The shortage of drivers in Europe has reached critical levels, with over 230,000 vacancies. Concurrently, road freight transport is expected to increase by 35% by 2050. This situation has driven the transport industry to seek innovative solutions to enhance safety and efficiency. One such solution is the Modi project, a European initiative involving 34 public and private organizations, aiming to accelerate the introduction of connected, cooperative, and automated mobility in logistics.
In this experimental phase, Modi has begun data collection along the Ten-T corridor between Rotterdam and Oslo, conducted by Gruber Logistics and Daf Trucks, in collaboration with a group of Norwegian IT companies, including Q-Free and Sintef. The program involves the use of an industrial vehicle equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and state-of-the-art sensors. Q-Free has outfitted the vehicle with devices and cameras to gather essential information during transport. Data collected so far includes the quality of road markings, the recognition of vertical signage, and the quality of the 5G connection along the route.
Crossing borders between countries with different infrastructures presents a significant challenge. Digital mapping of varying road conditions and traffic rules is the first step towards creating an efficient autonomous driving system. For this task, Sintef will process the data to assess whether the route's quality is sufficient for Level 4 automated driving, where the vehicle can handle all driving functions autonomously under certain conditions.
