Research

BORDERLESS TRAFFIC SAFETY RESEARCH

Dedicated to save lives, prevent injuries and enable safe mobility

Traffic safety is as important as ever. Every year around 1.3 million people are killed in traffic accidents and 20–50 million injured. And SAFER is dedicated to reduce these numbers. Traffic safety is also essential in the creation of liveable, smart cities and sustainable, automated transport systems. This requires more in-depth knowledge about what really causes accidents and how to avoid them, together with excellent, collaborative research in the area of safe mobility. 

SAFER is hosted by Chalmers University of Technology and is Sweden's traffic safety research hub. By applying a unique interdisciplinary approach we deliver knowledge and research that enable people and goods to be transported safely and sustainably.

SAFER's research is conducted within four areas: Systems for accident prevention and automated driving, Road user behaviour, Human body protection and Safety performance evaluation.

THE SAFER RESEARCH AREAS

Collaborative traffic safety research for zero fatalities

Our five research areas represent world-class, multi-disciplinary research – all with the single-minded vision to save lives, prevent injuries and enable safe mobility. They are also the open research arena where our partners meet and identify key issues to initiate new research based on real-world needs.

 

SYSTEMS FOR ACCIDENT PREVENTION AND AD

SYSTEMS FOR ACCIDENT PREVENTION AND AD

How can active systems and automation predict and prevent collisions? This research area covers the development of automated functions that help the driver to avoid hazardous situations

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ROAD USER BEHAVIOUR

ROAD USER BEHAVIOUR

How do people behave in traffic and how can we support them to act safer? Taking a deep approach in human behaviour, this research area is about develop scientific methods and tools to create prerequisites for safe driving.

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HUMAN BODY PROTECTION

HUMAN BODY PROTECTION

How do we best protect people in a crash? SAFER continuously develops this research area with the aim to understand and develop principles for countermeasures to prevent injuries in accidents.

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SAFETY PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

SAFETY PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

How do we develop the best methods for predicting and assessing real-world vehicle and traffic safety? In this research area, our main priority is to provide trust in new safety systems to enable market introduction.

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POST-CRASH

POST-CRASH

What actions after a traffic accident are the most efficient in reducing mortality and injury severity? This research area addresses challenges for all road users related to what happens after a traffic accident is a fact. Covering a cross-disciplinary research approach, Care & Rescue focuses on improved incident detection and assessment, improved on-scene care and rescue and reducing secondary long-term effects of traffic accidents.

More about Post-crash

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.

PROJECT PORTFOLIO

Real-world traffic safety research that makes a difference

SAFER conducts world-class traffic safety research in a multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach. Since our start in 2006, we have completed more than 450 traffic safety research projects with the aim of saving lives, preventing injuries and contributing to sustainable, safe mobility. This extensive knowledge is made available for all our partners and the traffic safety research community. Read more about our projects here.

 

THE SAFER CONNECTED RESEARCH RESOURCES

As a SAFER partner you get access to SAFER’s open research arena and, through relevant projects, research resources available within the network. Also, expertise to use these research resources is available within the community. The overall idea - and one of our strategic cornerstones - is that research should be easier, better and more efficient through collaborative partnerships. This unique set of platforms includes full-scale road traffic safety test environments, simulators and a research lab for active safety and autonomous driving. SAFER also provides physical work areas as well as a world-class naturalistic driving data platform. Together, these resources allow borderless research with outstanding opportunities of real-world testing and validation.

ASTAZERO REAL-WORLD PROVING GROUND

AstaZero (Active Safety Test Area Zero) is one of the most advance full-scale test environments in the world for a safe, sustainable and connected automated road traffic future. Different traffic environments make it possible to test advanced safety systems and their functions for all kinds of traffic and traffic situations – in city environments as well as on rural, multi-lane and high-speed roads. This enables a broad range of research, development and validation. AstaZero also serves as an international testing area open for stakeholders within industry, society and academia.

Read more at www.astazero.com

REVERE RESEARCH LAB FOR ACTIVE SAFETY AND AUTONOMOUS DRIVING

Revere (Resource for Vehicle Research) is a research facility with a focus on autonomous driving, active safety and vehicle dynamics. It contains a research lab with resources such as technical equipment, test vehicles (light and heavy) and supporting personnel. Located at Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg, Revere is created to provide a platform where industry stakeholders and the academia collaborate to enable cutting edge research and break-through innovations.

