SafeRoadWorks:Safe highway construction sites

The following measures are planned to achieve this goal:

• Gaining insights into which construction site configurations cause increased stress for drivers and how this can be mitigated,
• Developing methods to deliver real-time safety messages to workers in danger,
• Identifying deviations in the current construction site configuration from the originally approved plan,
• Increasing the risk awareness of workers, road inspectors, and drivers.

To achieve these objectives, the following prototypes are planned:

• TMWS (Traffic Monitoring & Warning System) – a real-time traffic monitoring system capable of identifying critical scenarios at neuralgic construction site locations (e.g., construction site beginning, highway entrances and exits),
• CSRS (Construction Site Revision System) – a camera-based system for detecting relevant road objects (e.g., lane markings, traffic cones, traffic signs) to assess the current construction site configuration during daily inspections,
• XR-Sim – conducting Extended Reality (XR) simulation experiments with real construction site configurations and dynamic scenarios to identify particularly stressful situations based on biometric measurements.

To achieve technological sovereignty in the mobility sector, innovations in the field of AI, and particularly datasets tailored to the needs of the EU and compliant with data protection regulations, are important. SafeRoadWorks contributes to technological sovereignty by using hardware and software from the EU and publishing the results (development of a European dataset for camera sensor data) as part of this project. On the other hand, the number of accidents related to highway construction sites is to be reduced for both drivers and workers. Drivers will benefit from construction site planning optimized for stress reduction and improved guidance in the construction area. Workers will receive targeted notifications when critical situations could occur.

Partners

The project consortium comprises 5 partners: RISC Software GmbH (consortium leader), Autobahnen- und Schnellstraßen-Finanzierungs-Aktiengesellschaft (ASFINAG), EYYES GmbH (EYYES), Österreichischer Automobil-, Motorrad- und Touring Club (ÖAMTC), and Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH (ViF). The consortium combines competencies and prior experience in various areas, such as data management, data analysis (image processing and trustworthy AI), planning and execution of road construction works, edge computing, XR simulations, and conducting test studies.

(C) ASFINAG

Project Partners

Contact Person

Project Lead

Dr. Roxana Holom, MSc

Data Science Project Manager & Researcher