About SAFER

     

THIS IS SAFER

We are bringing people together, conducting research and leveraging knowledge to enable safe sustainable mobility.

SAFER is on a bold journey towards zero accidents in traffic.

This will be achieved by open, collaborative research projects where traffic safety is key for the creation of safe, sustainable, connected and automated traffic systems.

SAFER's holistic traffic safety approach covers people, vehicles and the infrastructure. This also means SAFER is part of a bigger societal project: the design and realisation of smart, sustainable transport systems in the cities and beyond. SAFER's role is to be a thought leader in safe mobility, offering world-leading knowledge and project methodology. SAFER creates knowledge and value beyond what a single partner can achieve on its own.

SAFER is also the open research arena where partners from the society, the academy and the industry can meet and share research and knowledge within safe mobility – a multi-disciplinary research hub that enables progress for its partners and for the society.

SHORT FACTS ABOUT SAFER

Vehicle and traffic safety centre at Chalmers

  • A competence centre where about 50 partners from the Swedish automotive industry, academia and authorities cooperate to create a centre of excellence within traffic safety research and safe mobility.
  • Research is conducted within 5 areas: Systems for accident prevention and automated driving, Road user behaviour, Human body protection, Post crash and Safety performance evaluation.
  • Access - through projects - to SAFER's connected research resources: AstaZero real-world proving ground, Revere research lab for active safety and autonomous driving, SAFER Naturalistic Driving Data Platform and Data catalogue, the SAFER Human Body Model, Driving simulators, Stora Holm test track and the SAFER open research arena.
  • Over 400 completed vehicle and traffic safety projects since the start of SAFER in 2006.
  • Around 550 active researchers.
  • Meeting place with a 300 sqm working area including workplaces, small meeting rooms, conference facilities and project areas.
  • Located at Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg, Sweden – an internationally acclaimed science park for new technology and communication with 350 companies and academic institutions.
  • Hosted by Chalmers University of Technology.

OUR VISION

A ROAD TRANSPORT SYSTEM SAFE FOR ALL

OUR MISSION

WE ARE BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER, CONDUCTING RESEARCH AND LEVERAGING KNOWLEDGE TO ENABLE SAFE SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY.

AGENDA 2030

SDG

Agenda 2030 is the most ambitious set of sustainability goals ever adopted by the UN member states, and road safety is included both directly and indirectly in several of the goals. The goals are absolute and indivisible, which means that the work with different goals such as road safety, gender equality, poverty and climate change must take place in parallel. How is SAFER approaching these targets and what are the main challenges and opportunities?

SAFER'S FOUR CORNER STONES

A world leader in traffic safety

To realise our vision of becoming a world leader in traffic safety, our strategy is based on four interlinked corner stones that direct our actions:

CREATE AND SHARE KNOWLEDGE

The basic task for SAFER is to create and share knowledge and to further develop the strong academic base. New knowledge and relevant facts should be made available and visualized. Furthermore, networks should be created and maintained to the benefit of all partners. SAFER should be promoting project generation and coordination and act as a catalyst for joint projects. By creating strong connections to world class research environments and nurturing an international reputation for outstanding collaboration between industry, society and academy, it is possible to influence the international research agenda. The research results should help facilitate innovation at our partners.

EXPRESS IDENTITY AND INFLUENCE AS A THOUGHT LEADER

The name SAFER should mean excellence in vehicle and traffic safety research and be of value to all partners to be associated with. This identity is built, expressed and made visible through different ways – the office, website, seminars and conferences and other activities. By communicating what SAFER represent and the achieved results we will attract international stakeholders, collaboration projects and funding. As a thought leader, SAFER should define strategic research agendas based on needs and trends, create and drive SAFER’s research projects and develop road maps. The conclusions and needs of the SAFER community should be made visible and known.

