December 2016 NEWSLETTER 4 The EU funded Project aims at providing answers to two of the main issues affec ng European cyclists: the increasing share of serious injuries and fatali es and the unequal treatment within road traffic. Adop ng a user-centred approach, will develop technologies aimed at improving ac ve and passive detec on of cyclists, systems informing both drivers and cyclists of hazards at junc ons, effec ve methods of presen- ng informa on in vehicles and on-site and coopera on systems aimed at reducing collisions with cyclists. Star ng from an overview of the state of the art of on-site and in-vehicle systems, of par culari es and peculiari es of different countries and of requirements for new poten al systems, suitable solu ons will be designed and therea er implemented to a prototype level. The project will contribute to advanced, innova ve and efficient measures to reduce the number of accidents, to encourage cycling and to make it safer and more comfortable. In this issue The project 1 Work in progress 2 The European Researchers Night 2016 in Cesena 3 The 5 th International Cycling Safety Conference 4 Next steps 5 Contacts 6 Funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union.
WORK IN PROGRESS The project started the construction of the system, beginning with the development of its four subsystems. Of these, two are dedicated to object detection and two to data processing for threat and risk assessment. Two infrastructure-based sensory systems enabled reliable, low delay and real-time vehicle and VRU detection through a two-tier approach. The innovative stereo video configuration showed a significant reduction in false positive detections compared to contemporary mono-video-radar hybrid sensors, especially for stationary and slow moving objects. The especially developed two-step approach observes the scene from multiple points of view, in order to derive consistent object tracks from the accumulated data. The threat assessment builds directly on the results of the stereo video object detection and applies so-called Surrogate Safety Measures (SSM). Dynamic data is processed in real-time to get an understanding about relevant aspects of the traffic situation and to model elements of cycling and driving behaviour as well as interaction patterns. This knowledge is used for setting up predictive elements to allow a projection of the given scene into the future and predict possible threats. A step further consists in the proposed methodology for risk assessment, which suggests how to exploit inputs from previous systems to calculate and classify risk into five different levels. Switching to on-bike system, the project developed a tag detection system proving high precision positioning both in a lab environment and in diverse real traffic situations. The detection and tracking functions are performed by analysing the data exchanged between the on-bike tag and a set of reference nodes, called anchors, placed in known positions in the space. The project plans to test the designed system at the AIM Research Intersection in Braunschweig (Germany), studying the scenario where a truck coming from east turns right to north creating a potential conflict zone with a crossing cyclist. Truck driver must yield to the cyclist and they both have identical traffic light phases. You can count on the next newsletter for insights on tests results. Figure 1 - infrastructured-based system s structure 2/6
THE EUROPEAN RESEARCHERS NIGHT 2016 IN CESENA On September 30 th, 2016, UNIBO participated at the European Researchers' Night in Cesena, Italy. The European Researchers' Night is a free and open-public event that aims to inspire interest for science and research by engaging the public at large through a set of edutainment activities. All events took place simultaneously in over 250 cities across Europe and neighbouring countries. In Cesena, the research groups of the Department of Electronics (DEI) and Department of Psychology (PSY) of the Università di Bologna organised a special session to illustrate the achievements of the EU H2020 project to the public. In particular, a demonstration of the localization system developed within has been offered in form of a game for kids. Several bikes were equipped with ultra-wideband tags enabling real-time tracking in a path set up for the game. Audio and visual alerts (i.e., led blinking and buzzer sounds) were activated by the localization system when the bike was approaching an intersection along the bicycle path, in order to signal the dangerous location, or in case two bikes were too close to each other, in order to increase the awareness about safety distances. Visitors had also the opportunity to test their knowledge of cycling traffic rules in Italy and in Europe in a short and rewarding quiz. The event involved the local committee of the Italian Association of Sport For All (UISP) as well as the Italian Federation of Friends of the Bicycle, a non-profit organization which is full member of the European Cyclists' Federation. Figure 2 - Brochure of the Euroepan Resercers Night in Cesena 3/6
