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FRONTIER · Project

AI Traffic Management That Prepares Cities for Self-Driving Vehicles

transportPilotedTRL 7
frontier-project.eu

Imagine your city's traffic lights, bus routes, and highway signs all talking to each other — and to self-driving cars — in real time. Right now, traffic management was designed for human drivers only, and nobody really knows how to mix autonomous vehicles into the existing flow without causing chaos. FRONTIER built a smart system that watches traffic from multiple data sources, spots problems before they become gridlock, and automatically adjusts signals and routes across an entire city network. They tested it in three real European cities to prove it actually works outside the lab.

By the numbers
3
Real-world pilot sites validated (Oxfordshire, Athens, Antwerp)
19
Consortium partners across the project
8
Countries represented in the consortium
11
Industry partners in the consortium
5
Transport authorities involved in validation
35
Total project deliverables produced
11
Demo deliverables with two iteration cycles
58%
Industry ratio in consortium
The business problem

What needed solving

Cities worldwide face a looming crisis: autonomous and connected vehicles are arriving, but current traffic management systems were built for human drivers only. Mixing the two without intelligent coordination means more congestion, more accidents, and more pollution. Transport authorities and fleet operators need proven tools that can manage this transition without rebuilding infrastructure from scratch.

The solution

What was built

FRONTIER delivered a complete AI traffic management suite: a real-time data fusion and processing pipeline, algorithms for detecting emerging traffic anomalies, automated traffic control schemes for connected vehicle integration, a simulation engine built on AIMSUN, and decision-support dashboards for operators. All components went through two validation cycles across 3 European pilot cities.

Audience

Who needs this

City and regional transport authorities planning for autonomous vehicle integrationLogistics and fleet management companies operating in congested urban areasAutomotive OEMs developing connected vehicle platforms that need infrastructure compatibilitySmart city solution integrators building mobility-as-a-service platformsTraffic management system vendors looking to add AI-driven capabilities
Business applications

Who can put this to work

Urban Mobility & Smart Cities
enterprise
Target: City transport authorities and traffic management centers

If you are a city transport authority struggling to integrate connected and automated vehicles into your existing traffic network — this project developed AI-powered traffic management tools validated across 3 pilot sites (Oxfordshire, Athens, Antwerp) that detect emerging congestion and anomalies in real time and automatically adjust signal control. The system was tested with 5 transport authorities across 8 countries.

Logistics & Freight Transport
mid-size
Target: Fleet operators and logistics companies managing urban deliveries

If you are a logistics company dealing with unpredictable urban congestion that delays deliveries and increases costs — this project built a data fusion and processing pipeline that harmonizes real-time traffic data from multiple sources and provides proactive routing decisions. The simulation tools were developed and refined through two pilot iterations with feedback from 19 consortium partners.

Automotive & Connected Vehicle Technology
enterprise
Target: Automotive OEMs and connected vehicle platform providers

If you are an automotive company developing connected or autonomous vehicles and need to understand how your vehicles will interact with city infrastructure — this project created traffic management schemes specifically designed for CAV integration, tested across 3 diverse European pilot sites. The consortium included 11 industry partners representing 58% of the partnership.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to deploy this traffic management system in our city?

The project does not publish specific licensing or deployment costs. However, the system was built on the commercial AIMSUN simulation platform and validated with 5 transport authorities, suggesting it is designed for real-world procurement. Contact the coordinator for pricing and deployment models.

Can this scale beyond the three pilot cities?

The system was explicitly designed and tested across 3 diverse pilot sites — Oxfordshire (UK), Athens (Greece), and Antwerp (Belgium) — covering different traffic patterns, infrastructure types, and regulatory environments across 8 countries. The two-iteration validation cycle (initial version plus final version incorporating pilot feedback) suggests the tools are built for adaptability.

Who owns the intellectual property and can we license the technology?

FRONTIER was funded as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA), meaning IP typically stays with the consortium partners who developed each component. The consortium includes 19 partners with 11 from industry. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated with the specific partner owning the relevant module.

How does this integrate with our existing traffic management infrastructure?

The project built a dedicated Data Fusion, Harmonization and Processing Pipeline that includes data preparation, cleansing, quality control, and enrichment specifically to work with diverse existing data sources. The AIMSUN-based simulation component is a recognized commercial platform already used by transport authorities worldwide.

What is the current development status — is this ready to deploy?

All 11 demo deliverables went through two full iterations: an initial version followed by a final version updated with pilot feedback. The traffic management schemes, detection methods, data pipeline, simulation tools, and decision dashboards all reached their final validated versions by project end in April 2024.

Does this comply with European transport regulations?

The project directly addressed EU mobility policy themes under topic MG-2-11-2020, with 5 transport authorities as consortium members ensuring regulatory alignment. The system was designed with security by default and addresses pollution reduction, accident reduction, and multimodal transport — all key EU policy priorities.

What ongoing support is available after the project ended?

The project closed in April 2024, but the coordinator FUNDACIO EURECAT (Spain) and 11 industry partners remain potential support contacts. Based on available project data, the business modeling work within the project addressed commercial viability of the solutions, suggesting some partners may offer the tools commercially.

Consortium

Who built it

The FRONTIER consortium is strongly industry-oriented with 11 out of 19 partners (58%) coming from industry, complemented by 3 universities and 3 research institutes across 8 European countries. Notably, the project involved 5 transport authorities and a dedicated traffic management testbed, which means the tools were shaped by the people who actually run city traffic systems — not just researchers in a lab. The coordinator, FUNDACIO EURECAT in Spain, is a major applied research center with deep ties to industry. With 7 companies and only 1 SME, this is a consortium dominated by established players, which increases the likelihood that results will move toward commercial products rather than staying as academic papers.

How to reach the team

FUNDACIO EURECAT (Spain) — a major applied research center. Use SciTransfer to get a warm introduction to the right person on their traffic management team.

Order a report on this consortiumSee FUNDACIO EURECAT profile →
Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how FRONTIER's piloted traffic management tools could work for your city or fleet? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the right consortium partner — no cold emails needed.

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