MEET THE SAFE-UP PARTNERS
UNIFI (Università degli Studi di Firenze)
Who belongs to your SAFE-UP team?
Prof. Niccolò Baldanzini, associate professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering oversees UNIFI’s partnership in the project. Dr. Marilee Nugent has been collaborating with CERTH on WP6 (Training activities and awareness creation of future traffic scenarios). She is the lead for two of the four tasks: T6.1 to define training and education needs, scenarios and KPIs, and T6.3 Knowledge Translation, outreach and raising awareness.
Dr.-Ing. Pedro Huertas-Leyva, Dr.-Ing. Lorenzo Berzi and Dr.-Ing. Thomas Pallacci have been working on WP2 (Future safety-critical scenarios) focusing on safety-critical scenarios between powered two-wheelers (PTWs) and passenger cars with the aim of analysing the impact of future mobility systems (including autonomous vehicles) on road safety.
Dr. Pedro Huertas-Leyva has been responsible for developing the metrics to describe safety-critical interactions between car drivers and motorcycle riders (T2.2) and the identification of the types of human failures that precipitate them (T2.1). He also contributed to the determination of the specifications for the motorcycle behavioural model for integration with other external agents, such as autonomous vehicles, within the traffic simulation platform (T2.4), where potential new safety-critical scenarios involving motorcycles with respect to the baseline traffic are analysed (T2.5).
Dr. Thomas Pallacci, together with Pedro, has developed an enhanced model of the car-following behaviour of motorcycle riders based on naturalistic data, including possible rear-end (of the leading vehicle) collision scenarios (T2.3). Dr. Lorenzo Berzi, jointly with Thomas, has focussed on the motorcycle dynamical model that has been embedded as part of this motorcycle behaviour model (T2.3).
What does UNIFI bring to the project?
UNIFI’s MOVING group (Mobility and Vehicle Innovation Group) brings long-standing expertise in the area of PTW (i.e., motorcycles and scooters) safety. Topics include research and development of active and passive safety systems, investigation of rider behaviour and training, including the performance of emergency manoeuvres in traffic.
In WP2, UNIFI brings expertise in PTW rider behaviour gained from previous projects focused on both naturalistic studies and on-field testing emulating emergency events, as well as knowledge of main contributing factors (especially human failures) in traffic conflicts involving PTWs based also on in-depth crash data. In SAFE-UP, UNIFI has developed and implemented enhanced behavioural models of PTW riders for integration into simulation platforms, as well as metrics which identify safety-critical scenarios for PTW riders derived from naturalistic driving data and field testing of emergency manoeuvres.
In WP6, UNIFI brings expertise in PTW rider performance and training, learning theory and educational design. An innovative approach to translating road safety research into training and awareness strategies to enhance the impact of new technologies for vulnerable road user safety has been tested by applying principles and practices from Knowledge Translation. This includes targeting diverse user groups and identifying their needs, including their voices in results interpretation, and developing targeted dissemination strategies to ensure accessibility, useability and uptake. A main outcome is the development of new training material on PTW rider safety based on the new knowledge of safety-critical scenarios and human failures as crash factors, generated by UNIFI and other SAFE-UP partners in Work Package 2. Considering the multiple actors and factors in car-to-PTW crashes, the training programs target both learner and post-license car drivers and riders, as well as designers of vehicles, infrastructure and road systems, decision-makers and others.
Why did you want to take part in SAFE-UP?
SAFE-UP was an opportunity to link motorcycle safety to the larger theatre of current and future road safety challenges for all unprotected road users: PTW riders, cyclists and pedestrians. MOVING’s involvement in SAFE-UP is a unique opportunity to contribute research expertise so far centred on hazards for riders and the onboard safety technologies to support them, and connect this to how riders and other unprotected road users interact with larger vehicles in the current and future road traffic ecosystem. Our involvement is hoped to inform CAV development and contribute to holistic solutions to reduce serious injuries and fatalities resulting from car-to-VRU crashes.
Which other initiatives are you involved in?
UNIFI’s commitment to the improvement of rider safety led the MOVING group to join the TRANS-SAFE (Transforming Road Safety in Africa) project. This initiative aims to accelerate the uptake of safety solutions in Africa, leveraging previous advances achieved by the European research system and adapting them to different contexts. UNIFI will lead the development of an in-depth crash data collection programme, contribute advice on training strategies for riders and investigate the effects of after-market ADAS on rider safety.
MOVING group is also engaged in the development of electric vehicles and supporting infrastructure as a partner in the projects XL-CONNECT (Large scale system approach for advanced charging solutions) and ACCELBAT (Accelerated cell and battery development).
Related deliverables
D2.4 Definition of the future use cases: scope and data to build digital twins of use cases
D2.5 Description of metrics for traffic interactions
D2.6 Use case definitions and initial safety-critical scenarios
D6.1 Training, education and awareness needs for VRU/URU safety in evolving mixed automated traffic