The Smart Road Observatory of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT), together with the relevant Departments, in collaboration with Autostrade per l’Italia and in the presence of the State Police and the Traffic Police Department for Campania and Basilicata, has conducted the first open-traffic test of a self-driving car provided by the Politecnico di Milano on a 3-kilometre stretch of the Tangenziale di Napoli from Vomero to Fuorigrotta.
The University of Naples Federico II, Movyon (the technology operator of the Aspi Group), and Tangenziale di Napoli presented the new “Dynamic Speed Limit” functionality as part of the development projects for Intelligent Roads under the National Centre for Sustainable Mobility (MOST).
Thanks to the integrated vehicle-to-infrastructure communication system developed by Movyon and the traffic model designed by the University of Naples, this functionality allows a self-driving vehicle to automatically adjust its speed according to instructions received from the traffic control centre.
This solution is designed to prevent traffic congestion, improve traffic flow management, and increase road safety. In other words, the technology enables the identification of speed limits that help reduce congestion, based on data collected by field sensors and processed by a control centre.
These instructions are then transmitted to all connected vehicles in transit via a network of antennas installed along the route.
The demonstration involved both a self-driving car from the Politecnico di Milano, capable of automatically adjusting its speed, and several vehicles from the Tangenziale di Napoli Spa fleet, which display the speed recommendations to drivers through specific onboard devices. During the test, a driver remained in the driver’s seat of the autonomous car at all times.
This trial, conducted on the section managed by Tangenziale di Napoli Spa and aimed at obtaining the first official “Smart Road” certification in Italy in compliance with Ministerial Decree 70/2018, marks a significant step forward in digital transformation. It promotes collaboration between road infrastructure and vehicles to enhance the services provided to road users, fostering increasingly efficient and safer mobility.