Call for Sessions
The 5th European Conference on Connected and Automated Driving (EUCAD 2025) will consist of a series of policy-oriented and technical sessions to discuss specific R&I challenges and opportunities for CCAM (in parallel with an exhibition and demonstrations of European and national R&I CCAM initiatives and solutions).
This call for sessions is organised to receive proposals for the organisation of conference sessions related to one of the selected topics for EUCAD 2025.
Download here the Guidelines for Submitters, which should be respected by candidate sessions submitted through the online submission form. The deadline for submission is 30 June 2024, 17:00 CET.
Topics
Integrated mobility in CCAM including Remote Management Operations
A system of systems approach to transport, traffic and mobility management is key to the integration of automated and non-automated fleets of vehicles, as well as to the optimization of multimodal travel.
Remote management operations comprise remote support, assistance, operation, and driving. It plays a crucial role in maturing CCAM in terms of technological readiness but also societal and organisational readiness. Remote management can deliver benefits to several CCAM domains and related use cases (incl. users and actors in a systemic view) such as automated shuttles and car sharing, robo-taxis, hub-to-hub Heavy Goods Vehicle transports and delivery bots.
Sub-topics
- How CCAM innovations are enhanced by the system of systems approach.
- Mobility Management proposed solutions for CCAM: Investigation of scenario specific aspects and how management is affected by switching to One-2-Many – Remote operation of multiple vehicles.
- Remote management in practise: What are the challenges to overcome and targets to realise and what are the plans of the mobility stakeholders in this field? Exploration of essential steps to make Remote management a reality from various perspectives considering regulatory roles & responsibilities, as well as working environment conditions (for operators, traffic planning, business models, efficiency, and uptime).
Digital infrastructure and its role to scale up CCAM services
For CCAM services to be widely applicable, they require the cooperation of many actors in the mobility ecosystem. From R&D over pre-deployment to actual implementation, stakeholders are working mostly isolated on these services and systems. Be it for regional barriers or market competitiveness, a segregation hinders progress. One goal should be to find common ground to further the societal business cases of CCAM.
National Road Authorities have been gathering to transcend their regional borders and have concluded that a major benefit to CCAM is to not just develop their hardware but rather develop their digital infrastructure via e.g. data sharing and enhancing connectivity. A concept of digital infrastructure support levels for automated driving (ISAD) has been developed accounting for enabling different service levels and to determine the road operator’s input to it. With this support from the road operators’ digital infrastructure, CCAM services can be greatly enhanced, while some services may only be viable in cooperation with the infrastructure side.
The engagement in this digital infrastructure can be divided into three main categories, each to be addressed in this collection of topics.
Sub-topics
- Connectivity – Which existing mobility services can be improved by adding infrastructure-side connectivity and digitalisation?
- Automation – How can digital infrastructure enable/support large scale testing of higher-level automation use cases?
- Data – What kind of data and in which condition needs to be exchanged between stakeholders?
Key enabling technologies
The potential that key enabling technologies can have for advancing CCAM applications, is ever growing. Several technologies, such as AI, connectivity and cyber security building blocks, are being incorporated. Yet, others are in their early stages in the CCAM domain. The uptake of new technologies can speed up the development, validation and implementation of CCAM solutions, and can largely contribute to the establishment of Software Defined Vehicles. New technologies can emerge from different sectors, and need to be actively scouted. This can include e.g. photonics, new sensor systems, edge AI, explainable AI and energy consumption optimisation tools.
Sub-topics
- Approaches and lessons learnt in scouting for new technologies, assessing their benefits in applications in the CCAM domain, and what knowledge can be taken on board on their applications in other domains, and what additional services can be brought to the user.
- Data, AI and the cloud edge continuum in road mobility as enabler for integration of digital infrastructure and vehicles, with careful balancing on where to efficiently and effectively place the intelligence (vehicle, cloud or infrastructure).
- Safety, security and validation of CCAM solutions with new key enabling technologies incorporated.
