EU Project Ensemble: Platooning Could Play a Key Role

The ENSEMBLE project, co-financed by the European Union and led by the independent Dutch research organization TNO, draws a positive final assessment regarding the potentials of so-called multi-brand platooning for climate protection and traffic safety. The project was launched in June 2018 with the goal of developing, testing, and validating a safe multi-brand platooning technology, demonstrating its feasibility under real traffic conditions, and integrating C-ITS communication services, as it states. To achieve this goal, the consortium brought together the six largest European truck manufacturers, the European Intelligent Transportation System organization (ERTICO), the European Association of Automotive Suppliers CLEPA, and knowledge partners such as the Université Gustave Eiffel and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Joint Communication Technology

The results of the now-concluded project were presented by the consortium at its public event on March 17th in Brussels. The multi-brand technology developed was agreed upon among the participating truck OEMs. It specifically specifies a safe vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication protocol that enables the correct behavior and response of each truck in the convoy in any traffic situation. The technology was successfully deployed on September 23, 2021, in Spain, in the Barcelona region, under real traffic conditions, when seven trucks prepared by the involved manufacturers drove in a fully coordinated convoy.

Two Levels: Assistance and Autonomous Driving

Within the project, two truck platooning functions were defined: Platooning as an assistance function (PSF), based on proven technology that can cover all use cases occurring in today's traffic, and Platooning as an autonomous function (PAF), the intermediate step towards a fully autonomous truck, which has so far only been theoretically defined.

"The project is an important step on our path to connected and autonomous driving. The great collaboration between the main European vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, research centers, and universities enables the cross-brand platooning functionality to work under real conditions," said Valerio Liga, Advanced Engineering CCAM Project Manager at IVECO.

The full potential of the platooning can, however, only be exploited when the human driver in the following vehicles is no longer needed or when their service times can be extended, and the technology is further developed for shorter distances between the trucks. This could contribute to better aerodynamics, lower fuel consumption, and higher transport capacity, meaning higher vehicle density on the lane. The goal of platooning is to achieve an autonomous function (PAF).

Even if the platooning functionality itself has no future, the studies carried out and the technologies developed within the project will be useful to advance the development of connected and autonomous driving in Europe in the coming years, Liga is convinced.

What Does This Mean?

Platooning is especially interesting on long routes with few entry and exit points, and all brands must be able to use it. Therefore, it might be challenging in the EU - nevertheless, practical application always brings valuable insights.