SOTERIA, a new Horizon Europe project set out to improve road safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists
As the numbers of accidents on European roads reveal a downward trend in the last decades, while the mobility landscape in cities is rapidly evolving, the European Commission (EC) has set an ambitious goal: achieve close-to-zero injuries and fatalities on European roads by 2050, the so-called 'Vision Zero'.
SOTERIA project aims to accelerate the attainment of the EC’s 'Vision Zero' goal for vulnerable road users (VRUs) by providing a holistic framework of innovative tools and services. Project partners are committed to designing solutions that promote and achieve safe and green travelling of VRUs, foster integration of electric micro-mobility vehicles in urban environments and enable more inclusive transport.
At the operational level, SOTERIA will uncover little explored behaviours of VRUs and will engage Living Lab communities (targeted end-users and stakeholders) in the co-creation of urban safety solutions and road infrastructure designs. Traffic simulation models and data-driven routing applications leveraging explainable Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be developed for informing policy decisions and interconnected services that nudge VRUs towards safer behaviours in dangerous traffic situations.
The effectiveness of SOTERIA solutions will be demonstrated and validated within the Living Labs, addressing different types of VRUs, including ageing and young population groups, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists as well as two-wheeler riders. Living Labs will serve as real-world testing grounds. In SOTERIA, four Living Labs will be set up, each with a specific demonstration theme, as follows:
Living Lab #1 – Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
- Safe and inclusive integration of micro-mobility to current mobility paradigms
Living Lab #2 – Saxony, Germany
- VRUs safety applications for generation Z
Living Lab #3 – Madrid, Spain
- Safe and shared mobility services for improving user well-being and clean urban environments
Living Lab #4 – Chania/Igoumenitsa, Greece
- Proactivity-based and micro-vehicle centric measures for unprotected VRUs
“The University of Wolverhampton is in charge of the scientific and technical management of SOTERIA. We are excited with our leading role in the development of technologies and tools that will make travelling in Europe safer for all road users. Our aspiration is to achieve road safety equality for the ever-changing mobility sector where disruptive services and complex needs necessitate innovative, adaptive and user-led solutions”, explained Professor Panos Georgakis.
“As project coordinator of SOTERIA, Netcompany-Intrasoft aims to secure a thriving collaboration among our consortium during the upcoming 3.5 years. To achieve this aim, we rely on our long track record of successfully managing large and complex collaborative research projects for over 25 years, as well as effectively communicating research results within Europe and beyond”, highlighted Dr. Marina Georgiou.
SOTERIA is operating on a budget of approximately 3.3 million euros, having started on 1 November 2022. An international consortium of 16 partners from 7 countries –(Luxemburg, Greece, Spain, Germany, France, Belgium and the United Kingdom) have joined forces towards the co-creation of road safety solutions and infrastructure designs for VRUs.
Project Key Information
- Acronym: SOTERIA
- Grant Agreement No: 101077433
- Full title: Systematic and orchestrated deployment of safety solutions in complex urban environments for ageing and vulnerable societies
- Call: HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-06
- Start Date: 01.11.2022
- Duration: 42 months
- Budget: € 3,319,325.01
Vianova is a proud partner of SOTERIA, learn more about this exciting project here!
--
About SOTERIA
SOTERIA is a Horizon Europe project, joining 16 partners towards a systematic deployment of road safety solutions in complex urban environments, especially for vulnerable populations. At the operational level, SOTERIA uncovers unexplored behavioral characteristics of Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) and engages Living Lab communities in social innovation activities, towards the co-creation of urban safety solutions and infrastructure designs.
About Vianova
Vianova is the data analytics solution to operate the mobility world. Our platform harnesses the power of connected vehicles and IoT data, to provide actionable insights to plan for safer, greener and more efficient transportation infrastructures. From enabling regulation of shared mobility, to transforming last mile deliveries, and mapping road risk hotspots, Vianova serves 150+ cities, fleet operators, and enterprises across the globe to change the way people and goods move.