Solutions to complement public transport for passengers and goods Peri-urban, rural and long-haul
It is highly probable that CCAM solutions will be first deployed in peri-urban, rural, long-haul scenarios, e. g. L4 truck hub-to-hub application. This requires a different system design as well as key components, due to the different requirements to be met, compared to smart cities/urban applications. Mobility hubs and autonomous distribution hubs centers are key topics in complementing public transport for passengers and goods.
Sub-topics
- General approaches to complement the cities / urban focus of CCAM including all types of vehicles transporting people and goods from micro mobility, over intermediate vehicles up to long-haul vehicles to complete mobility eco systems and reducing transport emissions.
Example of possible working areas (not prescriptive)
- Solutions to facilitate data sharing between different transport operators to enable the smart integration of CCAM, MaaS, and LaaS services, data driven optimization services and telematic communications.
- Approaches for interoperability, infrastructure investments optimization, safety, regulations and data governance. What pilots have there been? (What are the Benefits/challenges? Experiences from users, operators, implementers, regions, …)
- Find qualitative data about reduced waiting times, travel costs, pollution levels, increased ridership and accessibility, improved safety record, customer satisfaction, reduced congestion, optimized supply chain.
- E-mobility for commercial vehicles – components, charging + charging infrastructure, battery health, digitalised services etc.
- Request for research needs? (Where are probable gaps? where are specific measures needed to support the development of an interoperable solutions?) Define the overall connection / circumstances (detail framework) for the infrastructure, mobility solutions, settlement patterns, policies, and mindsets. Define scale of the hubs depending on their location and environment
- Derived from the examples in the presentations above: presentation of the best solution approaches (incl. benefits/challenges) from projects, startups and industry combined with demonstrations for more sustainable modes / solutions of transport.
Lessons learnt and to be learnt regarding CCAM deployment for passengers and goods
Operational large-scale deployments of CCAM services are taking place across the world, confirming the increasing maturity of the technology but at the same time bringing forward sometimes underestimated challenges and limitations. After many years of R&I pilots and demonstrations in Europe, the next step is to move to actual deployment of durable and well-integrated CCAM services that address gaps and inefficiencies of the existing transport system. To efficiently implement such services, it is important to reflect on the successes and negative experiences of actual deployment in the different regions, and exchange about lessons learnt and best practices regarding the challenges and solutions for technology, environment, operation, regulation, and business cases. Remaining barriers or blockers and possible next steps for pilots, operational deployment, and international cooperation should be discussed.
Sub-topics
- Lessons learnt from large-scale deployments of CCAM across the world that have gone past the piloting stage regarding e.g. societal effects, efficiency effects, successful business cases for useful implementation of services in EU
- Next steps, system requirements and effects to take CCAM pilots and initiatives into implementation in cities/urban areas/regions that are integrated into the transport system
- Operational challenges, new business models and remaining barriers for actual deployment
- Innovative CCAM services for logistics in terminals, ports, airports, mining, and other confined areas
- Lesson learnt from the first implementations of the EU & National safety regulation/type approval and its impacts
Societal added value and potential challenges of CCAM
CCAM solutions are bringing benefits in road safety and driver comfort. Beyond these, there is a growing demand to understand and expand its benefits to other fields, such as decreasing environmental impact of mobility, livability in urban areas, decreasing mobility poverty. Furthermore, these CCAM solutions can have a huge impact on sectors with a growing lack of skilled workforces, such as in long haul logistics and depot management. To unlock these potential impacts, knowledge and expertise from several sectors need to be combined, with targeted use of new key enabling technologies.
Sub-topics
- Impact assessment methodologies, facilitators, policies; KPIs for e.g. equity and sustainability.
- Implementing CCAM that makes a difference; addressing actual cities’ and citizens’ needs, including equity, mobility poverty and sustainability.
- Success factors to make a difference, to truly contribute to equity, decarbonisation, safety targets and mobility policies.
Out-of-the box
We also welcome proposals for sessions that do not correspond to any of the selected topics for EUCAD 2025, and yet constitutes a relevant hot or innovative topic for CCAM.