Holistic Solutions for Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Integration in Critical Scenarios

Expected Outcome:Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:Detailed clustered collection of critical use cases and scenarios based on the findings of former or current national and international research projects, as well as the identification of missing aspects.In-depth analysis of stakeholders that may be affected by critical situations and edge cases and that have high interest and/or influence in resolving these situations through their capabilities. Availability of real-time holistic situation interpretation services addressing the respective needs of road users of all kinds, road operators, service providers and related perspectives, as well as its social participation and technological integration, i.e. the role of each technological component in the overall system-of-systems.Availability of a “local deconflicting CCAM architecture” that detects and deconflicts corner case situations (automatically through active and passive technologies or by including remote operation techniques). This includes the capability from online calculation of optimal countermeasures to ensure safety, and reduce any negative impacts on all road users, by considering available infrastructure (including also automated and connected digital components, like sensors, intelligent traffic control systems, cooperative communication), and overall conditions. Such an architecture also needs to address relevant requirements, particularly in technology and near and far communications, outlining the technical standards and investments necessary for risk mitigation. These may include solutions to increase road users’ situational awareness and the provision of reliable, accurate and timely warnings.Establishment of working methods and harmonization of interfaces with national/local road authorities, operators and emergency services (e.g. first responders in case of accidents), including remote operations and road enforcement. The aim must be the creation or adaption of decision-support tools that can be integrated with mobility platforms, traffic control systems, and emergency services. This also includes the definition of related shared governance models. Understanding of the requirements for public road authorities (national and local) to address CCAM critical cases, defining their role in supporting and enabling CCAM operations.Enhanced user acceptance through holistic CCAM solutions addressing their individual needs and requirements as e.g. road user, customer, operator, service provider, etc., in terms of trust, safety, security, etc. Scope:Based on the preliminary and final findings of HEADSTART[1], SUNRISE[2], EVENTS[3], ROADVIEW[4] and SYNERGIES[5] (among others), this call is focussing on CCAM solutions for critical cases, specifically situations and events that are less regular and of higher risk. These cases may also include emergency conditions and unplanned events, on local and on larger (regional, national, European) scale, such as extreme weather conditions, road incidents, cyberattacks, traffic disruptions, and sudden loss of coverage of the Operational Design Domain (ODD).CCAM operations may be disturbed under multiple scenarios, and can vary according to the type of road, road attributes, traffic conditions, available infrastructure and technology, malfunctions, incidents, etc. Depending on the specific circumstances and the dimension of the disturbance, the impact on CCAM operations and involved agents (e.g. road users, vehicles, VRUs, infrastructure components, emergency services, operators) may vary. According to the case and the dimension of the incident, different entities and actors of the CCAM system (and even beyond, e.g. regulatory bodies and emergency and crisis response centres) are involved and may need to take part to resolve these events in a resilient, safe and secure way.This call adopts a holistic approach, investigating critical cases not only from technological/infrastructure or vehicle-related perspectives (e.g., edge cases for automated vehicles) but also from the viewpoint of the user, customer, service provider, authority, city, etc. In particular, the focus is on how the CCAM system addresses and mitigates potential negative consequences of such events, including safety risks, emissions, loss of trust, and similar impacts. Proposed actions are expected to address all of the following aspects:Development of a clustered list of critical scenarios, impacted entities, role and relation of all stakeholders, the estimated impact and the optimal kind of CCAM-based countermeasure.Development and testing of tools and services for the detection of critical situations and edge cases, also based on the tools and approaches for robust environment perception done in HORIZON-CL5-2026-10-D6-02.Development and testing of CCAM-based countermeasure solutions. Where applicable, the use of artificial intelligence methods and digital infrastructure support should be considered, aligned also to the tools and approaches for robust decision making done in HORIZON-CL5-2026-10-D6-02. The solutions also should reference common EU Emergency Response Protocols, e.g. for first responders. Also, the creation of decision-support tools and the integration of those into mobility platforms, traffic control systems, and emergency services must be considered. In general, customer/user understanding and trust in the CCAM system is crucial in the adoption of a new service. In building trust, it is vital to take into consideration the user perspective and investigate how critical cases can be managed in a way that is effective for the improvement of customer perception.Validation and evaluation of solutions in terms of resulting risk reduction and potential negative impacts of critical cases. Solutions will need to be targeted against the scenarios identified and the stakeholders affected and would aim to either eliminate the risk to the service resilience or reduce its likeli