Autostrade con strumenti di controllo intelligenti

Autostrade Intelligenti

Motorways capable of communicating with self-driving cars and providing drivers with safety information; sensors and lights that can automatically detect accidents and communicate with the relevant authorities via a centralised platform; high-definition cameras that read the number plates of passing vehicles and monitor traffic in real time; smart service areas, motorway toll booths that recover energy from braking vehicles; drones that monitor traffic or keep an eye on the infrastructure’s health; pavement that ‘talks’ with the operators through sensors, to determine the ideal maintenance schedule.

All the tools put in place by Autostrade per l'Italia to make the network it manages safer, smarter and more sustainable.

C-ITS and 5G systems for autonomous driving vehicles

The C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transport System) is at the heart of smart roads, and it allows set-up vehicles and the infrastructure to communicate. The system is based on a series of antennas, scattered along the road network, and receiving data from the vehicles regarding their position, speed, etc. The Traffic Control Centre can integrate this data with other information and warn users about abnormal traffic, adverse weather conditions, the presence of stationary vehicles in the roadway, roadworks, and the opening or closing of motorway lanes. In the case of self-driving vehicles, this information will be essential to the vehicle to make safe choices.

Smart service areas

New-generation, smart service areas will be digitised systems capable of analysing traffic data flows to inform drivers in advance about the services available (e.g. the number of free parking spaces), and to protect the travellers’ safety while in the area. Just like smart roads, they are based on IoT technologies, sensors and algorithms capable of detecting the number and type of vehicles in the service area, their dwell times, how crowded refreshment stops are, and the drivers movement patterns, and then feed this information back to users via infomobility systems.

Falco: drone traffic monitoring

The use of remotely piloted drones supports smart systems in traffic monitoring. This system is especially useful on motorway stretches with a limited number of cameras. Autostrade per l'Italia's Falco system drones can be used for traffic control and to detect accidents or stationary vehicles along the roadway. The collected video streams reach the Traffic Control Centre in real time, and provide reports also on daytime and night-time construction site progress, road signs, the exact extent of traffic jams, the state of pavements and greenery, and the passage of exceptional transports.

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Kinetic Energy Harvesting

Exploiting the passage of decelerating vehicles to generate energy and power toll booths and service areas, improving environmental sustainability: this is KEHV, Kinetic Energy Harvesting from Vehicles, the system developed by Autostrade per l'Italia that uses kinetic carpets near motorway toll booths or rest stop junctions, which transform the kinetic energy generated by decelerating vehicles passing by into energy to power different units, such tool booths, lighting, signs and even e-vehicle charging stations.

Smart lighting

The new smart LED grazing light systems ensure uniform roadway lighting, improving safety and driving comfort, and lowering fuel consumption. They adapt to road conditions and warn users in case of danger with special light configurations. Not only that: the spotlights are also IoT devices connected to the traffic management platform, to which they can report accidents, traffic jams, stationary or wrong-lane vehicles, or adverse weather conditions.