ERS) applied to 44tonne Heavy Goods Vehicles as a cost effective and feasible solution for Zero Emission Road Freight. ElectroRoad involves world-class experts in their fields and assesses all the factors necessary... * technology * safety * regulations * costs and benefits ...and provides detailed proposals for a long-term, large scale, fleet demonstration on UK roads, and how this trial would be monitored and evaluated.

Over the next twenty-five years, a growing proportion of new car sales in the United Kingdom are expected to incorporate advanced functions which allow the cars to drive themselves under certain conditions. Automotive manufacturers are investing heavily in these connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). These investments cover the development of advanced camera and sensor systems to allow the vehicles to accurately detect road conditions as well as software programmes which control driving behaviour. However, little attention is being given to how road environments may need to adapt to make them suitable to the operation of autonomous cars. This project responds to this gap in understanding by determining how the structure of motorways may impact CAV operation. In phase one of this project we were able to determine that there is no other current research into how infrastructure will need to evolve for the CAV era. We subsequently used existing data to identify three key infrastructure areas which may cause difficulties for CAVs in the future: The presence of lane markings The design of junctions Roadworks We then used an advanced simulation platform to test how autonomous vehicles would to determine what implications these elements of infrastructure may have for the safe and reliable use of autonomous cars. Having concluded that CAVs may struggle in these areas we will now look to develop recommendations to Highways England for future infrastructure design. To conduct these appraisals, a system will be developed which can accurately simulate the operation of autonomous cars in motorway environments and consider how they interact with the road environment and other road users. Our conclusions from these simulations will then be tested in a real world environment. The outcomes of this project will assist in both the design of new motorways and the operation of existing motorways by allowing engineers to model different situations and determine how changes to the motorway structure can improve key issues such as driver safety and road congestion.

Title -CAVIAR (Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: Infrastructure Appraisal Readiness) Government and industry are investing heavily in Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) technology as they compete the attain a competitive advantage in the future market for mobility systems. However, the importance of technological development in the supporting road infrastructure has received less attention. The ability of CAVs to operate fully autonomously may not be entirely contained within the vehicle technology due to the inherent complexity in the roadway infrastructure context. Such complexity can be seen in sudden changes to weather conditions which may limit the ability of onboard cameras to detect road markings, configurations, traffic and road conditions. Moreover, the transition to a CAV based mobility system will necessarily require a period where CAVs share to road with human operated (i.e. conventional vehicles). Due to the unpredictability of human action, CAVs operating in mixed traffic conditions may fail to detect changes, make effective plans, and implement plans to ensure safe operation. This project aims to partially rebalance the technical focus concerning CAVs by conducting a review and assessment of infrastructure readiness for CAV operations. The feasibility stage of the project covers an appraisal of CAV testing facilities to determine their suitability for evaluating Strategic Road Network (SRN) operation in highway environments. The project will then progress by assessing the ability of CAV simulation platforms to realistically model traffic environments that mix CAV and conventional vehicle traffic in SRN environments. This modelling activity will be supported by the development and application of a set of scenarios which consider alternative configurations of CAV capabilities, traffic mixtures, and infrastructure technologies (e.g. sensors, beacons, road layouts, road markings, and road signages). The outcomes of the feasibility study will be twofold. First, it will provide Highways England with insight regarding the adequacy of existing testing facilities to effectively evaluate CAV highway operation, allowing for the requirement to further invest in this area to be considered. Second, it will showcase the value of using CAV simulation platforms for appraising the the transition period to a CAV mobility system with a specific focus on roadway infrastructure.

To embed and build capacity amongst employees for innovative technologies and processes to reduce project failure and enhance construction project delivery.