SINFONICA, a new project under ERTICO’s Connected, Cooperative & Automated Mobility (CCAM) focus area, has just started. The project will address inclusivity, accessibility and equity in CCAM solutions by giving special attention to vulnerable user groups to foster innovation in the sector.
SINFONICA, whose full name is “Social INnovation to FOster iNclusIve cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility”, will develop innovative methodologies to boost the development of inclusive CCAM solutions that take into account the specific needs, expectations and concerns of vulnerable road users, including the elderly and people with disabilities. The project will carry out a variety of activities in four Groups of Interests in Europe to develop tools and recommendations. The Groups of Interests comprise different stakeholders involved in the sector and include both cities and regions, namely Trikala (Greece), Noord-Brabant Provincie (the Netherlands), West Midlands (United Kingdom), and Hamburg (Germany).
The knowledge and co-created solutions developed during the 36 months of the project will result in the SINFONICA Knowledge Map Explorer. This intelligent and user-friendly navigation system will provide personalised CCAM recommendations and guidelines for different profiles, such as public administrations, road users and service providers.
The project’s very first meeting took place on 7-8 September in Brussels with the participation of the different partners. Project Coordinator University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (a member of ICOOR) and consortium members ERITCO, ICCS, IRT SystemX, ISINNOVA, RE:Lab, TU Dresden, Arriva, E-Trikala, Provincie Noord-Brabant, Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg and Transport for West Midlands (part of West Midlands Combined Authority), all gathered to discuss the first steps of the project and the role of the different partners to ensure a good start. The Project Adviser from the European Commission’s CINEA, Pedro Pérez Losa, was also present at the meeting and stressed the importance of close cooperation with other EU-funded projects in the CCAM domain. In particular, the project will forge close links with the ERTICO-coordinated project FAME (Framework for coordination of Automated Mobility in Europe), which aims to establish a European framework for testing CCAM on public road across Europe, and also maintain the Connected and Automated Driving Knowledge Base, to which SINFONICA will contribute.
The project is co-funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe programme and responds to the call on “Analysis of socio-economic and environmental impacts and assessment of societal, citizen and user aspects for needs based CCAM solutions (CCAM Partnership)”.
Stay tuned to know more about SINFONICA’s latest developments! The project’s communication channels will be launched in the coming months.
SINFONICA has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No 101064988.
