WIVW WUERZBURGER INSTITUT FUR VERKEHRSWISSENSCHAFTEN GMBH

Their core work

WIVW (Würzburger Institut für Verkehrswissenschaften) is a German private research institute specializing in traffic and transport science, with a concentrated focus on human factors in automated and connected driving. Their core work involves designing and executing field operational tests (FOTs) — real-world trials on public roads where automated vehicle systems are evaluated under actual traffic conditions with real drivers. They do not build automation hardware; they provide the scientific methodology to test how automation performs with human users, measuring driver behavior, acceptance, and safety across different road environments and national contexts. Their value in large consortia comes from this rare combination: rigorous behavioral research methods applied at real-world scale across multiple European countries.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earliest H2020 work (L3Pilot, 2017), WIVW focused on Level 3 automation — systems where the driver can hand off control but must be ready to retake it — and on establishing the FOT methodology for testing these systems on European roads. By the Hi-Drive project (2021), the framing had shifted from piloting and testing toward deployment and scale: the emphasis moved to connected automated driving and cross-border demonstrations involving many countries simultaneously. This suggests WIVW tracked the maturation of the automated driving field itself, moving from "does this work on a road?" questions toward "how do we roll this out across Europe?" questions.

WIVW is moving from controlled evaluation of automation to support for large-scale European deployment, making them a strong candidate for future projects focused on automated vehicle rollout, regulatory testing frameworks, or cross-border mobility corridors.

How they like to work

WIVW has never coordinated an H2020 project — they join as a specialist participant, contributing specific FOT and behavioral research expertise to large consortia led by others. Both their projects involved very large, multi-country consortia (67 unique partners across 16 countries from just two projects), suggesting they are comfortable operating inside complex, pan-European collaborations. This profile fits an organization that sells a specific, hard-to-replicate skill rather than overall project management capacity.

WIVW has built a notably broad network for a two-project SME: 67 unique partners across 16 countries, reflecting participation in large pan-European automated driving consortia. Their network spans automotive OEMs, infrastructure operators, behavioral researchers, and transport authorities across Western and Central Europe.

What sets them apart

WIVW occupies a specific niche that few small organizations can fill: they are behavioral and traffic scientists who operate at the scale of cross-border, multi-country road trials. Most FOT expertise lives inside large universities or automotive OEM research divisions — WIVW offers this as an independent, dedicated SME, which makes them easier to bring into consortia without the overhead of a large academic partner. For any project that needs real-world validation of automated driving systems with real drivers, WIVW provides the methodology and the credibility without competing with industrial partners for technological leadership.

Highlights from their portfolio

• L3Pilot
  The largest of their two projects (€665,875) and one of the first major European FOT campaigns for Level 3 automated driving on public roads, establishing WIVW's methodology at continental scale.
• Hi-Drive
  Represents their most recent and forward-looking engagement, targeting higher automation levels with connected systems and large-scale cross-border demonstrations — directly aligned with EU deployment timelines for automated vehicles.