The main vision of InFLOWence is to take advantage of the predictable market penetration of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) in short-medium term to influence, in a positive way, the performance of the road transport system in terms of congestion, energy consumption and pollutant emissions. This will be achieved through the development of a prototype of a digital mapping platform incorporating advanced link-based performance functions to support eco driving commands for CAVs.
The first objective of InFLOWence is anticipating changes in transport demand and mobility patterns due to market penetration of CAVs in Portugal. This analysis will be conducted through advanced statistical tools to determine the key factors that can change mobility patterns. Then, for different scenarios of CAVs market penetration, a set of strategic tactical decisions (route selection) and operational eco driving decisions (vehicle dynamics) will be assessed.
At the end of the project, a computational framework will be capable of determining effective actions for autonomous vehicles, taking into account diverse levels of market penetration and different levels of connectivity with the infrastructure. The results will be evaluated through a rigorous environmental (air quality) and economic evaluation of the various actions.
InFLOWence will support policy makers to prioritize cooperative ITS systems, whose impact is most beneficial from the environmental point of view.