Goal of CARE
Crash absorbers are an important safety feature during roadworks. By strictly adhering to regulations and encouraging extra caution from road users, efforts are made to significantly improve road safety during construction activities. Currently, crash absorbers are always operated by a driver. This regularly raises concerns about workplace safety and efficiency, particularly regarding the safety of the crash absorber operator.
Considering that up to one-third of labor costs are spent on insurance and that collisions occur on a weekly basis on average, the pursuit of greater safety, efficiency, information, and automation is essential.
The CARE partners – Movias, Fero Groep, Orange en V-tron – aim to jointly realize a 5G use case focused on remotely operated crash absorbers. 5G wireless networks meet the high demands required for tele-operated vehicle use cases.
The use of tele-operated crash absorbers during roadworks will increase both safety and efficiency. Fewer road workers will be present in hazardous zones, and the crash absorbers can be repositioned more quickly and effectively.
Automated vehicles, enabled by intelligent 5G networks, will be a major game-changer for both the near and distant future.
Approach project
- WP1 – Project management
- 1.1 Coordination – A steering group with participants from all project partners is organized every two months.
- 1.2 Administration – This sub-package covers reporting and project administration activities.
- WP2, WP3, and WP4 are aligned and organized around two major milestones: the internal test in November 2025 (M1) and the demo in May 2026 (M2).
- WP2 (Design) and WP3 (Development) collaborate towards the first integration in WP4 for milestone M1 in November 2025. This is followed by further evaluation and optimization (sub-task 4.2). Based on this, further development of the various components (WP3) takes place, leading to a final integration (sub-task 4.3) and culminating in the final demonstration (sub-task 4.4). The process concludes with monitoring and a final evaluation.
- WP5 (Stakeholders) involves external stakeholders in the process. Relevant stakeholders are brought together through sub-task 5.1. Three meetings are planned with various actors, who will also be involved in the demonstration. Communication to both the professional sector and the general public is handled through sub-task 5.2. Finally, the development of the roadmap is planned in sub-task 5.3, which will include both lessons learned and next steps.
Contact V-tron:
Expected results
The project will be carried out in Belgium, utilizing the labs and offices of the participating partners.
In November 2025, an initial internal test (M1) will be organized at the Fero Group premises in Willebroek, involving one tele-operated crash absorber.
A demonstration (M2) is planned for May 2026 on an unused section of the E19 motorway in Machelen. During this demo, three tele-operated crash absorbers will be operated remotely from a tele-operation control center located at the Fero Group offices in Willebroek.
Challenges
The vehicles (currently trucks) will be equipped with advanced remote-control capabilities, including the ability to lower the impact cushion and display images on onboard screens.
Naturally, V-tron is closely involved in the rollout of both demonstrations M1 and M2, as well as in the necessary system integrations required for these events.
Project partners:
The Crash Absorber for Remote-operated Equipment (CARE) project was made possible in part by a grant from the Flemish Federal Public Service for Economy, SMEs, Self-employed and Energy.
