The main aim and objective of WISE-ACT is to investigate the wider impacts of Autonomous and Connected Transport, and to describe the best practice on how to evaluate them.
Several specific objectives contribute to address this overarching aim.
Research Coordination objectives
- Develop common terminology about ACT across Europe which will be facilitated through an online glossary. It is observed that language and culture across countries and industries play a vital role in understanding key transport notions, so it is useful to develop and use such a glossary to establish common vocabulary.
- Co-ordinate trials and share know-how across diverse localities to highlight best practice in Europe and beyond. Given that a series of AV trials will take place during the forthcoming years, it is important to coordinate activities and generate comparable outputs based on common research design features.
- Compare simulation results and end user preferences from diverse settings to develop plausible scenarios for ACT deployment. This objective requires deep knowledge of the demand and supply sides of transport networks. Use values from diverse trials in simulations are needed to contrast findings and progress from corridor-based to network-based planning.
- Roadmap about the wider impacts of ACT deployment to inform policy makers and regulators about the current and future requirements regarding the formulation of relevant
standards. Outputs will align diverse policy targets and may be also used by the automotive industry or local authorities hosting ACT trials. - Identify and evaluate viable business models for the passenger and freight transport industry. This will include collaboration with local and national authorities to identify value creation activities including those linked with privacy and data management. It will be of value to both the public and private sectors.
- Assess user acceptability and inform the general public and key stakeholders about the opportunities and risks of ACT. This will facilitate formal and informal debates to take place and can
increase acceptability of ACT.
Capacity Building objectives
- Build a community fostering scientific dialogue, knowledge exchange and the development of a consolidated thematic framework about the wider impacts of ACT by experts from multiple disciplines and Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITCs). Success will be measured by the number of members and disciplines included in the community at the end of the Action.
- Support Early Career Investigators (ECIs), while promoting gender balance, through a multidisciplinary training programme focusing on the enhancement of methodological, analytical, communication and research portfolio building skills. This will be measured by the number of ECIs (and male/female ratio) participating in training schools and Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) of this Action, including relevant scientific outputs produced.
- Bridge distinct scientific fields (e.g. legal informatics with transport economics and engineering) through STSMs to achieve a breakthrough in the development of appropriate standards and regulations for ACT which requires an interdisciplinary approach. This will be measured by the number of STSMs which generated input for the White Paper.
- Act as a transnational stakeholder platform which will provide evidence based recommendations to academics, practitioners and policy makers about the deployment of ACT. This will be measured by the output documents’ downloads requested through the Action website.