Read more at www.chalmers.se

THE SAFER NATURALISTIC DRIVING DATA PLATFORM

The SAFER Naturalistic Driving Data platform is a secure, world-class platform for handling data from naturalistic driving data collection. Providing state-of-the-art data management, several large datasets and a leading research competence regarding naturalistic driving data, this platform gives unique access to naturalistic data derived from 7,5 million driving kilometres. The SAFER partner researchers also have access to the in-depth crash database INTACT and IGLAD (Initative for the global harmonization of accident data).

Do you want to know more, please contact John-Fredrik Grönvall

THE SAFER DATA CATALOGUE

Knowledge of different datasets available in SAFER's network is important for efficient work within projects, providing new perspectives on past and present research, and being able to create completely new projects through data-driven research. To facilitate access to quality assured data, the SAFER Data Catalogue, where relevant datasets within the network are described, are available for the SAFER partners. The datasets cover different types of data, from field operational tests with a vehicle or location-based focus, real-time data described in the Swedish National Access Point (NAP), and accident databases.

Webforum

DRIVING SIMULATORS

Sim IV at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute has an advanced motion platform system and permits significant linear movement along both x and y axes. It is useful when simultaneous longitudinal and lateral acceleration is important or if a wide field of vision is prioritised. Cabs and passenger compartments can be exchanged quickly. The simulator's imaging system has a camera-based calibration system, making it easy to switch between different driver positions.

Read more at www.vti.se

SAFER OPEN RESEARCH ARENA AT LINDHOLMEN SCIENCE PARK

All SAFER partners have access to our facilities at Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg. The SAFER office is a meeting place with 290 sqm working area including about 15 workplaces as well as meeting rooms, analysis rooms for confidential naturalistic driving data, conference facilities and networking areas. As an open research arena, we enable our partners to join collaborative research across the disciplines in a way that make them more competitive and able to contribute to a safer traffic environment. SAFER is also connected to other open innovation activities such as DriveSweden, CLOSER, Prehospital ICT arena and AstaZero.

Read more at www.lindholmen.se

WORLD LEADING HUMAN BODY MODEL FUNCTIONALITY

Within human body modelling (HBM), SAFER provides a competence platform for our partners as well as a natural contact point for external cooperation. SAFER’s HBM vision encompasses a scalable, tuneable, human body model with omni-direc¬tional injury prediction capabilities, suitable for use in high-g and low-g events and as any road user, occupant or vulnerable group. This means a virtual human substitute that can be used for predicting injury outcome in any impact situation and direction of loading, able to be morphed to replicate a large proportion of the population, standing or sitting, with humanlike kinematics in crash events as well as pre-crash manoeuvres. The SAFER HBM research combines several projects, all developing the existing model towards the overall goal of performance. The research is moving towards an open-source model, to enable wider use of the tool.

TEST TRACK AT STORA HOLM

SAFER's partner the road safety organisation NTF Väst offers our researchers to use a very closely located traffic training site. Stora Holm offers various test tracks and skid pad for tests and events. Here you can drive on different surfaces such as gravel, asphalt, slippery surface and in hilly terrain. The facility's off-road course is located in a naturally area at the facility. There are also possibilities to practice driving in transverse upward and downward slopes as well as in a water-filled ditch. The facility has safety hall equipped with crash scales, a collition chair and more.

Read more at storaholm.se

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Our funding opportunities for partners

SAFER offers its researchers access to various research programs with funding opportunities.

SAFER Pre-study programme

Do you have a traffic safety research idea that you would like to develop together with SAFER partners? We have an opportunity! Funding will proactively stimulate project generation with several SAFER partners involved to maximize the benefits of our multidisciplinary platform. The funding is for getting started with strategic knowledge creation that can be leveraged e.g. by using the unique, new competence as a basis for national funding or an entry ticket to prestigious international collaborations. We also welcome proposals that are of a different nature, for instance for finalization of publications from a completed project or investigation of a new area. Welcome with your application!

SAFER Pre-study programme (access for SAFER partners only)

Open Research at AstaZero

This program funded curiosity projects at AstaZero by providing free access to the world’s first full-scale test environment for future road safety. The programme, that was open 2016-2021, funded projects to help to stimulate and facilitate open, independent and world-leading research. The program aimed to generate openly available results and data and an inspiring network between researchers. Researchers from universities or research institutions as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could apply for test track time, workshop use, support (e.g. testing engineers, or drivers), and use of equipment.

Read more about open research at AstaZero

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

Traffic safety research by SAFER

The SAFER collaborative, multi-disciplinary research approach is well proven and highly recognised in the world of vehicle and traffic safety research. Many of our projects have resulted in cutting edge safety technologies and knowledge that have impacted our partners as well as the society, locally as well as globally. And most of all – they have contributed to safer traffic environments and helped save lives and prevent injuries.

Safer doctors

All our SAFER doctors will be listed here shortly.