Project Description

Automation represents a major technological advancement shaping the future of mobility. However, full automation is not immediately achievable and, so far and for long years, partially-automated systems will impose new coordination demands to the human driver or user. The automotive industry is targeting the freight transport and innovative solutions for decarbonisation, road safety improvement, and health issues related to professional truck drivers and their working conditions. Thus, automation appears as an appropriate solution, particularly the introduction of truck platooning for efficiency improvement in the European freight transport market.

Truck platooning is a totally new technology that requires deep research. In Portugal, as in many European countries, no research studies or projects exist devoted to the perception and awareness of truck platooning, as well as to the driver interaction behaviour analysis in the same context. TRAIN will address these issues through an integrated approach that will identify the requirements for the development of truck platooning technology and assess the risks for a safe deployment in the real world. In a first stage, TRAIN will engage professional truck drivers and representatives of freight companies in focus groups interviews and in nationwide questionnaires to identify their knowledge, perceptions, opinions and feelings about autonomous driving, and particularly truck platooning.

CITTA research team

• António José Fidalgo do Couto 
• Carlos Manuel Rodrigues
• José Pedro Maia Pimentel Tavares                         
• Sara Maria Pinho Ferreira (PI)
• Sérgio Duarte

Other partners

• Lusófona University
• Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto

Financial support

• Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Stage of progress

• Started in 2021