Designing Effective HMIs for Automated Vehicles
As vehicles become increasingly automated, the role of the human changes from driver to supervisor and, at higher levels of automation, to passenger. This transition also changes the role of the human–machine interface (HMI). Rather than simply displaying vehicle information, the HMI becomes an important communication channel between the automated driving system and the people inside the vehicle.
Imagine an autonomous vehicle (AV) approaching an intersection. The vehicle has to stay within its lane, identify which turns are allowed, and interact with pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles. All of this is done through the technology embedded into the vehicle’s system. However, the road and the physical infrastructure in which the vehicle operates can make this task easier or harder. Faded markings, an obscured sign, or even an unusual intersection design can add uncertainty at a critical moment.
For road authorities, this raises a practical question: how well does existing infrastructure support the safe operation of AVs?
Readiness depends on the road and its context
For those who did not have the opportunity to attend the ITS European Congress in Istanbul (27–29 April 2026), the webinar “The EU Projects behind the Demo Vehicles” offered a live window into the Demo Area on the opening day. Broadcast directly from the demonstration zone, the session was designed to showcase the European research projects behind the vehicles on display – including FRODDO – and explain how they collectively bring connected and automated mobility solutions to life during the Congress.
In FRODDO, the digital twin technology is transforming how we design, test and improve the future of CCAM mobility. By creating dynamic virtual replicas of real-world environments, digital twins enable researchers and stakeholders to anticipate challenges and explore solutions in a safe and controlled way.
Each FRODDO pilot is embedded in a specific context, addressing distinct challenges such as sensor integration, real-time traffic management, early warning system, AI-driven adaptation, and digital twin deployment. For each pilot site, the digital twin is tailored to its environment while contributing to a shared ambition: making mobility safer, smarter and more human-centric.
Autonomous cargo mobility is no longer just a future concept. It is steadily becoming a practical answer to one of the biggest challenges in modern transport and logistics: how to move goods more safely, efficiently, and intelligently in environments that are increasingly complex and fast-paced.
Roads are an unpredictable environment where potential dangers can occur at any moment—from drivers getting distracted or driving aggressively to unexpected pedestrian behavior, sudden traffic congestion, and slippery roads after a quick rain. Today, vehicles are becoming smarter and safer, with built-in sensors that can detect nearby risks in zero time. However, road safety should not depend on a single vehicle’s perspective, but rather on an interconnected ecosystem of multiple vehicles, smart roadside infrastructure, traffic centers, and multiple external data sources. The FRODDO Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) ecosystem brings these sources together and allows the detection of risks that no single vehicle could identify on its own.
This International Women’s Day, the FRODDO consortium proudly celebrated the remarkable women shaping the future of mobility and transport innovation.
Through the “Women Behind the Wheel of Innovation” campaign, we bring forward the voices, experiences and perspectives of women across the consortium, highlighting their role in advancing Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM). From research and engineering to communication and innovation management, these women are driving progress toward safer, smarter and more inclusive mobility systems, while inspiring future generations to confidently pursue their place both in the mobility sector and behind the wheel.
Across research, technology and industry, women are playing a key role in designing mobility solutions that benefit everyone.
In FRODDO, we are dedicated to shaping the future of automated and connected mobility. To this end, all partners actively contribute to FRODDO’s exploitation activities, ensuring both short-term and long-term valorisation of the knowledge generated. To further reinforce these activities, the project has recently activated the Horizon Results Booster service; an initiative from the European Commission to enhance exploitation and dissemination activities of EU-funded projects.
ITML leads and coordinates exploitation activities, facilitating communication between contributing partners and the external Horizon Results Booster experts.
Progress so Far: From Results to Strategy
Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM) offers the opportunity to improve traffic safety for all users and alleviate congestion. The European Union’s FRODDO Project aims to address the Operational Design Domain (ODD) issue by expanding the envelope within which a CCAM system can operate without human intervention. Frontier Innovations, in its capacity as one of the FRODDO Project Partners, examines the limitations of current CCAM system ODDs by studying both the current standards regarding Automated Driving System ODDs, as well as cutting-edge research, develops ways to predict when a CCAM system will find itself outside its ODD and thereby require human intervention, and develops behavioral models that allow CCAM to predict the actions of other road users, which enables safe and efficient interactions within a complex traffic environment.
The Digital Twin concept, initially introduced in the 1960s has experienced rapid uptake at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Over the last two decades,s is has evolved from a simple virtual replica mostly used in manufacturing to complex, real-time, AI-driven systems able to model cities, critical infrastructures, buildings, and traffic.
Digital Twin and CCAM
On May 15th, 2025, the FRODDO project was prominently featured at the Artificial Intelligence for Road Safety and Mobility Scientific Workshop, held in Athens and online. Dr. Panagiotis Fafoutellis from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) delivered a comprehensive presentation of FRODDO, showcasing the project’s innovative work in AI-assisted traffic management and smart mobility.
The workshop, organized by the NTUA Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering, brought together experts, researchers, and stakeholders from across Europe, with more than 20 research projects presented throughout the day. The event provided an excellent platform for sharing cutting-edge research and exchanging knowledge on how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of road safety and mobility.
In the transport system of the future, and before the full integration of autonomous vehicles (AVs), mixed traffic conditions involving both AVs and human-driven vehicles will coexist. In these transitional phases, traffic management strategies should be able to adapt to all users’ requirements and their effectiveness will be essential to maintain traffic flow and safety. Such TMS may refer to vehicle platooning—where AVs and human-driven vehicles travel in close, coordinated formations— or dynamic lane reversal strategies – where a specific part of the road changes its use based on the dynamic demand. This need is particularly crucial during non-recurrent events on the network, such as roadworks, accidents, and temporary lane closures.
Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications can be extremely useful in improving the safety of all road users. Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility approaches, such as those promoted by the CCAM consortium, allow the data received from on-board vehicle sensors to be complemented with information from vehicles outside the range of the sensors, thus improving the perception of ADAS systems and their ability to react promptly to dangerous conditions and prevent damage.