CONNECTED RESEARCH RESOURCES

The concept of connected research resources is a hallmark for SAFER and we facilitate the access and utilization of different assets available within the network. At the start of Stage 5, these comprise the following: the collaboration setup with the physical environment providing work spaces, meeting and analysis rooms, support for seminars etc; Field Data, with databases of real-world data including their collection, storage and analysis tools are strong assets and SAFER will further develop business models to maintain them. Revere – Resource for Vehicle Research, the full-scale vehicle laboratory at Chalmers, which is increasingly important for active safety research, automated driving and a connected, sustainable transport system; the AstaZero test environment, co-owned by RISE and Chalmers which provides a world class facility where SAFER supports research activities; simulators of different kinds exist in the network, most notably at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI).

UTILIZE THE MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PLATFORM

A cornerstone in the strategy is to have a multi-disciplinary, co-located research environment that serves as a physical meeting place, open to all partners. The networks and meeting place we create together will provide added value to partners. The community will generate new knowledge and project ideas as well as develop the people involved, both on a professional and personal level.

THE SAFER ORGANISATION

Traffic safety research organised around partnership

 

    THE SAFER BOARD

    The board consists of SAFER's core partners and one independent chairperson.

    • Autoliv: Cecilia Sunnevång
    • Chalmers: Balázs Kulcsár and Mats Svensson
    • Lund University: Aliaksei Laureshyn
    • RISE: Anna Larsson
    • Swedish Transport Administration: Maria Krafft
    • Volvo Car Corporation: Åsa Haglund
    • Volvo Group: Sofie Vennersten
    • VTI: Astrid Linder
    • Independent chairperson: Thomas Andersson, Volvo Cars
    • Hans Fogelberg (Region Västra Götaland) and Eric Wallgren (Vinnova) join the board as observers

    THE SAFER RESEARCH AREAS

    SAFER's research is conducted in five areas. Each research area is governed by a reference group led by a Research area director. The reference groups include one representative from each SAFER partner and representatives from SAFER's competence areas. All projects are initiated by the reference group and recommended to SAFER's Management group and Board.

    Katrin Sjöberg

    katrin.sjoberg [at] volvo.com

    Anna Sjörs Dahlman

    anna.dahlman [at] vti.se

    Jolyon Carroll

    jolyon.carroll [at] autoliv.com
    Magnus Granström

    Magnus Granström

    magnus.granstrom [at] chalmers.se
    +46-734 – 060424

    Linus Wågström

    linus.wagstrom [at] volvocars.com

    THE SAFER COMPETENCE NETWORKS

    Cutting edge traffic safety knowledge without limits

    It takes more than one single competence to solve the complex challenges related to traffic safety. Within SAFER, there are several competence networks containing a plethora of knowledge and know-how. These networks are also key for the vital, cross-disciplinary research conducted at SAFER. The academia is at the core for each competence area, with important contributions from all SAFER partner researchers.

    Automotive safety assurance

    Fredrik Sandblom

    Automotive safety assurance

    Focus will preliminary be around how to design L3-L4 automated vehicles such that the accident risk is tolerable, and how to prove that the risk is tolerable with sufficient confidence, and how to design with explainability at all times.

    Safety for alternative powertrains

    Magnus Granström

    Magnus Granström

    Safety for alternative powertrains

    In this network, we gather relevant societal actors and SAFER partners to discuss various safety aspects linked to alternative powertrains, such as electric vehicles.

    System Safety

    Devansh Mehta

    System Safety

    For the Safety System network, we would like to broaden the view and learn from systems outside the automotive industry. Robotics, Health care and Medical Technology can be areas with which this type of thinking can be shared and new knowledge can be created. We also have the ambition to meet physically, since it is difficult to grow and maintain connections in a network only on distance. 

    Perception, Sensing & Communication

    Lars Hammarstrand

    Perception, Sensing & Communication

    Perception, sensing and communication enable technologies for a plethora of safety systems. The scope of this group is to create and share research ideas around vehicular communications, sensors systems, and signal processing.

    Future proof methodologies for validation of CAVS

    Fredrik Åkeson

    Future proof methodologies for validation of CAVS

    The group discuss validation of automated and connected vehicles. including e.g. relevant test cases, virtual methods and their connection to physical tests, the role of Operational Design Domains (ODD) and relevant connectivity scenarios.

