Clár Píolótach ITS Comhoibritheach (C-ITS)

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is piloting Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) services. The pilot in brief:

• Delivering road safety, traffic efficiency & environmental benefits 
• Covering the TEN-T comprehensive roads network 
• ‘Evaluation and Assessment’ of vehicle to vehicle (V2V) & vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) services (e.g. Hazard Location Notifications, Road Works Warnings & In-Vehicle Signage) 
• Hybrid communication approach of WiFi (ITS-G5) & standard cellular 
• C-Roads membership supporting EU wide harmonisation of services 
• €10.2M co-financed by EU Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 

C-Roads Platform

The C-Roads Platform is a joint initiative of European Member States and road operators which are installing C-ITS for pilots and later operation. Pilot installations will be harmonised, delivering interoperability to ensure Irish vehicles will receive CITS messages when in Europe and C-ITS equipped European vehicles will receive messages in Ireland. Key elements are the joint development of technical specifications which provide the basis for all pilot deployments, as well as common cross-site testing to achieve interoperability of the deployed C-ITS services. 

Click here to view the Core members of this platform

C-ITS Ireland Pilot

Ireland’s national C-ITS pilot includes the design, procurement, installation, testing, running and evaluation of C-ITS services on the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and within certain sections of Dublin’s road network. The pilot objectives in general, relate to increasing the road operator’s understanding of C-ITS deployment, from procurement through to operation (in a pilot environment) and the need to evaluate the impact of C-ITS in relation to technical performance, socio-economic benefits (including safety benefits) and user acceptance. The outcome from the pilot will enable decisions to be made on how C-ITS can be scaled to maximise benefits.

C-ITS Pilot Operations

The Irish C-ITS pilot involves the installation of an On-Board Unit (OBU) in volunteers’ vehicles. The OBU will then display pre-defined signs, along with short text messages, on a tablet screen to inform drivers of the state of the road ahead with the aim of improving safety on the road network. 

A dedicated smartphone app has also been developed, which can display the same pre-defined signs and text messages on a smartphone screen, for drivers that don’t have an OBU installed in their vehicle. 

C-ITS Pilot Services

The Irish C-ITS Pilot will provide pilot participants, along relevant pilot corridors, with real time notifications using a combination of signs and free-text. 

The piloted services include: 

• In Vehicle Signage including Regulatory speed limit information, Advisory speed limit information and advanced notice of Lane Merge Left 
• Hazardous Location Notification including Traffic Jam Ahead and Stationary Vehicle as well as weather specific warnings for Snow, Hail, Rain and High Winds
• Road Work Warning for Mobile Road Works, Lane closure and Road closure 
• Dublin Tunnel Closure (NB/SB), delays at Dublin Port and Dublin City HGV Cordon status

C-ITS Pilot Location

• M7, N7, M8, N1 – C-ITS services supported via cellular communications (dark blue on map) 
• M50 and M1 – C-ITS services supported by a combination of cellular and ITSG5 Road Side Units (RSU), providing direct digital communication between roadside infrastructure and vehicles (I2V) (light blue on map)

Schedule

Additional Links

C-Roads Website

Ireland C-Roads Pilot

Information about this European Fund – Connecting Europe Facility

_{Disclaimer: The content of this article does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in the article therein lies entirely with the authors.}