Intelligent Infrastructure for Automated and Connected Mobility

In autotech.agil, we are working on the technical foundations for comprehensive interconnection of all road users with each other and with innovative infrastructure components.

We are developing control centers that are responsible for monitoring and influencing traffic in defined areas, such as a municipality. This is where sovereign tasks are coordinated. These include traffic management, traffic monitoring and the coordination of emergency measures. The control rooms we develop, on the other hand, are responsible for the safe operation of vehicles within their respective fleets. They represent “technical supervision” in the sense of the Road Traffic Act. Here, people monitor the vehicles of a fleet and intervene as needed through teleoperation.

We are also developing stationary and mobile sensor-based roadside units that use advanced sensor technology to detect and analyze a road section and share information with vehicles via V2X technology. These units are strategically placed at locations that are particularly challenging for automated vehicles. They create a so-called “digital twin,” a digital representation of the real-world traffic situation. By providing real-time data, the situational awareness of road users is improved and expanded. In addition, the digital twin can be used by control rooms and control centers as a basis for decision-making. In autotech.agil, three test fields in Aachen, Munich and Ulm are connected to the digital twin via standardized interfaces.

To coordinate complex software systems in the IT infrastructure of future mobility systems, we have developed tools for orchestrating software in vehicles, roadside units, edge servers and data centers. We support the outsourcing of functions as well as collective functions in which vehicles cooperate via an external server. In addition, we develop software components for targeted data collection, in particular to enable the continuous evaluation and further development of AI applications.

Overall, the advanced infrastructure we have developed lays the foundation for highly connected and automated mobility systems. Real-time data from vehicles and sensor-based roadside units as the basis for a digital twin enable precise traffic support, monitoring and control. With the help of continuously improved AI models, automated vehicles can operate safely over the long term, while control centers and control rooms can monitor, control and intervene in the transportation system and vehicle fleets as needed. This contributes to efficient, safe and sustainable mobility.