The Horizon Europe doctoral network IVORY “AI for Vision Zero in Road Safety” being coordinated by TU Delft | Technology, Policy and Management, had its kick off meeting in Delft last week.
IVORY aims to develop a new framework for the optimal integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in road safety research and train a new generation of leading researchers in the field to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals Target 3.6 to halve the number of traffic fatalities by 2030, and the European Commission (EC) ‘Vision Zero’ Strategy to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2050.
IVORY will bring together academia, industry and policy to address three main research goals:
- to develop responsible and fair AI for road safety
- to support user/vehicle/road interaction with AI
- to use AI for proactive and scalable infrastructure safety management
It will have four academic and eight non-academic beneficiaries, as well as eight associated partners, joining from engineering, data science and ethics of technology disciplines in 10 countries. Thirteen (13) researchers will be trained on new responsible AI applications for road user assistance and infrastructure safety management, and a sustainable learning and networking platform will be created.
Despite its potential, AI is relatively underdeveloped in road safety compared to other domains. It is driven mostly by the industry in a relatively scattered way, lacking common objectives.
The UN and the EC have both emphasised the gap between technology and engineering in harnessing the potential of AI for mitigating risk on the roads.
Moreover, the focus of AI research and innovation has been primarily centred on the deployment of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), resulting in unequal opportunities for most countries around the globe which are not automation-ready, while also suffering a disproportionate burden of road traffic casualties.
A ‘silos’ effect in the training of researchers and professionals between the sectors (academia, industry and policy) and disciplines involving AI (engineering, data science and the ethics of technology) have resulted in a lack of common understanding of the broader challenges and opportunities of AI for road safety.
IVORY outputs will not only provide more robust user support through AI in vehicle automation, but will also allow for the more responsible and proactive management of the persistent problems of existing, conventional, low automation transport systems, so that new opportunities for global road safety impact can emerge.
IVORY will take a design for values approach for AI in road safety, operationalising the ethical principles of justice and explainability, and providing efficient AI solutions for disadvantaged groups such as vulnerable road users and road users in low-to-middle-income countries.
Consortium partners include the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Hasselt University, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, University of Zagreb (FPZ), Oseven, PSA Automobiles S.A., Cegeka, Abeona, Cardioid Technologies LDA, Royal HaskoningDHV, TNO, FRED Engineering, European Institute of Road Assessment (EIRA), Traffic Injury Research Foundation of Canada (TIRF), Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa (ISDL), Transport for West Midlands (TFWM), Infranea, Agilysis Ltd, International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP), LAB (Groupement D’interet Economique Derecherches Et D’etudes PSA Renault) and Citymesh.
Fifteen (15) PhD positions on AI for road safety will be advertised soon.
For more information on the project, visit https://ivory-network.eu/
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