Dynamic Speed Limit

Towards a smart infrastructure for future mobility.

The Dynamic Speed Limit project represents a concrete step towards creating increasingly smart, safe and efficient mobility. The trial promoted by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport as part of the activities of the National Center for Sustainable Mobility (MOST) took place on the Naples Ring Road, and exploited technology developed by Movyon. For the first time in Italy, it was possible to provide connected vehicles – including a self-driving Maserati GranCabrio Folgore equipped with the Politecnico di Milano’s robo-driver – with an indication of the optimal speed to be maintained along a stretch of highway open to traffic. The aim is to prevent jams, streamline traffic, improve the driving experience, and reduce emissions and travel times by up to 15%. The system developed by Movyon allows direct communication between the infrastructure and the vehicles via a network of antennas distributed along the road and devices on board the vehicles. The information collected by traffic sensors, portals and smart cameras is processed by the traffic model developed by the Università di Napoli Federico II, which can suggest the best speed to ensure optimal traffic flow. The trial was carried out using both an autonomous connected vehicle capable of automatically adjusting its speed according to the indications received, and some vehicles on the Naples ring road, which were enabled to receive the same information and make it available to the drivers via a tablet installed in the vehicles. This allowed connected vehicles to adapt their speeds to the road conditions in real time in order to favor the “green wave” effect, reduce waiting times, and increase overall safety. The first tests, carried out over a 3 km stretch between Vomero and Fuorigrotta, have already borne significant results. In a few days, about 3.5 million traffic data points were collected and processed per day, including vehicle class and speed, lane, length and distance (in terms of time) from the vehicle ahead (headway).