On Wednesday night 11 November 2015 Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch road authority, undertook with Beijer Automotive among others a unique test with intelligent transport systems on highway A16 near Dordrecht in the Netherlands. That night the Dutch project team successfully demonstrated the functionality of the Road Works Warning service in the first practical test at real road works.
The test is an important step towards the further development of the connection between smart vehicles and smart road infrastructure. One of the objectives of Road Works Warning is to give road users timely warnings of road works on their route. In the vehicle, the road users will also see the traffic management measures such as changes in lane layout and the speed limit. Providing information to road users in real time should contribute to road safety and reduce the number of collisions at road works.
Two communications techniques
During the test, Rijkswaterstaat’s project team used two test vehicles equipped with WiFi-P equipment, including a navigation system to display the warnings. Initially, at three kilometres before the road works the navigation system displayed a warning about the road works ahead, received via the 3G/4G mobile network. When approaching the temporary traffic management measures, the warnings displayed above the lanes (e.g. speed limit and open lanes) were also displayed on the navigation system. These messages were sent from a Road Side Unit to an On Board Unit over a high-speed WiFi-P connection. The test used an adaptive approach and the real life setting was intended to provide learning opportunities.
Working with suppliers
Rijkswaterstaat is developing two use cases for the Cooperative ITS Corridor project: Road Works Warning and Probe Vehicle Data. Both services use C-ITS technology. The project team recently presented the initial design documents for the service to interested potential suppliers. This meeting was also attended by international partners in the project. The market was positive about both the initial design documents and the adaptive approach used. The project team will use the input from the market and the results of the successful test on the A16 to update the documents. The objective is to develop effective and widely-supported specifications which will lead to convenient and safe services to road users on the international Rotterdam – Frankfurt – Vienna corridor.
Combining expertise
To realise the Road Works Warning test, Rijkswaterstaat asked a number of suppliers including Beijer Automotive to combine their specialist expertise. Cooperative ITS means that all those involved have to work together closely to ensure that all systems (roadside and on board) connect seamlessly. This smart cooperation has provided a result which is unique, internationally, and symbolises the strength of the Netherlands in terms of innovation.
Learn more about the Road Works Warning field test and download the fact sheet. More information about the project can be found on Cooperative ITS Corridor www.its-corridor.nl/english.