THE 5 TH INTERNATIONAL https://events.unibo.it/icsc2016 CYCLING SAFETY CONFERENCE The 5 th edition of the International Cycling Safety Conference (ICSC) took place in Bologna (Italy) on November 3rd- 4th, 2016. The International Cycling Safety Conference (ICSC) is a forum for researchers and experts, from human factors experts to engineers, in the field of cycling safety to exchange their knowledge and bring up new research topics or safety solutions. The conference started as a Dutch initiative of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, TNO, Fietsberaad (Dutch center of expertise on bicycle policy), SWOV and Delft University of Technology and this year the conference was hold in Bologna, Italy. The conference was an opportunity to discuss very different topics: cyclists' safety-related behaviors and attitudes, bicycle accident causation, bicycle accident prevention, active safety systems, medical aspects of bicycle accidents, cyclists' injury prevention, cycling infrastructures, cycling education, naturalistic cycling, interaction between cyclists and cars/trucks, helmet use, cyclists impairment, distraction and inattention, bicycle engineering including intelligent technology, and safe cycling in cities. This year, the conference hosted a Special Session devoted to projects funded by the Horizon 2020 framework programme aimed at improving the safety and comfort of Vulnerable Road Users. The session has been chaired by Marcel Rommerts, Head of Unit of the Transport Research from the European Commission. One keynote speaker. Mr. Oliver Carsten, from the University of Leeds, talked about the implication of automated vehicles on cycling safety. The day before the conference, the 2nd Workshop on Naturalistic Cycling Analysis took place. This workshop was an initiative from Chalmers and is sponsored by SAFER. The workshop included presentations and group discussions on several topics, addressing human factors and engineering for the collection and analysis of naturalistic cycling data. The ICSC has been organized by the Department of Psychology of the University of Bologna, under the patronage of the Municipality of Bologna and with the sponsorship of Volvo and SAFER. More info can be found at http://cyclingsafety.net/ https://events.unibo.it/icsc2016 https://events.unibo.it/icsc2016 Figure 3 - Speakers from the Consortium presents project s intermediate results at the ICSC 2016 conference 4/6
Bicyclist Green Wave - Human factors - Arjan Stuiver (University of Groningen) Contributing factors to bicycle-motorized vehicle collisions: A systematic literature review - de Angelis, M., Prati, G., Marín Puchades, V., Fraboni, F., Pietrantoni, L. (UNIBO) Red-light running behaviours of cyclists in Italy: An observational study - Fraboni, F., Marín Puchades, V., de Angelis, M., Pietrantoni, L., Prati, G. (UNIBO) https://events.unibo.it/icsc2016/book-of-abstracts Smartphone Specific Violations and Near Crashes among Italian Cyclists - Marín Puchades, V., Pietrantoni, L., Fraboni, F., de Angelis, M., Prati, G. (UNIBO) Project : special session on Eu-Funded Projects - UNIBO Increasing cyclist safety with infrastructural supported cooperative ADAS in EU by extending test site AIM Research Intersection - DLR & Jenoptik Figure 4 - The ICSC 2016 Book of Abstracts NEXT STEPS The Consortium will be fully engaged in the refinement and further development of the subsystems. Integration is up next and this activity will demonstrate the benefits of a cooperative system for improving cycling safety and road sharing. A Consortium meeting is planned for mid-march in Braunschweig (Germany). Figure 5 - The team Check our website to get the news about our upcoming 1 st Workshop. Date and location to be announced soon! 5/6
THE CONSORTIUM WISHES YOU WARM HOLIDAYS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! http:///home/index Project Coordinator Prof. Luca Pietrantoni Department of Psychology, University of Bologna via Berti Pichat, 5-40126 BOLOGNA (BO) luca.pietrantoni@unibo.it Dissemination Manager KITE Team KITE Solutions s.r.l. via Cavour, 43-21100 Varese xcycle@kitesolutions.it 6/6