Cross-Border Interoperability for Cooperative, Connected, and Automated Driving

The implementation on a massive scale of safe, highly automated driving is very difficult using only information from ego vehicles, which are subject to visual horizon limitations. For automated driving systems to become a reality, it is essential to provide them with two fundamental elements, among others: connectivity and cooperative services. Both elements are still at a very early stage of development in communications technology and in the organization and generation of support information. In addition, extra difficulties are presented, such as transnational barriers to accessing services and exchanging information with other vehicles and infrastructure. This article presents the implementation of a novel architecture to support the integration of cooperative intelligent transportation systems in automated driving, including the results of cross-border interoperability tests carried out in three cooperative, connected, and automated driving (CCAD) pilots that were deployed in three cities belonging to the Trans-European Atlantic Corridor—Madrid, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; and Paris, France—under the framework of the European Regulation Study for Interoperability in the Adoption of Autonomous Driving in European Urban Nodes. These results show the performance of the CCAD architecture and have been analyzed to include a set of recommendations to ensure the successful deployment of CCAD driving at the European level.