According to Xavier Pujol, CEO of FICOSA, “The MARTA project is a clear and successful example of public-private collaboration, demonstrating that it is possible to develop innovative and globally competitive technology in our country in the field of communications applied to mobility.”
Eighteen Spanish companies and institutions presented the MARTA project – Mobility and Automotive with Advanced Transport Networks. This initiative aims to lay the scientific and technological foundations for 21st-century mobility and has required four years of work. Its objective is to promote research and development of communications between vehicles and between vehicles and road network infrastructure, in order to reduce accidents and improve mobility in Europe.
The project, with a budget exceeding 35 million euros, has been led by the company FICOSA and has involved 18 Spanish companies from different sectors, such as ETRA, GMV, SEAT and Telefónica, among others; in addition to 19 research centers and universities, with a global scope of action that covers 8 autonomous communities.
The presentation, chaired by the Minister of Science and Innovation, Cristina Garmendia Mendizábal, took place in the MediaTIC building in Barcelona, and was also attended by the Minister of Business and Employment of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Francesc Xavier Mena, and the Deputy Mayors of the Barcelona City Council, Jordi William Carnes from the area of Finance and Economic Promotion and president of 22@Barcelona, and from the area of Housing, Urban Planning and Internal Regime, Ramón García-Bragado.
The MARTA project is one of 16 research projects approved by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) in the third call for proposals of the National Strategic Consortiums for Technical Research Program (CENIT), framed within the INGENIO 2010 initiative and aimed at fostering public-private cooperation in R&D&I.
MARTA's objective is to contribute to solving problems related to congestion, safety, and environmental impact, with the aim of reducing accidents and improving mobility in Europe through advanced technological systems.
To enhance safety,
MARTA has investigated applications for integrating vehicles with infrastructure and emergency centers to manage accidents and improve safety. Some practical examples are listed below:
A vehicle involved in an accident will automatically send information about the accident details (number of passengers, vehicle speed before the accident, etc.) to the emergency center via an eCall system, while simultaneously alerting nearby vehicles. It will also send a photograph of the accident to facilitate the rescue of those involved.
The vehicles will have an intelligent driver drowsiness detection system, which will activate visual, auditory, and sensory alerts to wake the driver or prompt them to stop and rest.
Through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, the vehicle will alert the driver not to proceed on a two-way road due to the presence of another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. Likewise, the system will identify the presence of other vehicles at an intersection to prevent collisions if visibility is poor.
The night vision cameras installed in the vehicles will be able to automatically detect the presence of a pedestrian and alert the driver. At the same time, it is possible to inform nearby vehicles via V2V communication about the presence of the obstacle.
Efficient Mobility Management:
Thanks to the technological solutions arising from the MARTA project, the intelligent cameras and sensors installed in the road network infrastructure (traffic lights, intersections, etc.) will be able to expedite traffic flow. In this way, traffic-blocked areas will be identified, and the system will propose the most efficient way to manage mobility at specific times. An example would be leaving a football stadium after a match.
Reducing environmental impact:
Better mobility management contributes to reducing environmental impact and CO2 emissions. Some solutions in the MARTA project promote a reduction in traffic volume, especially in urban centers. For example, when a user tries to access a city center by car, the vehicle will indicate the cost and time it would take to make the same journey by public transport. The system will provide the driver with directions to their reserved parking space, as well as bus and train schedules to reach their destination.
MARTA also offers other applications, such as Infotainment, designed to develop apps that provide information to the driver and passengers, as well as entertainment for companions to make their journey more enjoyable.
According to Xavier Pujol, CEO of FICOSA, “The MARTA project is a clear and successful example of public-private collaboration, and demonstrates that it is possible to develop innovative and globally competitive technology in our country in the field of communications applied to mobility.”
He adds: “MARTA’s technology, developed in an exemplary way by a group of Spanish companies and institutions from different sectors with a first-rate capacity for innovation,
is a demonstration of how the result of a research and innovation project can be transformed into products applied to sectors of high added value and high technological value.”
MARTA TECHNICAL DATA SHEET
Infrastructure: ETRA
Automotive component supplier (Tier 1): FICOSA
Technology services: GMV
Vehicle manufacturer (OEM): SEAT
Communications: Telefónica
Other partners: ADTelecom, Agnitio, AT4Wireless, Atipic, IDOM, Creativ IT, Opnatel, TSS
Public Research Organizations/Universities: Polytechnic and Autonomous Universities of Madrid, University of Alcalá de Henares, University of Valladolid, CIDAUT and CEDETEL of Castilla y León, TECNALIA and CEIT in the Basque Country, CEMITEC in Navarra, Polytechnic University of Catalonia and University of Barcelona, Polytechnic University of Valencia (ITEAM, ITACA) and IBV and University of Valencia, University of Murcia, CITIC in Andalusia and University of Zaragoza.
Budget: 35 million euros
Start: June 2007