    Vehicle Dynamics

    Bengt Jacobson

    Vehicle Dynamics

    Vehicle dynamics is creating a collaborative arena connecting vehicle dynamics research carried out in academia/institutes and the corresponding advanced engineering activities in the automotive industry.

    THE SAFER MANAGEMENT TEAM

    SAFER's daily operation and strategic development is led by a Management team with a director and members representing SAFER's research areas, connected research resources, SAFER's bridging functions and various operative functions.

    • Magnus Granström, Director
    • Katrin Sjöberg, Research area director
    • Anna Carlsson, Connected Research Resource leader, Revere
    • John-Fredrik Grönvall, Connected Research resource leader, Naturalistic driving data
    • Ines Heinig, Project coordinator
    • Sofia Fagrell, Controller (On parental leave)
    • Parisa Majidi, Controller
    • Jolyon Carroll, Research area director
    • Malin Levin, Deputy director
    • Rob Thomson, Chalmers profile director traffic safety
    • Anna Sjörs Dahlman, Research area director
    • Linus Wågström, Research area director
    • Matteo Rizzi, Vision Zero research leader
    • Ingrid Skogsmo, Senior research advisor
    • Timo Kero, Connected Research Resource leader, AstaZero

    OUR ECOSYSTEM

    The hub for traffic safety research, in Sweden and elsewhere

    SAFER may be based in Sweden but has a truly global mindset. Our international commitment is wide, with vital partnerships with universities and traffic safety research communities all over the world. And by initiating and participating in global collaborative research structures, we strongly influence the political traffic safety agenda and contribute to the development of sustainable, safe mobility – in Sweden, and elsewhere. Some examples of our current connections:

    INSTITUTES AND ACADEMY

    Important partner in the area of child safety research. A large number of projects and activities have been carried out in cooperation during the years and the exchange and network is a great source for SAFER's researchers in this field.

    http://www.chop.edu

    Nagoya and SAFER have a long time partnership, with shared research resources and exchange such as guest researchers.

    http://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/

    The University of Iowa collaborates with different researchers at SAFER, from several departments, on different topics. The University of Iowa has also a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chalmers on more enhanced collaboration on a general level including e.g. research activities, staff exchange, exchange of undergraduate and/or graduate students, exchange of academic material and participation in seminars.

    https://uiowa.edu/

    Chalmers, SAFER's host university, has a strategic cooperation in place, e.g. on guest research programmes and research.

    http://www.umtri.umich.edu/

    COLLABORATIVE ORGANISATIONS AND RESEARCH PROGRAMMES

    The key thrust of the Australia Driverless Vehicle Initiative is to build momentum by rapidly exploring the impacts and requirements of this new technology and accelerate the safe and successful introduction of driverless vehicles onto Australian and New Zeeland roads. SAFER is a supporting ADVI partner.

    http://advi.org.au/

    The Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM) is a global multi-disciplinary professional organization dedicated to saving lives and eliminating road traffic injuries through scientific research, authoritative educational programs, public policy recommendations, and the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) coding, training and certification. SAFER’s host Chalmers is member of AAAM and this is an important knowledge base for the research area Care & Rescue.

    http://www.aaam.org/

    CLEPA is the automotive suppliers’ organization in Europe and has, among other groups, a Research and Innovation Working Group in which potential areas for collaborative research is identified, together suitable actions to influence upcoming research programmes. Safety has bneen identified as one of the key areas for CLEPA activities.

    http://clepa.eu/

    CTS with Swedish founding partners Chalmers, Volvo Cars, Volvo Group and Autoliv and Chinese partners Tongji University, RIOH Institute for Highway Safety and Tsinghua University in Beijing gathers joint on-going projects as well as other activities to enhance traffic safety in China. SAFER constitutes the Swedish research platform in this collaboration.

