SHOW project carries out tests to investigate how passengers experience Automated Vehicles in urban environments

Thursday, 11 November 2021, Aldenhoven: SHOW consortium member TNO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek) has conducted tests to analyse passenger experience of Automated Vehicles (AV) in urban environments, more specifically while approaching signalised intersections.The investigation carried out at the Aldenhoven test track in Germany is part of the demonstrations planned for the Brainport trial site in The Netherlands, one of the demo sites of the EU funded SHOW project.

In the study carried out on 11 November, two use cases were tested with the passengers: the first use case involves a traffic light switching phases; the second use case focuses on a red light violation by a pedestrian. In both cases, the vehicle approaches a signalized intersection and responds automatically to the information it receives from a Road Side Unit (RSU) without intervention of the driver.

TNO has developed a decision-maker software that controls the vehicle around intersections with legacy traffic and Vulnerable Road Users (VRU). This decision-maker establishes whether the car should brake or continue following its reference path. The AV receives information about the status of the intersection from the RSU and is able to respond accordingly. Responses of the vehicle have already been optimized on a test track by members of the project.
The main goal of this study is to understand how people experience automated vehicles approaching an intersection. User acceptance of AVs is key for the future of automated mobility. The common understanding is that the driving style of an AV might have to be different from that of a human driver, to be acceptable, trustworthy and comfortable for the passenger.


For more information about the project and its activities, visit our website (https://show-project.eu/) or contact Elisa Todesco (e.todesco@mail.ertico.com) or Charlotte van Hek (charlotte.vanhek@uitp.org).


About TNO
The letters TNO stand for Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Dutch Organisation for applied scientific research). TNO develops knowledge aimed at practical applications and focuses on the following areas: Building, Infrastructure and Maritime; Circular Economy and Environment; Defence, Safety and Security; Energy transition, Healthy living; Industry; Information and Communication technology; Strategic Analysis and Policy; Traffic and Transport.

About SHOW
The SHOW project aims to support the deployment of shared, connected and electrified automation in urban transport, to advance sustainable urban mobility. During the project, real-life urban demonstrations taking place in 20 cities across Europe will see the integration of fleets of automated vehicles in public transport, demand-responsive transport (DRT), Mobility a Service (MaaS) and Logistics as a Service (LaaS) schemes.
In total, SHOW will deploy a fleet of more than 70 SAE L4/L5 AVs of all types for both passenger and cargo transport in dedicated lanes and mixed traffic, connected to a wide range of supporting infrastructure (5G, G5, IoT) and operating under traffic speeds ranging from 18 to over 50km/h.

SHOW at a Glance

Acronym: SHOW
Title: SHared automation Operating models for Worldwide adoption
Duration: January 2020 – January 2024 (48 months)
Budget: €30 million
Project Coordinator: Dr. Henriette Cornet, UITP (International Association of Public Transport) – henriette.cornet@uitp.org
Technical and Innovation Manager: CERTH/HIT (Hellenic Institute of Transport)
Communication & Dissemination Manager : ERTICO ITS Europe

The SHOW project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 875530.