The final conference for the European CoExist project was held on 25 and 26 March 2020. Originally intended to take place in Milton Keynes, one of the project’s partner towns, the Covid-19 crisis ultimately forced it to be conducted in video conference form instead. The purpose of the CoExist project, launched in 2017 with a budget of 3.5 million euros, is to prepare for the transition phase during which roads will be shared by self-driving and conventional vehicles. The goal: to assist road authorities and local governments to plan for a road network incorporating various levels of automation, traditional vehicles, and other road users. By simulating the incorporation of self-driving vehicles into traffic flows in 4 European towns and cities, the project analysed the consequences of the presence of these new vehicles on urban road infrastructure. We take a close look at a project in which Vedecom’s expertise with self-driving vehicles proved enormously beneficial.
Building a bridge between self-driving vehicles and infrastructure planning
If the introduction of self-driving vehicles is to live up to its promises in terms of reducing road space and improving traffic efficiency and safety, vehicle design and urban infrastructure planning are key issues to be considered. This is the challenge addressed by the European CoExist project, bringing together 17 partners from 7 European countries (Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, the UK and Sweden), representing industry, academic institutions and local government. Their task was to study the feasibility and consequences of introducing automated smart vehicles in terms of impacts on traffic flow, the environment (greenhouse gases and CO2) and noise pollution in an urban environment, in a few highly specific use cases.
Three key stages in modelling traffic for 4 European cities
The project followed three key stages in the development of transport and infrastructure. The first step was to validate extensions of existing transport models at micro and macro level, including different types of self-driving vehicles with varying levels of automation. The second step was to develop an assessment tool that would simulate the impacts of these autonomous vehicles on safety, traffic flow and infrastructure changes – using a variety of different ramp-up scenarios for self-driving vehicles in such environments. Lastly, these tools were applied to eight use cases in four European towns and cities: Gothenburg (SWE), Stuttgart (DE), Helmond (NL) and Milton Keynes (GB). The end goal was to produce directives for designing hybrid infrastructure that is equally capable of supporting conventional and automated vehicles, thus providing the smoothest possible transition phase.
VEDECOM : the CoExist project’s self-driving vehicle expert
VEDECOM’s partnership and expertise was invaluable in implementing the project. The Institute agreed to the use of control models for autonomous vehicles that were exactly the same as for VEDECOM’s self-driving vehicle prototypes, and their software adaptations. These were incorporated into the VISSIM application produced by PTV Group, which was then able to simulate fleets of self-driving vehicles and shuttles on the roads of partner towns, which were themselves modelled using the solution.
VEDECOM was also involved in research into the interpretation and analysis of data regarding the economic and environmental impacts of the gradual introduction of such autonomous vehicles into urban areas. Lastly, it provided analysis into the system’s feasibility and the infrastructure modifications required.
Find out more at: https://www.h2020-coexist.eu/what-is-coexist/
La conférence finale du projet européen CoExist a eu lieu les 25 et 26 mars 2020. Initialement prévue à Milton Keynes, l’une des villes partenaires du projet, elle s’est finalement déroulée en visio-conférence, crise du coronavirus Covid-19 oblige. Lancé en 2017 et doté d’un budget de 3.5 millions d’euros, le projet CoExist vise à préparer la phase de transition durant laquelle véhicules autonomes et conventionnels se partageront les routes. L’enjeu : aider les administrations routières et les collectivités à
anticiper un réseau routier intégrant différents niveaux d’automatisation, véhicules traditionnels, et autres usagers de la route. En simulant l’insertion de véhicules autonomes dans 4 villes d’Europe, le projet a permis d’analyser les effets induits par la présence de ces nouveaux véhicules sur l’infrastructure routière urbaine. Gros plan sur un projet dans lequel l’expertise de VEDECOM sur le véhicule autonome a été fortement plébiscitée.
Créer un pont entre les véhicules autonomes et la planification des infrastructures
La prédisposition des transports ainsi que la planification de l’infrastructure dans les villes sont des conditions clés si l’on veut que le déploiement des véhicules autonomes tienne ses promesses en matière de réduction de l’espace routier et d’amélioration de l’efficacité et de la sécurité du trafic. C’est tout l’enjeu du projet européen CoExist, qui regroupe 17 partenaires de 7 pays européens (Allemagne, Belgique, France, Italie, Pays-Bas, Royaume-Uni et Suède). Industriels, académiques et villes, ils ont voulu étudier la faisabilité et l’impact de l’introduction de véhicules automatisés et connectés sur la fluidité du trafic, les impacts environnementaux (gaz à effet de serre et CO2) et les nuisances sonores en milieu urbain, sur quelques cas d’usages bien précis.