    Drive Sweden is a Strategic Innovation Program launched by the Swedish government that gathers the best in the area of automated transport systems – from all sectors of society. SAFER is a member of Drive Sweden's program office as safety is an important perspective for a sustainable transport system.

    http://www.drivesweden.net/en

    EARPA brings together Europe's most prominent independent R&D providers in the automotive sector, ranging from large and small commercial organisations to national institutes and universities. SAFER is a member of EARPA's Task Force Safety with a focus on crash structures, restraint systems, human-machine interaction, ICT based safety systems, automated driving and test & evaluation methods for safety systems.

    http://www.earpa.eu/

    ERTRAC is the European Technology Platform which brings together road transport stakeholders to develop a common vision for road transport research in Europe. SAFER participates directly in ERTRAC's working group for Road Transport Safety & Security and supports ERTRAC to update the European Roadmap for road safety research. In addition, we also participate in the following groups, either from the SAFER Secretariat or through different SAFER partners: Urban Mobility, Connectivity and Automated Driving, and Long Distance Freight Transport. Being present in ERTRAC opens up possibilities to participating in setting the European road safety research agenda as well as the roadmaps for related areas such as urban development from a mobility perspective.

    http://www.ertrac.org/

    EUCAR is the European automotive industry’s research and innovation collaboration organization in Brussels and has over the years facilitated the creation of numerous European research projects, leading to a number of innovative features as well as technology breakthroughs. Safety has always been a key focus area for EUCAR and is today part of the strategic pillar “Safe and Integrated Mobiility”. The SAFER partners Volvo Group and Volvo Cars are both active in the EUCAR activities, also connecting strongly to the European Technology Platform ERTRAC where SAFER is involved.

    https://www.eucar.be/

    Led by the Swedish Traffic Administration, the Group for National Cooperation – Roads (GNS Väg) is an arena for the exchange of knowledge and coordination of activities within the area of road safety between important players with the aim of realising Sweden's Vision Zero. SAFER is a participant and is active in the GNS expert group on vulnerable road users. The overall purpose is to develop national strategies to improve road safety in Sweden.

    http://www.trafikverket.se/for-dig-i-branschen/samarbete-med-branschen/Samarbeten-for-trafiksakerhet/Gruppen-for-Nationell-Samverkan-inom-trafiksakerhetsomradet-GNS-Vag/

    HUMANIST is an International research network on human factors in transport driven as a European association. The research is organised within 4 areas; HMI – Human Machine Interaction, Human behaviour in traffic, ITS – Intelligent Transport Systems and Vehicle automation. SAFER’s access HUMANIST via the partner VTI and is a valuable source of expertise for the research community, industry and policy makers. It is also a great network to activate to reach out to European consortium and projects. HUMANIST organize a research conference every and a summer school which are great platforms for SAFER research projects and PhD students in particular to spread our results and a great opportunity for networking.

    http://www.humanist-vce.eu/

    Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI) is a general incorporated foundation dedicated to automotive testing and research activities. This is a neutral research institute focusing on research and testing activities pertaining to the “connectivity between vehicles and society”. This is an area which industry, government and academia are unable to address individually. SAFER Partners have through the years collaborated with JARI regarding experimental biomechanics and related research, accident research, development of methods for technical evaluation and naturalistic driving studies.

    http://www.jari.or.jp/

    K2 is Sweden's national centre for research and education on public transport. This is where academia, the public sector and industry meet to discuss and develop the role of public transport in Sweden. K2 investigates how public transport can contribute to attractive and sustainable metropolitan areas of the future. Also, K2 educates members of the public transport sector and inform decision-makers to facilitate an educated debate on public transport.

    http://www.k2centrum.se/en

    French research cluster working with research and development related to sustainable mobility. SAFER has been working with MOV'EO in high-profile projects and this research cluster is an important partner on the European arena. Also, the partners within MOV’EO are important for the SAFER network.

    http://pole-moveo.org/

    Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) is an independent, not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney, Australia. Several SAFER partners collaborate with researchers at the Injury Prevention Research Centre at NeuRA, specifically on children’s safety in cars and long-term disability from injuries attributable to road traffic crashes. NeuRA is affiliated with UNSW (University of New South Wales), which is ranked in the global top 100 universities.

    http://www.neura.edu.au/

    The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Northern Europe is an action-oriented network focusing on mobilizing Nordic scientific and technological expertise to solve problems and create a more sustainable society. The network links knowledge to action in order for society to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As a member, SAFER aims to find further means of collaboration on research, solutions initiatives and policy work in support of traffic safety and sustainable development.

