UG4 Road Furniture & Services

The User Group 4 is led by Chalmers University.The main goal of this UG4 is the coordination of a contact database for research activities and organisations. This may take the form of a web based portal that provides data on organisation profiles using a simple search engine. A 5th Framework Project, INTRANSNET, http://www.intransnet.org, has been preparing a database for transportation research infrastructure. The ambition of this database can be applied to the research area in single vehicle collisions, post crash, and telematics but must go beyond the currentAPSN membership. The list must exploit the organisations in the candidate member states as well as the current EU member states. Assurances that the database is not misused by aggressive marketing can be avoided through the omission of client or funding organisations for the research facilities.

This activity will be introduced through a related workshop where the inventory activities can be presented to a group of related researchers. Word of mouth, mail, and e-mail application forms should be the route of data collection.

Accordingy, the UG4 activities are mainly focused on:

• Identification and priority listing of user needs & technology requirements (link with IP). The current user needs in single vehicle collisions and post crash activities can be extracted from the EVPSN2 activities in WP5. Telematics needs cross into the active safety area and probably should not be a primary focus in the group in the first phase. Essentially, single vehicle collisions are in need of better collision data and harmonised application tolls (simulation, crash test, guidelines) for European needs. These are under development in some of the listed EU projects ongoing.
• Synergetic analysis, e.g. transfer of design methodologies from automotive area to trains and vice versa. There is currently more gains to be made in the promoting cooperative research between automobile safety systems and the road infrastructure and post crash safety researchers. Links between the automotive and rail/aviation fields can currently provide limited benefit. Crash recorder technology and experience is one such case.
• Market preview. The market to be exploited is not the conventional consumer market, but the market of potential joint research. This market can partially be obtained by the inventory features listed above. In addition, end users such as road authorities, emergency rescue services, hospitals, etc. can be targeted for investigation.