News

The European research project CAMBER (Connected and Adaptive Maintenance for Safer Urban and Secondary Roads) was recently launched. The aim of the project is to improve the safety and maintenance of roads in urban and rural areas through the use of innovative technologies and cost-effective solutions. The project is supported by a consortium of 14 partners from nine countries, including leading research institutions, road authorities and industrial companies. The project is coordinated by the European Institute of Road Assessment (EIRA).

Challenges and objectives

Europe's urban and secondary road networks are crucial for connecting communities, yet they have alarmingly high accident numbers: Over 90% of road deaths in Europe occur on these roads, and a third of these involve vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and riders of powered two-wheelers. CAMBER aims to tackle these challenges with innovative approaches that combine real-world data analysis with practical and affordable safety measures.

A key objective of CAMBER is to support much-needed research and testing of cost-effective road safety measures and resource-efficient maintenance techniques, especially for vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). These approaches will be demonstrated on urban and secondary road networks in five European countries - Portugal, Spain, Greece, Croatia and the Netherlands.

The role of AIT: Leading in data collection

The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology plays a central role in the project and leads the data collection and analysis work package. Innovative technologies such as the high-performance measuring vehicle RoadLab and the Motorcycle Probe Vehicle (MoProVe), a sensor-equipped measuring motorcycle, are being used. Both systems record and analyse real-time data on road conditions and traffic flows in the pilot regions.

“The safety of roads in urban and rural areas is crucial to achieving the European Commission's 'Vision Zero' targets by 2050. In contrast to motorways, monitoring of these secondary road networks is still inadequate in many European countries. CAMBER will use innovative data collection and analysis methods to develop and demonstrate cost-effective solutions that effectively integrate both safety and asset management in urban and secondary road networks,” explains Isabela Erdelean, AIT project manager.

Innovative approaches and pilot locations

CAMBER uses data from telematics systems, vehicle sensors, smartphones and feedback from road users. This is fed into safety assessment models that identify risks and prioritize maintenance measures. Digital twins of road networks simulate possible scenarios to improve the efficiency of maintenance planning.

The project's pilot sites in Portugal, Spain, Greece, Croatia and the Netherlands serve as test fields to validate the developed solutions under real-life conditions. The aim is to provide proven, cost-effective measures to increase road safety for all road users. In addition, CAMBER will demonstrate how cost-effective safety interventions and maintenance-friendly techniques, especially for vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems, can be effectively implemented.

Sustainable impact and knowledge transfer

In the long term, the project will help to reduce the number of traffic accidents on urban and secondary roads. The action guidelines, performance indicators and tools developed will enable road operators to systematically integrate safety aspects into maintenance planning. In addition, the economically viable solutions and new findings from the project will be passed on to European road managers, political decision-makers and industry via established networks in order to provide the necessary support for more efficient maintenance and safer road maintenance.

With CAMBER, Europe is one step closer to safe, sustainable and efficiently maintained road networks.