    https://www.unsdsn-ne.org/

    Swedish Electromobility Centre is a national Centre of Excellence for electric and hybrid vehicles and infrastructure. The centre unite Swedish e-mobility expertise and are a node for interaction between academia, industry and society.

    http://www.neura.edu.au/

    The Swedish Cycling Research Centre (Cykelcentrum) is hosted by the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI). The administration of the national knowledge centre for research and education on cycling was commissioned to VTI by the Swedish government in 2018. In co-operation with other researchers, interest organisations and governmental bodies, VTI works on establishing long-term interdisciplinary research and co-operations as well as connecting research to the actual problems that the stakeholders (e.g. municipalities) struggle with to make cycling safer and more attractive.

    The Swedish WASP individual research program addresses research on autonomous systems acting in collaboration with humans, adapting to their environment through sensors, information and knowledge, and forming intelligent systems-of-systems. WASP involves researchers connected to SAFER

    http://wasp-sweden.org/

    WASP:s research arena Collaborative and Autonomous Transport aims at providing leading edge research facilities for highly automated driving and C-ITS (Collaborative Intelligent Transport Systems), with certain emphasis on city traffic. To ensure synergies, WARA has established contacts with SAFER's research lab Revere.

    http://wasp-sweden.org/demonstrators/wara-cat-collaborative-and-autonomous-transport

    POLIS is the leading network of European cities and regions working together to develop innovative technologies and policies for local transport. POLIS aim is to improve local transport through integrated strategies that address the economic, social and environmental dimensions of transport. To this end, the network supports the exchange of experiences and the transfer of knowledge between European local and regional authorities. POLIS also facilitate the dialogue between local and regional authorities and other mobility stakeholders such as industry, research centres and universities, and NGOs.

    https://www.polisnetwork.eu/

    The CCAM partnership was established 2021 and has the goal to create a more user-centered and inclusive mobility system, increasing road safety while reducing congestion and environmental footprint. Also, the partnership aims to create more collaborative research, testing and demonstration projects in order to accelerate the innovation pace and implementation of automated mobility. Working together at European helps to remove barriers and contribute to the acceptance and efficient rollout of automation technologies and services.

    SITIS (Sweden-India Transport Innovation and Safety Partnership) was launched in Stockholm in February 2020 at the third global conference on road safety within UN, with the vision to leverage the know-how of India and Sweden to accelerate progress and deployment of safe and sustainable transport solutions and actionable policies, contributing to significant progress of the Indian transport system. In the collaboration, Sweden also shares Vision Zero and how to build a successful structure for implementing traffic safety-enhancing measures at several different levels in society in a strategic and systematic way. Examples of research questions to be addressed within the partnership are related to data analysis of the traffic system, weather conditions, driver behaviour, overall logistics, deploying connectivity solutions for critical moments, emergency response systems and the ability to communicate with the infrastructure. SAFER partners currently include Autoliv, Volvo Group, Chalmers University of Technology, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) and the Swedish Transport Administration.

    EDUCATION

    Education for knowledge that saves lives

    Gathering and using skills and knowledge to prevent road accidents is a worthy cause. SAFER’s partners provide you, as a student or professional, with courses and seminars in vehicle and traffic safety. Find a suitable course based on your desired qualification from leading knowledge providers in the field of traffic safety research and education.

    CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

    Courses at Chalmers University of Technology

    HALMSTAD UNIVERSITY

    Courses at Halmstad University

    Lund University

    Courses at Lund University

    UNIVERSITY OF BORÅS

    Courses at University of Borås

    UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

    Courses at University of Gothenburg

    UNIVERSITY OF JÖNKÖPING

    Courses at University of Jönköping

    UNIVERSITY OF SKÖVDE

    Courses at University of Skövde

    VACANCIES

    Looking for a new position?

    Here you find vacant positions within vehicle and traffic safety at the SAFER partners. For the moment there are no vacancies, but this page is continuously being updated so please come back later and check out the latest.