Ertico – ITS Europe is reporting the successful conclusion of interoperability tests for a pan-European Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) project that is developing connected Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technologies to improve traffic management.
The C-MobILE (Accelerating C-ITS Mobility Innovation and depLoyment in Europe) project’s Interoperability TestFest has completed three days of proving tests and exchanges, successfully demonstrating cross-site service compatibility with infrastructure deployed in the Spanish city of Vigo. The event was hosted by the Centro Tecnológico de Automoción de Galicia (CTAG), ERTICO – ITS Europe and the C-MobILE project consortium, with the support of C-Roads Spain. In addition to Vigo, C-MobILE C-ITS services are also installed at the project’s deployment sites in Barcelona (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Copenhagen (Denmark), Newcastle (UK), North Brabant (Netherlands) and Thessaloniki (Greece).
The objective of the Vigo event was to test interoperability with the C-MobILE Roadside Units (RSUs) and back-office interfaces deployed locally in and around the city. The services covered in the tests included Road Works Warning (RWW), Road Hazard Warning (RHW), In-Vehicle Signage (IVS), Slow or Stationary Vehicle Warning (SSVW) and traffic signal Green Light Optimised Speed Advice (GLOSA) that are all deployed through both ITS-G5 dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) technology and cellular communication (C-V2X).
In addition to testing in the lab and on the road, the TestFest included technical discussion on all relevant topics. Two webinars helped participants prepare for the event, addressing TestFest objectives and facilities and technical details on test scenarios, as well as CTAG server access. Teams from all eight C-MobiLE Deployment Sites were present, along with external participants from Alps Alpine, PSA-Peugeot Citroën Group and TNO; totalling 25 participant groups with eight test vehicles. Three test routes were mobilised:
- The CTAG test track with its specialized instrumentation and traffic lights;
- A designated local route mixing urban, interurban and motorway sections;
- Areas of downtown Vigo featuring C-ITS equipment.
For the services deployed in the city, the full version of the Vigo user application has been published and is available for Android users; and used successfully by TestFest participants.
A number of issues were identified early on and fixed as they arose. Participants pointed out that some DENM (Decentralised Environmental Notification Message) and IVI (In-Vehicle Information) messages were not received properly, prompting CTAG engineers to work overnight to solve the problem. Delays in cellular SPaT (Signal Phase and Timing) messages in relation with traffic lights were also picked up, and an interoperability taskforce is already being assembled to deal with lingering issues surrounding GLOSA profile inconsistencies.
TestFest guests from electronics component company Alps Alpine in particular praised a very useful event for their activities, noting that, ‘We could see messages that we never saw before’. Teams from C-MobILE Deployment Sites also made the best of this unique opportunity to experiment service interoperability at scale; a key innovation of the project, allowing users to seamlessly experience C-ITS services across equipped European cities and regions. C-MobILE partners will return to the workbench in 2020 with a Hackathon, scheduled to take place in the first quarter of next year.
