Connected and Automated Vehicles

This report defines how emerging C-ITS will integrate with existing ITS currently being operated by Austroads member road agencies. The report is limited to investigating what is required to achieve interoperability between 5.9 ITS (a term used to describe a subset of C-ITS which utilises 5.9 GHz communications) and the selected existing ITS infrastructure of electronic speed limit signs, traveller data collection, traffic signals and traveller information systems.

Interoperability was investigated for the four interoperability levels of technical, syntactical, semantic and organisational. From these investigations it was found that there are changes and elements required to make 5.9 ITS interoperable with the existing ITS infrastructure investigated with many common themes identified. Some of the key common themes include:

• To achieve technical interoperability will require elements such as a 5.9 roadside ITS station and software within the unit to form a 5.9 ITS message
• To achieve syntactical interoperability will require converting the ITS infrastructure content into the syntax required for 5.9 ITS messages
• To achieve semantic interoperability will require forming a 5.9 ITS message that complies with the standardised content and meaning, making allowance for international terminology
• To achieve organisational interoperability requires road agencies to integrate 5.9 ITS with existing ITS infrastructure across all interoperability levels.

While this report discusses the integration between ITS infrastructure and 5.9 ITS, it is acknowledged that some C-ITS functionality could be achieved through integrating C-ITS with existing ITS infrastructure using cellular communications. Additional issues associated with 5.9 ITS integration with ITS infrastructure include privacy, security, certification, liability, management of ‘big data’, private–public partnerships, field operation tests/trials and location and extent of 5.9 roadside ITS station deployment.