Trois étapes clés pour modéliser le trafic de 4 villes européennes
Pour ce faire, ils ont procédé en trois étapes déterminantes pour le développement des transports et de l’infrastructure. La première étape a consisté à valider des extensions de modèles de transports existants, à l’échelle microscopique et macroscopique, en y incluant différents types de véhicules autonomes, avec différents niveaux d’automatisation. La seconde a permis de développer un outil d’évaluation par simulation des impacts de ces
véhicules autonomes sur la sécurité, l’efficacité du trafic, et sur l’aménagement des infrastructures – et ce à partir de différents scenarios de montée en puissance des véhicules autonomes dans l’environnement. Ces outils ont enfin été appliqués à 8 cas d’usages dans quatre villes européennes : Gothenburg (SWE), Stuttgart (DE), Helmond (NL) et Milton Keynes (GB). L’objectif final était de produire des directives de conception des infrastructures hybrides, c’est-à-dire adaptées tant aux véhicules conventionnels qu’automatisés, pour accompagner au mieux la phase de transition.
VEDECOM, expert véhicule autonome du projet CoExist
L’expertise de VEDECOM, partenaire du projet, a été déterminante dans sa mise en œuvre. L’Institut a permis l’implémentation de modèles de contrôle pour véhicules autonomes, identiques à ceux des prototypes de véhicule autonome de VEDECOM, ainsi que leurs adaptations logicielles. Celles-ci ont été intégrées dans le logiciel VISSIM, édité par PTV Group, qui a ainsi pu simuler des flottes de véhicules et navettes autonomes en circulation dans les villes partenaires, elles-mêmes modélisées dans la solution.
VEDECOM a également été impliqué dans les études sur l’interprétation et l’analyse des données concernant l’impact économique et environnemental de l’introduction progressive de ces véhicules autonomes en milieu urbain. Ses analyses se sont enfin portées sur la faisabilité du système et les modifications nécessaires de l’infrastructure.
Pour en savoir plus : https://www.h2020-coexist.eu/what-is-coexist/
On 6th December 2019, the Board of Directors appointed Tony Jaux as President of VEDECOM. He takes up this position on 1st April 2020 for a three-year period that may be extended. The vice president in charge of cockpit electronic R&D, infotainment, and connectivity in the PSA Group as well as manager of the connected vehicles programme at PFA, Tony Jaux succeeds Rémi Bastien from Groupe Renault.
“My arrival is in line with the continued support of industrial actors for the VEDECOM Institute since its creation in 2014 to help meet the automotive sector’s applied research needs. What the automotive sector needs now more than ever is to combine R&D efforts and increase their ability to compete with increasingly numerous and diverse actors in mobility sectors around the globe.
Working closely with public authorities, our institutional partners like the ANR, and the entire French mobility ecosystem, I will double down on our strategy to lead European-wide projects to boost the Institutes’s leadership and give it a multidisciplinary view of issues such as connected and autonomous vehicles, electrification, and new mobility and energy solutions.
I will also endeavour to supplement VEDECOM’s innovation tools to showcase its multidisciplinary excellence through open innovation, support for entrepreneurship, and commercialisation of technological building blocks and services that result from VEDECOM’s efforts”, states Tony Jaux, the president of the VEDECOM Institute.
After graduating from Supélec, a top-tier graduate school for engineering, Tony Jaux began his career in 1984 as a development engineer for Philips and later for Centaure-UP Systems. He then continued his career in the automotive sector when he was hired by Magnetti Marelli before working for the equipment manufacturer Johnson Controls between 2004 and 2011, where he notably worked in the electronics division as Engineering Director for Europe.
In 2011, he joined the PSA Group as vice president. He oversaw the development of powertrain computers and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and until recently he was in charge of infotainment development as well as being the manager of the connected vehicle programme at the Plateforme Française de l’Automobile (PFA).
His career path, which combines R&D, industry, and automotive experience, will help him rise to the challenges unique to the VEDECOM Institute, such as: promoting trust and cooperation; laying the groundwork for rolling out and accrediting self-driving vehicles; organising powerful, sustainable mobility with electric vehicles, smart charging, and smart grids; developing multi-modal mobility with artificial intelligence; and working on urban design and mobility options of the future, all while ensuring that people remain at the heart of all innovation efforts.
In additional to his technical skills, Tony Jaux brings to the table his knowledge of international industrial project management to support the development of research efforts and experiments conducted by VEDECOM in Europe and around the world.
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Tony Jaux, nommé Président de VEDECOM par le Conseil d’Administration de l’Institut le 6 décembre 2019, entre en poste le 1er avril 2020 pour une durée de 3 ans, renouvelable. Vice-Président en charge de la R&D électronique cockpit, infodivertissement et connectivité au sein du Groupe PSA, également Responsable du programme véhicule connecté à la PFA, il succède à Rémi Bastien, du groupe Renault.
« Mon arrivée s’inscrit dans la continuité du soutien des industriels à l’Institut VEDECOM depuis sa création en 2014, pour répondre aux attentes de la filière automobile en recherche appliquée. Celle-ci a besoin, plus que jamais, de mutualiser la R&D et gagner en compétitivité vis-à-vis des acteurs mondiaux de la mobilité, de plus en plus nombreux et diversifiés.
