Assessment of physical road infrastructure to support automated vehicles in an urban environment

When discussing the implementation of automated driving systems, multiple factors need to be considered. Yet, a major factor is technical reliability which strongly depends on the consistent functionality of automated driving systems under varying road infrastructure. Most research (Galileo4Mobility (2018); ADAS&ME (2020); AUTOMATE (2020)) focuses on technical challenges and does not investigate if and to what extent physical road infrastructure (PI) contributes to safe automated driving. This paper presents the results of the EU project SHOW concerning the PI's role on automated driving in an urban environment. The most relevant PI elements, including lane markings, traffic signs and sight distances are investigated, leading to PI requirements and recommendations for adaptations. A software tool for assessing the automation readiness of a test site with regard to PI is also described.