The C-ITS Corridor

The C-ITS Corridor is a deployment initiative of the ministries of transport in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. They agreed to deploy two C-ITS services in a corridor from Rotterdam in the Netherlands via Frankfurt (Germany) to Vienna in Austria. The selected services areRoad Works WarningandImproved Traffic Management based on vehicle data. The System Architecture description in the subsequent chapters focuses on the service Road Works Warning as this is the more advanced, stable and mature service.

8.1.1. Background C-ITS Corridor

The C-ITS Corridor initiative started in 2012 and an official launch took place in 2013 when the three ministers of transport signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) [BMVBS et al., 2013] in which they agreed to cooperate on the following topics:

• development of a common implementation schedule for the implementation of the first C-ITS applications

• definition of common conventions that ensure a harmonized interface with the vehi-cles in the three countries

• construction of roadside equipment and systems along the motorway corridor Rot-terdam – Frankfurt – Vienna for the first C-ITS applications

• definition of a common implementation strategy for further C-ITS applications on motorways

For the realization of the deployment a project structure was set up in each of the three countries including cross-national groups for harmonization and exchange of information about the national activities. Details (especially for Germany) are described in section 8.1.3.

8.1.2. Services and technologies in the C-ITS Corridor

As first C-ITS applications in the three countries Road Works Warning and Improved Traffic Management based on vehicle datawere selected (a more detailed description of the services can be found in sections 8.2 and 8.3). Both services excellently complement each other – in the ’Road Works Warning’ service the passing-by vehicles are provided with information on upcoming road works, in the ’Improved Traffic Management based on vehicle data’ service the vehicles provide data to the infrastructure side and support various traffic management services. However, both services come along with different organizational, functional and technical issues for which reason they are examined sepa-rately. The description on hand focuses on the Road Works Warning, a general description is given in section 8.2. Before a detailed description of the Improved Traffic Management based on vehicle data service architecture can be finalized various privacy and security related aspects need to be solved first. The respective System Architecture will be pub-lished from the C-ITS Corridor partners as soon as it is available. Though a short general description of what Improved Traffic Management based on vehicle data is about is given in section 8.3.

The selected services implemented in the C-ITS Corridor will be realized with a focus on the ITS G5 technology. This technology decision is part of the agreement made through the MoU between Germany, Netherlands and Austria. In Germany the Road Works Warning service is additionally realized through cellular network. The slightly different character-istics of cellular network as underlying communication technology allows for additional implementation variations of the Road Works Warning service. In consequence, the Sys-tem Architecture is modeled accordingly.

8.1.3. Project organization

Each country set up individual national project structures to realize the deployment of C-ITS including the development of the required specifications. The German part has a Steering Committee on the highest level followed by strategic and operational structures.

In Austria and the Netherlands similar structures were set up. Additional international coordination links between the three different national projects were established to har-monize the activities across the countries – both on a strategic and operational level. (For details see official website of C-ITS Corridor [Cooperative ITS Corridor, n.d.])

In Germany a structure with various projects groups on the operational level was estab-lished. The project groups cover all relevant aspects e.g. system architecture, the indivi-dual components of the system, the integration in the existing system, security, privacy and roll-out. The single groups closely cooperate and together develop the later imple-mented System Architecture, the corresponding detailed descriptions and specifications of the associated components. The activities in the project groups incorporate the existing (legacy) ITS structures and architectures and ensure the seamless integration of the new C-ITS technology in the already existing system.

All countries participate as well in the strategic and operational cross-national group.

The focus of those two groups is the harmonization of specifications and results. The harmonization activities are limited by the slightly different legacy systems and national requirements – hence, no fully harmonized specification across the whole C-ITS Corridor is aspired but aspects suitable for harmonization e.g. the core interfaces are addressed.

8.1.4. Prototype implementation

Apart from the national specification activities each country runs in parallel prototype de-velopments of the needed components. Due to the new technology no complete solution is available at the market. In the prototype phase the System Architecture and the (theoreti-cal) specifications are implemented and their suitability for daily use is tested in a small test setup (in Germany: Hesse, Frankfurt region). This includes as well a series of component and system tests. If necessary modifications are made both to the prototype components and the respective documents. The mature System Architecture and specifications are later used for large scale tenders (whole Germany). Austria and the Netherlands apply similar approaches.

8.1.5. Link to other initiatives and organizations

The C-ITS Corridor is one of the first deployment initiatives in Europe and has a strong interest in interoperability with future deployment initiatives. Therefore, the three coun-tries are involved in various other groups that contribute to harmonization, dissemination of results and standardization. Examples are the Amsterdam Group that serves as a plat-form for stakeholders interested in deployment. The Amsterdam Group not only enables the information exchange but as well developed various white papers and specifications.

Additionally, the Amsterdam Group organizes workshops and webinars to disseminate information and best practices.

On a more formal level is the cooperation with the different European and international Standardization Organizations (CEN, ISO, ETSI, SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)).

Partially, C-ITS standards were already developed and are now implemented – experi-ences from implementation may lead to necessary modifications of the existing standards.

On the other hand new interfaces require additional standards. Often the white papers drafted in stakeholder organizations are converted into standards. The C-ITS Corridor implements existing standards, promised to give feedback and provides change requests.

Where necessary white papers are drafted and passed to standardization. The

Standardi-zation OrganiStandardi-zations introduce them in the formal standardiStandardi-zation process.

A third important player are European projects. They support the dissemination of results, provide a platform for the exchange with other stakeholders involved in C-ITS deployment and partially host technical drafting activities, like the development of a European infra-structure profile (EIP [EIP, n.d.] and CODES [CODECS, n.d.] project). Some of the part-ners involved in the C-ITS Corridor as well participate in the respective projects, partially a close link between the Amsterdam Group and the projects exist, so in total the composi-tion of deployment initiatives (C-ITS Corridor), strategic stakeholder organizacomposi-tions (Am-sterdam Group), standardization organizations and European projects together address specific aspects of C-ITS deployment.

8.1.6. Additional information

Additional information on the C-ITS Corridor is available on the website [Cooperative ITS Corridor, n.d.] and the flyer [C-ITS Corridor, 2013] (partially outdated). The website pro-vides additionally public documents developed within the project. Links to the national projects of Austria (ECo-AT [ECo-AT, n.d.]) and the Netherlands (DITCM [DITCM, n.d.]) are available there as well.

C-ITS Corridor representatives participate in various (C-)ITS Congresses and fairs to pre-sent the current status of the deployment activities.