Simple, safe, efficient, and automated transport from A to B

In order to make this possible, many technological developments are required with regard to steering the vehicle, observing the surroundings, and predicting traffic situations. Furthermore, the acceptance of automated driving by users and the embedment of automated vehicles in the traffic and transportation system are substantial challenges. This involves interactions between road users and the response to unpredictable environments. This is difficult to simulate or research in a regular lab environment: research under real-life circumstances is essential for this.

Research in various environments

RADD provides knowledge institutions, the business community, and government with the facilities for testing products, concepts, or models and observing traffic in different environments, varying from a closed environment (closed off testing area, route) and a semi-closed environment (area with regulated access) to testing on the open road as well as on and around the campus. Once the research has outgrown these testing phases, a step can be taken towards using one of the “fieldlabs” in the Zuid Holland region, where various systems can be monitored and researched over a longer period of time.

RADD is paving the way for the next steps in automated driving research. The results achieved in the Researchlab are openly available for the best possible exchange and accumulation of knowledge.
The research into automated driving at TU Delft focuses on 5 themes:

• Interaction with and acceptance by the user
• Automated driving in public transport
• Automated driving in goods transport
• Interaction with non-automated road users
• Integration into the traffic system

The initiators of RADD are TU Delft, Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag (MRDH – Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area), the Municipality of Delft, and the Province of Zuid-Holland.

The Researchlab is a part of the Fieldlab Automatisch Vervoer Last Mile (AVLM – Last-mile automated transport), a cooperation between governments, knowledge institutions, and small and mid-size business entrepreneurs in the region.

The cooperating parties in the Fieldlab AVLM have the ambition to develop the region into a leading international research and practice zone for automated transport and in doing so, to support sustainable economic growth, more job opportunities, and better accessibility and efficiency of the entire transportation system in the region. Furthermore, the Researchlab is stimulating the transition to the use of sustainable energy sources in Zuid-Holland.