A Fiat 500e travels 8 km without anyone at the wheel on the Milan-Serravalle

ROME - Multimodal mobility and autonomous driving are the result of the “Serravalle Future Drive” project. The experimental initiative is the result of the collaboration between Milano Serravalle and the Aida (Artificial Intelligence Driving Autonomous) team of the Politecnico di Milano. The project is part of the research program of the Most National Center that led to the development of a prototype of an autonomous driving shuttle, a Fiat 500e, to verify how this innovative technology can promote multimodal mobility. The aim of the initiative is to test the effectiveness of a shared autonomous shuttle service in real traffic contexts and how this can contribute to the construction of a more sustainable, intelligent and interconnected mobility. Serravalle Future Drive is the first experiment in Italy that connects peripheral hubs, connected to the motorway network to urban transport nodes, exploiting the potential of autonomous driving and aims to reduce congestion in city areas and promote the use of public transport.

The 8 km experimental route chosen for the project, from the Famagosta M2 metro station to the Cantalupa area, the access point to the A7 towards Milan, represents a strategic stretch for testing the integration between the motorway and urban networks. Participants were able to closely follow the behaviour of the autonomous 500e shuttle, supplied by technical partner Fassina and equipped with an autonomous driving system based on artificial intelligence, developed by the Politecnico di Milano. The vehicle, equipped with technology to collect and analyse data in real time, faced complex situations such as motorway junctions and exits in complete autonomy, in variable traffic conditions, concretely demonstrating its potential.

“Serravalle Future Drive represents the first project in Italy that concretely unites the world of motorways with the urban world through autonomous driving technology,” said Elio Catania, president of Milano Serravalle. “It is a pioneering challenge that Milano Serravalle wanted to take up, aware of the strategic importance of integrating existing infrastructure and innovation to build truly intermodal, sustainable mobility that serves citizens.”

“We are proud to contribute to such an ambitious project, which places Milan at the center of technological innovation and opens new perspectives for the mobility of the future - underlined Ivo Roberto Cassetta, CEO of Milano Serravalle - This initiative represents a concrete step towards a more sustainable, efficient and attentive mobility to the needs of the territory”.

“This experimental project of a multimodal autonomous shuttle marks a new step in the Aida team's journey towards increasingly sustainable mobility,” added Prof. Savaresi of the Politecnico di Milano, scientific director of the Aida project. “The interconnection between different traffic scenarios represents a concrete evolution towards more flexible and widespread public transport solutions, enhancing the know-how gained by the Politecnico di Milano in research and experimentation on autonomous vehicles, both on the track and on public roads.” “A concrete example of how technology can become a lever for intelligent connection between strategic points of the territory that today escape traditional mobility networks,” concluded Gianmarco Montanari, director general of the National Center for Sustainable Mobility Most. “It is a mobility model that creates value by making the territory more accessible, functional and connected.” Finally, it should be noted that the project is part of a broader research plan for the promotion of safe, sustainable and multimodal mobility, capable of integrating advanced technologies, infrastructure networks and public services, to respond to the challenges of the evolution of mobility. (Maurilio Rigo)