En synergie étroite avec l’ensemble des pouvoir publics et nos partenaires institutionnels, à l’instar de l’ANR, avec l’ensemble de l’écosystème français des mobilités, je renforcerai la stratégie de pilotage de projets à l’échelon européen afin de doter l’Institut d’un leadership et d’une vision transversale dans ses domaines : le véhicule autonome et connecté, l’électrification et les nouvelles solutions de mobilité et d’énergie.
J’aurai également à cœur de compléter le dispositif d’innovation de VEDECOM afin de valoriser son excellence pluridisciplinaire par l’open innovation, le soutien à l’entreprenariat et la commercialisation de briques technologiques et de services issus des travaux de VEDECOM » déclare Tony Jaux, Président de l’institut VEDECOM.
Diplômé de Supélec, Tony Jaux a commencé sa carrière en 1984 en qualité d’ingénieur de développement chez Philips puis chez Centaure-UP Systems. Il poursuit ensuite sa carrière dans le secteur de l’automobile chez Magnetti Marelli puis chez l’équipementier Johnson Controls, entre 2004 et 2011, où il fait notamment partie de la division Electronique en tant que Directeur Ingénierie Europe.
En 2011, il intègre le groupe PSA en qualité de Vice-Président. Il y a assuré le développement des calculateurs powertrain et des ADAS, avant d’être jusqu’à récemment en charge du développement de l’infotainment et également responsable du programme véhicule connecté à la Plateforme Française de l’Automobile.
Ce parcours qui mêle R&D, industrie et automobile, lui permettra de relever les défis propres à l’Institut VEDECOM : développer des routes coopératives de confiance et poser les principes de base du déploiement et de l’homologation des véhicules autonomes, orchestrer une mobilité durable et performante grâce au véhicule électrique, au smart charging et au smart grid, développer la mobilité multimodale grâce à l’intelligence artificielle, imaginer l’urbanisme et les mobilités du futur, le tout en gardant l’humain au cœur de l’innovation.
En plus de ses compétences techniques, Tony Jaux apportera sa connaissance en matière de gestion de projet industriel à l’international pour aider au développement des travaux de recherche et des expérimentations menés par VEDECOM en Europe et dans le monde.
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Having just obtained LUCIE 26000, the benchmark CSR label in France for mid-sized organisations, the VEDECOM Institute took the opportunity provided by its annual in-house event, organised on the 30th of January 2020, to bring together all its employees to engage in a climate change awareness activity. Presented in game format by the association “La Fresque du Climat”, it was run by external and internal instructors supporting this cause. This relaxed and good-spirited afternoon, despite the seriousness of the topic involved, saw everyone leave full of positive resolutions.
“La Fresque du Climat” is a fun, participatory and creative workshop for defining the challenges of climate change
VEDECOM enlisted the help of the association “La Fresque du Climat” for this team building activity, which formed part of the commitment plan for the LUCIE label. The association has set itself the goal of raising awareness about climate change issues by organising a participatory and creative card game. The rules were simple: players formed small teams and had to place 42 cards in order of cause and effect. These illustrated and instructional cards each tackled the various factors of climate change, as well as all of the current and potentially future consequences. The activity was led by confident and trained instructors from the association, who provided explanations and additional information. Once their cards had been laid out, the team members were asked to complete their “fresco” by adding a title, colours and messages. This creative aspect was very important in the process of assimilating the knowledge acquired during the game.
United teams mobilised around their fresco
Divided into 23 teams of seven to eight people, VEDECOM’s employees demonstrated a great deal of interest and good spirits in playing the game. The aspects involved – dialogue, reflection and awareness – were very much enjoyed by these researchers, who were already well educated in environmental issues thanks to VEDECOM’s status as an Institute for the Energy Transition. The employees were also involved in the CSR approach of the LUCIE label, which was singled out for praise by the auditor from Bureau Veritas. “I really liked examining the environmental issues as a team,” says one of them. “It’s a good idea for seeing all the elements of climate change at the same time,” says another. After the workshop, the employees voted for their favourite frescoes, which were then displayed on the walls of the mobiLAB.
From consideration to action: time for resolutions
After creating the fresco, it was time for a debate: the teams gathered around their instructor to think about specific ways to take action both collectively at the mobiLAB and personally in everyone’s lives. As the instructors reiterated several times, every initiative, no matter how small or individual, counts when it comes to gaining a tenth of a degree. Even at this level, it prevents significant repercussions for the planet. There were a whole host of ideas, including cycling and walking more, buying more second-hand, repairing more, doing more telework to limit travel, favouring short supply chains and discontinuing use of aluminium coffee capsules. Many employees even expressed a desire to obtain more tools to allow them to take this approach even further. Finally, full of positive resolutions, the employees came together for the official award of the LUCIE label to the Institute, a very apt event following the afternoon’s activities!
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