In the heart of Sydney’s Darling Harbour, Lexus Australia is offering a glimpse into the future of urban mobility with Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), demonstrating how our roads can be made safer for the most vulnerable.
Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) include pedestrians, riders, young children and the elderly. In the event of a crash, they have little to no protection. VRUs are disproportionately represented in the Australian road toll – Of the 1,106 road fatalities in 2020, 12% were pedestrians, 17% motorcycle riders, and 4% cyclists.
Lexus Australia is collaborating with ITS Australia, the Queensland Government Department of Transport and Main Roads and key industry partners to showcase a ground-breaking new way for vehicles to protect vulnerable road users.
These partners are not limited to vehicle manufacturers and governments but represent a broader push from all parts of the engineering world to deliver safer systems for our communities.
Commsignia – A leading end-to-end Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) provider for infrastructure, automotive, and vulnerable road users
Bosch Security & Safety Systems Australia – A leader in advanced deep-learning video-based detection cameras
HMI Technologies – ITS and roadway management specialists
Aptella – Specialists in intelligent automation, positioning, and mapping technologies
From the comfort of a new-release Lexus, retrofitted with cutting-edge C-ITS technology, attendees will experience how “Cooperative Awareness” and “Collective Perception” can enable real-time information sharing between “connected” and “non-connected” road users, enhancing driver awareness and safety for riders and pedestrians.
According to CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium (C2C-CC), stages of C-ITS development are broken down into “days” according to system capabilities.
Day 1 – Shared Awareness: Vehicles and infrastructure can share/receive information about themselves.
Day 2 – Shared Perception: Vehicles and infrastructure can collect and share/receive information about their surroundings.
Day 3(+) – Shared Intention: Vehicles and infrastructure can coordinate their behaviour
In this live, on-road showcase in Sydney’s famous Darling Harbour, attendees will experience how Day 1 and 2 C-ITS can:
- Reduce crashes at intersection using cooperative awareness
- Protect cyclists with ultra-lightweight DSRC systems
- Predict pedestrian movements with integrated camera analytics and avoid collisions using collective perception
- Digitally manage road space with intelligent traffic alerts
Lexus Australia and its partners are advancing urban mobility by prioritising safety and inclusivity, aiming to create a safer, more efficient, productive, sustainable, and accessible transport system for all Australians.
This initiative aligns with Australia’s National Road Transport Technology Strategy and sets a global benchmark, demonstrating how cooperative and automated transport technologies can enhance social, environmental, and economic well-being.
This demonstration is first delivered at ITS Australia Summit 2024 from August 13th to 15th in Sydney.
Lexus Australia – Chief Executive – John Pappas
“Lexus globally strives for mobility with zero fatalities and injuries from traffic accidents. Cooperative intelligent transport systems have a significant role to play in achieving this target. We are proud to assist with pioneering trials in Australia, where Lexus vehicles exchange safety messages with infrastructures and vehicles. Importantly, working with stakeholders enables us to explore the best technologies for Australian conditions.”
ITS Australia – CEO- Susan Harris
“This project demonstrates how existing technology can improve safety for road users. I look forward to seeing this technology demonstrated to a wider audience at the ITS Australia Summit and exploring how its deployment can be accelerated to bring forward safety benefits across our transport network.”
Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads – Chief Engineer – Dennis Walsh
“Transport and Main Roads have a vision of connected communities in a sustainable, thriving and inclusive Queensland. Coming together nationally and agreeing a common approach to C-ITS is absolutely critical to realising benefits for the community. Collaboration between government and industry is an essential part of developing and proving these technologies in real world environments.”
LaszloVirag
Executive President and Chief Technology Officer / Founder
“Protecting vulnerable road users is the most important goal in transport and for Commsignia, and it’s a great honour to be involved in such a prestigious ITS project in Australia. Commsignia has designed its product portfolio to provide solutions from roadside V2X infrastructure through cloud services to embedded software in cars. This complete V2X ecosystem ensures collaboration between all road users, which can significantly improve the safety and efficiency of transport.”
Bosch Security & Safety Systems Australia – Video Systems Manager – Paul Donnelley
“Bosch continue to evolve our groundbreaking state of the art deep learning-based cameras intended as detection and tracking systems for vulnerable road users, and designed to deliver highly reliable performance in a wide range of scenarios, from congested footpaths to multi lane highways. Our innovative camera AI-based technology is engineered to withstand challenging environmental conditions, including rain, wind (moving trees), snow, hail, water reflections, shadows, and bugs, making it extremely resistant to false triggers. With its unparalleled resilience, our intelligent video analytics consistently detects, tracks, and classifies objects with precision and accuracy, setting a new standard for advanced safety, surveillance and monitoring solutions and enhancing the safety of vulnerable road users.”
HMI Technologies – New South Wales Director – Andrew Mehaffey
“As a leading provider of smart roadside infrastructure, HMI Technologies welcomes the opportunity to demonstrate our C-ITS-enabled roadside signage at the ITS Australia Summit 2024, in collaboration with Lexus and other partners. We are demonstrating that we can extend awareness of on-road hazards, works, and events, so that rain or shine, drivers can be notified promptly, reliably, and without even needing to take their eyes off the road.”
Aptella – System Group Executive – Manager Gina Velde
“Aptella was delighted with the opportunity to work with our alliance partner Lexus Australia and demonstrate leading digital twin technology that has potential to further improve safety for transport applications”
