The road safety awareness campaign launches the Driver Behavior Analysis project in synergy with four top Italian universities.
Rome – Study driver behavior near roadwork sites on highways using an augmented reality driving simulator, with the aim of analyzing their reactions and assessing alternative solutions to further increase passenger safety. This is what the Autostrade per l’Italia group’s DBA (Driver Behavior Analysis) project intends to do, with the participation of four top Italian academic research centers, including the Politecnico di Milano, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Università degli Studi di Firenze and Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II.
For the first time, Movyon, a group company that is a leader in developing and integrating Intelligent Transport Systems solutions, has launched an innovative trial based on an integrated scientific approach that combines data collected by drones in the field with advanced driving simulation technologies. The analysis focuses on human behavior, observed through tests conducted in a highly realistic immersive reality recreated in a state-of-the-art cockpit. The aim is to study drivers’ reactions to critical situations, identify the main risk factors, understand the causes of incorrect behavior, and assess the effectiveness of new solutions to increase safety at highway roadwork sites.Technology thus becomes a key resource for the safety of travelers and workers at roadwork sites: drones and artificial intelligence play a leading role in collecting the data needed to prepare for creating simulation scenarios. Drones, which have already been used to analyze traffic flows, can now capture images to faithfully recreate what is happening on the highway network: from roadwork sites to vehicle trajectories. What used to be seen in a limited way with just dash cams installed in cars can now be captured and verified using drones to return a complete view of what is happening on the highway.
A journey into augmented reality. By analyzing vehicle trajectories observed by drones near highway roadwork sites, it was possible to pinpoint the most frequent and significant incorrect driving behaviors, as well as the main risk factors for further investigation. Based on these results, specific immersive scenarios were developed using a highly detailed digital twin, which faithfully reproduces the section of the A26 highway between Borgomanero and Novara.
The simulation included both a scenario with conventional temporary signs at the roadwork sites, and an alternative version incorporating innovative solutions to improve safety. This approach ensures a high level of realism, and provides a way of testing the effectiveness of new proposals directly in a controlled, realistic virtual environment to focus on drivers’ behavior and their response to potentially critical situations.
The role of academia. Part of the trial is precisely the driving simulator of the Politecnico di Milano, the university where the simulations were conducted through augmented reality scenarios, and where driving behavior was analyzed. Observations regarding the trajectories and speed profiles at the roadwork sites with the surrogate safety measure calculations are the result of analyses by the Università di Napoli Federico II, while the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore studied safety perception and the way in which different driver profiles perceive the road environment and the signs on the approaches to roadwork sites. Finally, the Università degli Studi di Firenze examined the video streams recorded by the drones using artificial intelligence algorithms to identify vehicles and trajectories.
This trial is one of the initiatives promoted as part of Autostrade per l’Italia’s road safety awareness campaign in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies and the State Police, to raise travelers’ awareness about the importance of correct driving and to protect workers working on the highway network every day.