As a highly technology-focused project, OMICRON needs to ensure that its solutions are ready to be deployed in real-life situations. Thus the project will test each technology separately, as well as multiple solutions and the final Intelligent Road Management Platform altogether.
OMICRON plans to execute five demonstrations. The first one is a virtual technical demonstrator for the smart construction of bridge overpasses. Three of them will take place on different motorways in Spain. Last but not least, the final demonstrator that will test multiple OMICRON technologies will be performed in the A24 motorway in Italy.
With this demonstration methodology, the project will ensure its technologies are ready to be deployed in operational environments anywhere across the European motorway network.
1. Virtual demonstration: smart construction of bridge overpasses
This virtual demonstration will be performed with a digital representation of real-life bridge construction with all its physical and functional characteristics. An already existing bridge will be monitored to understand its behaviour (A3, Maia/Santo Tirso’s branch, Porto, Portugal). Using this information, a new bridge will be designed applying the OMICRON technologies and it will be tested in-lab with scaled models. The demonstration will develop a solution for the widening of a similar bridge over the A3 in Portugal (Overpass 038, A3, Santo Tirso Interchange).
Output
Validated methodology and detailed BIM model of the new solution (TRL 5).
2. Technical demonstrator: A-2 Guadalajara, Spain
The A-2 is a motorway starting from the Northeast of Madrid, that has high volumes of traffic every day. This makes an ideal site to demonstrate the V2X communication technologies and the inspection vehicle. This demonstrator will serve as a final test of the integration of the inspection vehicle technologies and the V2X communications, which will ensure appropriate replicability in the final demonstrator. Furthermore, the data captured here will help train the Artificial Intelligence technologies needed to compute specific road parameters.
Output
Integration of inspection and related digital technologies for final demonstrator (TRL 7).
3. Technical demonstrator: A-92 Seville, Spain
This demonstrator will be held to test the pavement treatment, extension and compaction technologies that are to be developed in OMICRON in order to support road pavement interventions. As part of the Mediterranean corridor, the A-92 Highway is ideal to check the influence of weather conditions and locally available materials on the replaced pavement performance. This validation will provide an opportunity to observe construction from start to finish and gain useful insights for further applications.
Output
Improved intervention times and execution quality for the final demonstrator (TRL 7).
4. Technical demonstrator: A-7 Valencia, Spain
The demonstrator will be held to test the surface pavement layer crack sealing technologies that are part of the Modular Robotic Platform developed in OMICRON. This will take place in the A-7 highway (Mediterranean corridor), in particular along the belt surrounding the first crown of Valencia’s metropolitan area. This section has considerable volumes of daily traffic, including more than 20,000 trucks every day, thus heavy stresses producing many cracks.
Output
Improved intervention times and execution quality for the final demonstrator (TRL 7).
Final demonstrator: A1 Florence-Bologna, Italy
The final demonstrator will be performed in the section of the A1 between Florence and Bologna in Italy, as part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor. This final demonstrator will test OMICRON’s Intelligent Platform including most of the technologies and digital developments using information coming from previous demonstrators. The A1 is operated by Autostrade per l’Italia and is the perfect location to demonstrate the portfolio of OMICRON solutions as the project will be able to test the technologies under real road conditions. The road includes bridges, tunnels and all the necessary sites to test our technologies.
Output
Final results from OMICRON’s Intelligent Platform to be evaluated and compared to the expected impact of the project (TRL 7).
