We are thrilled announce that the SPACE (Shared Personalised Automated Connected vEhicles) project has reached a major milestone with the launch of a new-high level architecture that should speed up the deployment of AVs and their integration with public transport.
The high-level reference architecture aims at ensuring a seamless integration of driverless vehicles with other IT systems in the mobility ecosystem. The main goal of this reference architecture is to help operators and cities make the right technical decisions when integrating AVs into the public transport network, this way speeding up the deployment of driverless mobility services.
To find out more, we spoke to some of the partners involved in developing the architecture, all from a different area of expertise. While Transdev provided its extensive experience as PTO, Bestmile tells us a bit more about the process of developing the architecture, and we spoke to ITxPT about interoperability and how the model can be used for other scenarios.
Luc Texier, Head of Sales (Europe), Bestmile
Can you explain why the reference architecture is important for the sector?
The Intelligent Transportation System for Autonomous Vehicles (ITSxAV) reference architecture is a must-have for any PTO or authority in the process of developing autonomous mobility solutions.
I remember the first face2face meeting in Brussels when we kicked off the SPACE project: everybody agreed that UITP had to take the lead to help the industry find its way through a number of new technologies and providers, for many, less than few years old! Automated shuttles hit the market only 5+ years ago and driverless people mobility is still a challenge today to grasp for an industry used to the usual combo vehicles+drivers+infrastructure.
It became very clear that the outcome of the dedicated working group would be to provide PTOs and PTAs with a compass for them to use to make the right decisions from the start and find the leading providers.
It became very clear that the outcome of the dedicated working group would be to provide PTOs and PTAs with a compass
The reference architecture is important also because it takes into account all the necessary pieces of a real-life mobility service. We included the surrounding public transport systems of course but also the smart city infrastructures and the many integration points in between. Hopefully this architecture will also guide the industry towards more standardisation and more openness to provide PTOs with enough software, hardware and integration options.
Can you tell us a bit more how the reference architecture was developed within SPACE?
Thanks to the international footprint and leadership of UITP, we were able to gather in the working group the best subject-matter experts in the public transportation industry with individuals from Hochbahn, INIT, IVU, Keolis, LTA, PTV Group, Trapeze, Transdev, Ruter, VDV and more. Also, the new comers from the autonomous mobility sector such as Navya, Easymile or Local Motors shared their experience from the vehicle perspective.
Bestmile brought its forward-looking approach on the challenge of orchestrating fleets of automated vehicles of different kind and origin from a software platform standpoint.
The group decided to make our proposal as straightforward as possible with an architecture diagram that had to fit on one slide. We wanted to mimic the success of the 2017 UITP Policy Brief “Autonomous vehicles: a potential game changer for urban mobility” and its main diagram which has been used all around the word in so many conferences.
Mid 2019 we refined the draft of the ITSxAV, refactored quite a bit along the way, then added a glossary to describe briefly the purpose of the main components.
Patricia Villoslada, Executive Vice President, Transdev Autonomous Transport Systems
Can you explain how the reference architecture can support PTOs such as Transdev in integrating AVs into public transport?
As an operator and global integrator of mobility, Transdev provides 11 million passenger trips every day across 14 transport modes in 17 different countries. Even though AVs are a disruptive technology in themselves, it is important to prepare their integration into our public transport networks. The strength of this reference architecture is its ability to aggregate the whole autonomous mobility ecosystem with the shared objective of facilitating the arrival of AVs. Moreover, this common worldwide approach is fully suited to the public transport sector and enables the operation of mixed fleets of vehicles (automated and manually).
Transdev is involved in many AV pilots. What are some of the challenges you are facing whereby the architecture could be of help?
Transdev is a leader in operating shared autonomous mobility services with 3.5 million passengers transported. Each demo site has its own unique features but having a common reference architecture will facilitate connections between all the various tools and applications used to manage the service. Thus, it will speed up the deployment at a larger scale while keeping the cost of operations under control.
How do you see the role of public transport in the automated mobility revolution?
Public transportation has an important role to play in terms of connecting people, enabling social inclusion, and protecting the environment. It is key for public transport authorities to enhance their vision of shared mobility with the advantages of AVs. That is why we are collaborating with the UITP SPACe initiative, to support autonomous technology’s development with the goal of serving citizens and communities.
Emmanuel de Verdalle, Technical Committee Chair, ITxPT
Can you tell us a bit more about ITxPT’s involvement in the Reference Architecture?
One key challenge for the Reference Architecture is to secure interoperability. This means to define an architecture which includes any type of systems and any type of transport modes (AV and conventional) though standard and modular interfaces. Thanks to its ecosystem of public transport stakeholders, and strong link with European Standardisation bodies, ITxPT has supported the definition of the architecture.
Can you explain why interoperability and standardisation is so important for the integration of AVs?
Interoperability is key in public transport operations which involves multi-operators of vehicle fleets, multi-suppliers of IT systems and multi-providers of vehicles. With the introduction of new modes of transport like AVs, this interoperability challenge is even more strategic as it introduces newcomers in the ecosystem. Consequently, standardisation of interfaces is a must to secure an efficient and sustainable architecture.
Also known as flocking. A collection of (automated) vehicles that travel together, actively coordinated in formation. Platoons decrease the distances between vehicles using electronic, and possibly mechanical, coupling. Platooning allows many vehicles to accelerate or brake simultaneously.
urban setting
High density environment with an efficient high capacity public transport system with good capillarity and high frequencies.
suburban setting
Medium density environment with a good public transport system with radial connections to the city center, but lower capillarity and frequencies. This setting includes suburban cities.
small cities
Small, isolated city with an own public transport system and <100K inhabitants.
rural
Low-density environment, small cities and villages with poor public transport services mainly connecting the villages.
SAE level
The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) levels define the level of vehicle autonomy, or in other words, how much human intervention is still needed for an automated vehicle to operate. Currently, five SAE levels have been defined:
Level 0: Automated system issues warnings and may momentarily intervene but has no sustained vehicle control.
Level 1 (hands on): Driver and automatic system share vehicle control. The driver must be ready to retake full control at any time.
Level 2 (hands off): The automated system takes full control of the vehicle (accelerating, braking, and steering). The driver must monitor the driving and be prepared to intervene immediately at any time if the automated system fails to respond properly.
Level 3 (eyes off): The automated system takes full control of the vehicle (accelerating, braking, and steering). The driver must monitor the driving and be prepared to intervene immediately at any time if the automated system fails to respond properly.
Level 4 (mind off): As level 3, but no driver attention is ever required for safety, e.g. the driver may safely go to sleep or leave the driver's seat.
Level 5 (steering wheel optional): No human intervention is required at all. An example would be a robotic taxi.
V2X
Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication is the passing of information from a vehicle to any entity that may affect the vehicle, and vice versa.
