The rapid advancement of autonomous vehicle technology promises enhanced efficiency and safety in transportation. However, operational constraints within Operational Design Domains (ODDs), including issues in sensing, behaviour prediction, and reliability, limit the potential of automated vehicles. Expanding the ODD framework is critical to enable these vehicles to navigate challenging scenarios like construction zones, unmarked roads, and adverse weather conditions. This expansion involves robust perception and decision-making algorithms, reducing the need for human intervention and facilitating integration with human-driven vehicles. While the benefits are substantial, challenges like data collection, sensor technology, and regulatory frameworks must be addressed through interdisciplinary collaboration. The iEXODDUS project is at the forefront of advancing digital technologies and navigation services, aligning with goals for increased safety, security, and sustainability in the mobility sector, ultimately paving the way for safer and more reliable automated transportation. iEXODDUS shall meticulously assess existing ODDs to unveil limitations and areas for improvement, fostering a deep understanding of ODD challenges and opportunities. This analysis serves as the foundation for a framework to assess and categorize ODDs across diverse automated driving scenarios. A key focus area is the enhancement of sensor technologies and perception capabilities through cutting-edge data fusion methods, expanding ODDs beyond current limits while considering environmental factors like weather conditions and road infrastructure. iEXODDUS envisions autonomous vehicles travelling across Europe, resolving harmonization and legal issues, and making policy recommendations. Collaboration with industry stakeholders and aiming for real-world demonstrations will enable an industry-tailored approach towards automated driving systems with extended ODDs.

PLIADES advances the SoA dataspaces reference architectures, towards a step change on the use of data as key enabler of technological advances in AI and Robotics. To this end, PLIADES researches into novel, AI-enabled tools to advance full data life cycles integration, both within and between data spaces. Sustainable data creation methods through data compression, filtering and normalization will be developed, to allow efficient and greener storage in a data-oriented future. Data privacy and sovereignty will be further ensured, through standards and decentralized protocols to protect data-producing organizations and citizens. Alongside, data sharing will be revolutionized through novel AI-based brokers and connectors using extended metadata, shaped through the project’s best practices and domain expert’s knowledge. On top of these, active data discovery services through cross domain AI connectors will allow creating linked data spaces, enabling interoperability between previously disconnected entities, while data quality assessment services will facilitate real time data evaluation. Extended synergies with EU initiatives will be established in order to contribute models, strategies and technologies for a Common European Data Space. Our outcomes will be evaluated in six use cases focusing on direct advancements in key AI and Robotics technologies for everyday use, oriented around multiple data spaces; mobility, healthcare, industrial, energy and green deal. Our use cases provide a challenging validation suite involving vast heterogeneous data creation, management and sharing while addressing full data lifecycles in multiple major domains. Through the developed ecosystem, CCAM and ADAS/AD car technologies will be enhanced, HRI for robot operators and healthcare patients will be reshaped, while further advanced, integrated data spaces will be deployed in the healthcare, manufacturing and green deal sectors aiming to reduce carbon footprints and shape a greener future.

MITHOS project aims to transform multimodal transport infrastructure management through an innovative AI-driven Decision Support System (DSS). Multimodal transport is crucial to advance safer, more resilient and sustainable mobility solutions for both passengers and freight. However, currently the sector faces significant challenges, including inefficient interconnections between transport modes, high operational costs, and fragmented data management. Existing tools often focus narrowly on specific modes with lack of integration, leading to suboptimal decision-making processes and they do not fulfil with FAIR principles on their data management processes. MITHOS addresses these mayor issues by developing a comprehensive and cloud-based platform that centralizes diverse data sources into a unified and intelligent Federated Smart Data (FSD) module, allowing real-time data collection and integration, which is connected to an AI-based DSS for multi-criteria optimization with an interactive HMI visualization. MITHOS framework includes a Bundle of Fundamental Tools (BFT) for enhanced simulation on multimodal infrastructure assessment and as well as to an Impact Assessment module/SAAS for evaluating the overall benefits and compliance of MITHOS´ proposed measures. MITHOS will be implemented in 4 diverse pilot sites: Bilbao, Hamburg, Vienna/Linz, and Thessaloniki in order to validate its effectiveness across different multimodal contexts/coexistence and infrastructure types. By involving real end-users in the development of this project, MITHOS aims to become the future leading global multimodal traffic infrastructure management platform, promoting safer, more efficient and sustainable transport both inside (first) and outside (second) Europe.

One of the main challenges of EU battery sector to achieve the net-zero emissions objectives for 2050 consists of keeping the added value of EoL batteries, enabling their 2nd life, and improving recycling and recovery of critical materials. REINFORCE aims at designing, developing and deploying a novel sustainable, and highly efficient circular value chain serving as a reference for automated, safe and cost-efficient logistics and processing of EoL batteries from EV and stationary applications for repurposing and recycling. REINFORCE will demonstrate all technological solutions and processes in a real environment at TRL6, and the viability of the new circular value chain and business model innovations for EoL battery repurposing. This will be achieved by: (i) an optimisation of collection and reversed logistics focussed on efficient diagnostics for early battery status cut-off decision-making and safe and smart transportation solutions; (ii) safe and improved battery diagnostics and speed-up discharge and energy recovery systems adapted to the current batteries stream; (iii) adaptable and safe dismantling and sorting of EoL batteries and components based on robotics, Machine Learning and Industry 4.0, including fully automated pack-to-module disassembly and advanced module-to-cell-to-electrode disassembly; (iv) an innovative traceability system along the battery value chain based on a battery passport for the 2nd and 3rd life battery user; (v) the definition of standardisation guidelines in line with current and upcoming regulations; all revolving around (vi) robust sustainable circular business models demonstrating the application of REINFORCE proposition in a circular economy strategy and implement actions towards full market maturity. For this, REINFORCE is bringing together a wide experienced consortium led by INE, involving a team of leading industrial technology developers and providers, R&D centres and academic institutions, and end-users, at European level.

In this project, leading European universities, research centers, and companies within the battery supply chain are bringing their expertise and innovations together to create the next-generation BMS platform able to overcome critical challenges limiting the performance of the existing solutions. iBattMan will incorporate novel sensors and methodologies for monitoring the State-of-Health (SOH) of the cells during operation and in charging, together with cutting-edge technologies and tools for V2X and second-life applications, and use advanced physics- and data-based models implemented on-board and on-cloud for performance evaluation, diagnosis, health management and safety evaluation tools, to trigger actions to address safety and cyber-security concerns. This will result in an innovative, modular and scalable BMS, for a wide range of vehicles, from small passenger cars to e-buses and electric trucks, with improved performance, connectivity, security and reliability to enhance battery performance and reduce total cost of ownership in EV applications and intelligent battery use for grid support and in 2nd life applications, based on a holistic design of an interoperable architecture and supported by a suite of advanced sensors and edge- and cloud-computational resources. This will represent an outstanding step forward in the EU battery development roadmap and enable accelerated market adoption of smart batteries to bring to market world-leading class Li-ion technologies to improve the cost-effectiveness, circularity, and sustainability of the EU battery industry by 2030-2035. It will support the integration of more renewables on the grid based on new concepts such as Smart Cities and Net Zero Buildings to benefit EV car manufacturers and complementary markets like urban mobility, 2nd life application for stationary storage, batteries, and battery recycling.