News

SAFER’s partners Viscando and Jönköping University, together with Jönköping municipality, are set to embark on an initiative titled "Data and AI for Decision-Making Support in Traffic Infrastructure Development" (DAIMOND). This project marks the commencement of an exciting artificial intelligence (AI) journey for enhanced traffic safety in cities.

Support safe infrastructure development
The primary objective of DAIMOND is to support road infrastructure planning and development, with a particular emphasis on safety, inclusiveness, and sustainability for active modes of mobility. To achieve this, the project team recognizes the need to shift from conventional decision-making based on assumptions and individual opinions to a data-driven and AI-oriented approach.

Steet crossings as case study
In this innovative initiative, AI methods will be introduced through a case study focused on selecting street crossing types in school areas within the city of Jönköping, Sweden. Leveraging advancements in AI methods including machine learning, deep learning and symbolic representation, the project will analyze data collected from infrastructure sensors and municipality databases to gain insights into the behaviors of vulnerable road users, especially children in different types of crossings, helping municipality identify the best crossing designs.  

Prototype for decision making
Despite the potential of these technologies, the effective application of AI for pedestrian safety analysis requires expertise and experience that is currently lacking at municipalities. DAIMOND aims to bridge this gap by initiating the AI journey within the traffic development department and simultaneously developing a prototype for decision support in street design. The journey will be accelerated by deep AI expertise from researchers from Jönköping University,  and broad knowledge on traffic data collection and analysis from Viscando. This prototype, based on an AI analysis and modelling of road user behaviors, will serve as a testing ground and showcase the capabilities of AI technologies to facilitate development of safer and more inclusive traffic infrastructure. The project’s vision is that the prototype will grow into a powerful AI tool that will facilitate decision making in urban road design holistically – and that it will be broadly adopted by municipalities in Sweden.

SAFER generated pre-study as foundation
DAIMOND is a continuation of the SAFER-associated pre-study SINTIA, funded through the focus group for traffic safety, led by SAFER and funded by Drive Sweden/Vinnova, in the AI Enhanced Mobility program. The project is aligning with SAFER's vision, Vision Zero, and Sweden's ambition for a leading role in safety. The project acknowledges SAFER's role in supporting the dissemination of results and gathering stakeholders, including municipalities, around the solution. Additionally, there is consideration for the establishment of a new focus group within SAFER.

Project details

• Duration: November, 2023, to October, 2024
• Financer: VINNOVA
• Budget: 779 KSEK (600 KSEK grant)
• Partners: Jönköping Municipality, Jönköping University, Viscando AB
• Project Leader: Carlos Trischler, Jönköping municipality