PoDIUM – Accelerating the implementation of Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility technology

Automated and connected mobility needs a strong foundation to succeed. This is where the Horizon Europe research project PoDIUM comes in: it explores how Physical and Digital Infrastructure (PDI), alongside communication technologies, can help bring Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) to the road. Three Living Labs in Germany, Spain and Italy combine real traffic conditions with advanced technological approaches, demonstrated through innovative Use Cases.

At the heart of the project lies a key question: What must infrastructure look like to allow automated vehicles to operate safely, reliably, and cooperatively? Beyond sensors or vehicle communication, this also requires ensuring data provision and quality, harmonising interface standards, and coordinating stakeholders, from vehicle manufacturers and telecommunication providers to public authorities and road operators.

PoDIUM is – amongst others – advancing research in: (i) multi-connectivity for PDI and (ii) advanced data fusion and the integration of Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) into dynamic Digital Twin models. These are demonstrated in the project’s five use cases, three of which are highlighted below.

Navigating urban intersections in Ulm, Germany

In Ulm, PoDIUM investigates how cooperative local environment models can improve traffic safety and efficiency in urban environments. The test site features sensors installed on lampposts in a T-junction where one lane is blocked, forcing users to share one lane to pass the obstacle.

To navigate this, a central environment model hosted on a MEC server and roadside unit (RSU) collects data via standardised messages (e.g., VAM, CPM, CAM) from the environment and road users, including Connected Vehicles (CVs), Connected Automated Vehicles (CAVs) of automation levels L2 to L4, and Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs). A planer then coordinates cooperative connected road users from both directions.

Communication and seamless data exchange is crucial and allows for real-world testing of cooperative driving maneuvers with CAVs and VRUs, showcasing how infrastructure-supported communication can improve safety and situational awareness.

Optimising traffic in and around Barcelona, Spain

In Barcelona, real-time vehicle data is integrated with infrastructure to test CCAM functionalities that could transform city mobility and highway traffic.

One application focuses on emergency vehicle prioritisation. Vehicles equipped with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) transmit their location using Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAMs) to the traffic management system, which adjusts traffic lights to create a safe corridor for emergency vehicles while nearby connected vehicles receive Decentralised Environmental Notification Messages (DENMs) prompting them to yield.

Another innovation leverages CAMs to generates traffic metrics such as origin-destination flows, travel times, and delays, which are fed into a Digital Twin modelling the traffic state in real time. The system then issues DENMs to drivers to avoid incidents.

Finally, on the C32 highway, live data from CAVs, roadside cameras, and external sources are used to keep traffic flowing safely and smoothly

Making tunnels accessible in Autostrada del Brennero (A22), Italy

Tunnels pose safety challenges due to their confined nature and lack of GNSS signal. On the Brenner Motorway, PoDIUM deploys an innovative C-ITS solution to monitor traffic, assess risk, and support CAVs before and inside the tunnel.

Roadside sensors at the tunnel entrance and exit count and classify vehicles, feeding a Digital Twin to compute real-time risks and issue warnings. Inside the tunnel, where GNSS is unavailable, an infrastructure-based positioning solution based on trilateration of V2X signals from the vehicle and RSUs is combined with an on-board dead-reckoning system using frontal perception sensors, a high-definition map, and an inertial measurement unit. These technologies allow CAVs to accurately follow infrastructure guidance while maintaining cooperative awareness through V2V communication.

PoDIUM platform architecture

The high-level PoDIUM reference architecture (Figure 1) forms the framework to implement the innovations in the Living Labs. It integrates infrastructure sensors (together with a Sensor Processing Unit or operating independently) as well as Road-Side Units (RSUs) to offer communication and computation capabilities on the road level and the different platform services on the edge or cloud level. The basic communication technologies of PoDIUM are wired, cellular (5G-FR1 cm-wave, 5G-FR2 mm wave) and ad-hoc (60 GHz-WLAN, ITS-G5, SL-PC5) networks.

The project classifies the communication as either direct, hybrid or with multi-connectivity. The road is equipped with: RSUs, connected sensors connected to the system through SPUs or directly, and connected Traffic Lights (TLs). The supported road users are: legacy (non-connected) vehicles and other non-connected road users; connected VRUs with cellular User Equipment (UE); Connected conventional Vehicles (CV), connected Emergency Vehicles (EV) and Connected Automated Vehicles (CAV) with an On-Board Unit (OBU). The platform services are either hosted on a MEC server or on the central cloud based on latency requirements. To ensure the integrity of the software and exchanged CCAM data, a Trusted computing approach is developed on Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs). Many services depend on the digital twin, which fuses incoming information from different sources (e.g. C-ITS messages and infrastructure sensor data) into an enhanced environmental model. Since the system depends on reliable data, the PoDIUM architecture includes trust building and data truthfulness evaluation.

 

Figure 1: PoDIUM high-level platform architecture

 

Looking Ahead

The initial results from PoDIUM are clear: safe and efficient automated driving requires robust, redundant infrastructure, both physical and digital. Combining physical and digital infrastructure is a must to enable CCAM. With its strong consortium, PoDIUM is helping pave the way for safer, smarter, and more sustainable transportation.

PoDIUM demonstrates how infrastructure can significantly enhance CCAM. At the same time, it is important to ensure that CCAM services remain deployable without waiting for full infrastructure rollout. By combining strong onboard intelligence with targeted infrastructure support, Europe can advance quickly while still benefiting from the added safety and efficiency that infrastructure brings.