SafeRoadWorks: Safe highway construction sites

To achieve this goal, SafeRoadWorks relies on several measures:

• The project team is investigating which construction site configurations cause stress among drivers and how this can be reduced.
• It develops methods to notify workers in danger with real-time safety messages.
• At the same time, the team identifies deviations between the current construction site configuration and the approved planning.
• The project also raises risk awareness among workers, road inspectors and drivers.

Three prototypes are being created to implement the measures:

• TMWS (Traffic Monitoring & Warning System): This real-time traffic monitoring system detects critical scenarios at neuralgic construction site locations such as the start of construction sites or freeway slip roads. This allows dangerous situations to be recognized at an early stage.
• CSRS (Construction Site Revision System): The camera-based system recognizes relevant road objects such as road markings, traffic cones or traffic signs. This enables it to evaluate the current construction site configuration during the daily inspection.
• XR-Sim: Extended reality simulation experiments are used to simulate real construction site configurations and dynamic scenarios. Biometric measurements help to identify particularly stressful situations.

Innovations in the field of artificial intelligence are needed to achieve technological sovereignty in the mobility sector. Data sets that are tailored to the needs of the EU and at the same time comply with data protection regulations are particularly important. SafeRoadWorks makes an active contribution to this. The initiative uses hardware and software from the EU and also publishes the results, including a European dataset for camera sensor data.

The initiative also reduces the number of accidents associated with highway construction sites. Drivers benefit from stress-reduced roadworks planning and clearer instructions in the roadworks area. At the same time, workers receive targeted notifications as soon as critical situations arise, significantly increasing safety for everyone involved.

Partner

The project consortium consists of five partners: RISC Software GmbH as consortium leader, Autobahnen- und Schnellstraßen-Finanzierungs-Aktiengesellschaft (ASFINAG), EYYES GmbH, the Austrian Automobile, Motorcycle and Touring Club (ÖAMTC) and Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH (ViF). Together, they are pooling their strengths and working closely together to achieve the project goals efficiently.

Each organization contributes specific expertise and valuable previous experience. The consortium thus covers a broad spectrum: from data management and data analysis – particularly in the areas of image processing and trustworthy AI – to the planning and implementation of road construction work, edge computing, XR simulations and the implementation of test studies. This diverse expertise not only results in innovative solutions, but also a particularly high level of quality in the implementation of project content.

(C) ASFINAG

Project partners

Ansprechperson

Project management

Dr. Roxana Holom, MSc

Data Science Project Manager & Researcher