On 27 November, Globalvia and Concesiones de Madrid officially launched the Smart45 project on the M45 motorway with the installation of the first 40 sensors along a 200-metre stretch of the right lane, which can be extended to the entire carriageway by one kilometre.
These sensors detect and classify vehicles and collect data on their trajectory, information that is received in real time by the Concessionaire’s own control centre.
This project will allow Globalvia to carry out a more efficient operation and will be a pioneer in real-time traffic management. In the event of any accident, among other things, the Madrid Concessions control centre can make quicker decisions, as the information arrives in real time. On the other hand, the sensor will change colour in critical situations (e.g. congestion, accident or incident), thus warning the driver on the road.
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For this project, Globalvia is working with Valerann, a startup that is revolutionising the world of infrastructures through technology.
In the future, it is expected that this technology will allow the user to be connected to the infrastructure via an app, through which they would receive information from the sensors in advance, as well as information on the state of the road. For example, before leaving home, the user could know if there is ice on the road in order to take the appropriate measures before setting off on their journey.
In a second phase of the project, which is estimated to last 2 years in total, the CSIC research centre will collaborate with Globalvia by driving its autonomous vehicle on the pilot section. The aim of this collaboration is twofold, starting by detecting the weaknesses of autonomous driving without connecting to the infrastructure and measuring to what extent the infrastructure can support this technological leap.
With this project, Globalvia is preparing to have its infrastructures ready to allow the most autonomous driving possible as soon as this becomes a reality.
Congratulations to all the team involved in the Smart45 project for helping to drive innovation at Globalvia!
