EU-Wide Advantages and Opportunities for "Safe Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) in the Vehicle Systems of the Coming Decade – Societal Readiness Pilot"

1. Single Market Access (≈ 450 M consumers)

• One homologation, 27+ markets: Results (e.g. adaptive HMIs, driver-monitoring modules) can be certified once under the EU General Safety Regulation (GSR 2019/2144) and UNECE WP.29, then commercialised EU-wide without re-approval.

• Early entry into compulsory equipment lists: From July 2024, advanced driver-monitoring is mandatory in new models; piloting under this grant positions consortia to supply OEMs across the Union.

• Public-procurement leverage: Harmonised green & safe mobility criteria (Clean Vehicles Directive) allow partners to sell HTI-enhanced fleets to cities and regions, opening a market of >100 000 public vehicles/year.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Multi-country testbeds: Access connected corridors (e.g. NordicWay, C-ROADS) to validate hand-over scenarios in diverse traffic and cultural contexts.

• Living labs with heterogeneous drivers: Recruit elderly users in Italy, young users in the Netherlands, professional drivers in Poland—meeting the topic’s inclusivity requirement and providing statistically robust data.

• Pooling world-class expertise: Combine EU leaders in human factors (e.g. Chalmers), AI sensing (e.g. CEA List), automotive Tier-1s (e.g. Bosch, Valeo) and social sciences (e.g. KULeuven) under one grant agreement.

3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies

• Green Deal & Sustainable Urban Mobility: Safer automation accelerates modal shift to shared autonomous shuttles, cutting CO₂ and pollutants.

• Digital Europe & Chips Act: Projected edge-AI driver-monitoring systems dovetail with EU ambitions for sovereign semiconductor IP.

• Strategic Transport Research & Innovation Agenda (STRIA): Directly targets Key Performance Indicator “50 % reduction in fatalities with AV support by 2030.”

• Gender Equality Strategy 2020-25: Built-in gender dimension in driver state models matches Horizon Europe cross-cutting priority.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation & Standardisation Benefits

• Pre-normative research feeding CEN/CENELEC & ISO TC204: Partners can shape EU standard drafts on HMI indicators, ensuring future compliance costs are minimized.

• One data-protection framework (GDPR): A single legal basis for in-cabin biometric data simplifies multi-country data sharing in accordance with the Societal Readiness pilot.

5. Access to the Pan-European Innovation Ecosystem

• Synergies with EIT Urban Mobility & EIT Digital: Additional acceleration services, venture funds and test-sites after project end.

• Open-Science mandates: Horizon Europe’s open data policy maximises citations and industrial uptake, enlarging the innovation footprint.

6. Funding Synergies & Blending Options

• CEF2 Digital & Transport: Extend pilots to 5G-enabled cross-border corridors for real-time V2X hand-over support.

• InvestEU & EIB loans: De-risk industrialisation of validated HTI subsystems for SMEs.

• National Recovery & Resilience Plans (RRF): Align with Member States’ earmarked funds for road-safety digitalisation, enabling co-investment.

7. Scale and Impact Potential

• Fleet retro-fit and OTA upgrades: EU requires software update compliance; the project’s upgradability focus enables over-the-air deployment to millions of existing vehicles.

• Pan-European training curricula: Outputs can feed into harmonised driver-licence syllabi (Directive 2006/126/EC revision), impacting all new drivers each year (~3 M).

• Export beyond EU: European standards often become de-facto global; early movers gain worldwide market share.

8. Added Value of the Societal Readiness Pilot at EU Level

• Comparative socio-cultural insights: Only an EU-wide study can capture North-South, urban-rural, gender and age differences essential for trustworthy automation.

• Common ethical framework: Cooperative development of transparency & algorithmic governance avoids fragmented national approaches, supporting public trust.

9. Strategic Recommendations for Applicants

1. Build a triply-balanced consortium (technology, automotive value chain, SSH) spanning at least 8–10 Member/Associated States.

2. Integrate cross-border field trials using EU Digital Infrastructure Corridors; commit to open data aligned with the European Mobility Data Space.

3. Reference and cooperate with prior EU projects (HEADSTART, MEDIATOR, HADRIAN) to demonstrate continuity and avoid duplication.

4. Create a standardisation roadmap with CEN/ISO liaisons and a dedicated work package on regulatory input.

5. Secure letters of support from Driver Licensing Authorities and Insurance Federations to underline pathway to EU-wide uptake.

6. Plan post-grant scale-up via EIT Urban Mobility or the Euro NCAP “Safety Assist” roadmap, evidencing long-term EU impact.

Conclusion: By addressing human-technology safety challenges collectively, applicants can unlock the EU single market, shape global standards, and leverage an unparalleled network of funding and expertise—benefits unattainable at purely national scale.