The U-space concept was the response of the Warsaw Declaration in 2017 to use drones as a leverage for jobs and new business opportunities. The U-space Blueprint published by the SESAR Joint Undertaking in 2017, states that “U-space is a set of new services and specific procedures designed to support safe, efficient and secure access to airspace for large numbers of drones”. The number of drones' applications is increasing and, with them, the number of drones that will be flying simultaneously in a same geographical area that will need to be safely separated between them and from manned aircraft to allow the maximum number of flights in a given airspace. The separation problem becomes even worst when flights take place in an urban environment where buildings and extreme turbulent wind shear appears close to them. USEPE is aware of these problems and will research on drones’ separation methods in high demanding environments such as cities. This research will be accompanied by a concept of operations that will be implemented and simulated for its validation. USEPE will also research on the use of machine learning algorithms to automate the safe separation and deconfliction of drones while maintaining airspace capacity in different environments and provide the U-space separation management system with artificial intelligence to comply with the statement made in the European ATM Masterplan Roadmap for the safe integration of drones into all classes of airspace. “[…]to take advantage of the latest developments related to technological areas, such as artificial intelligence […]”. In order to obtain valuable results, a casuistic of real urban scenarios will be defined and their feasibility will be assessed to select and implement the more suitable ones and perform a full validation by using the European Operational Concept Validation Methodology (E-OCVM). The research approach will take into account both the strategic and tactical flight phases.

Call topic MG3.5-2014 notes that the deployment of C-ITS has not kept pace with the technological development, implying that deployment is being restrained by non-technical factors. CIMEC, as a proposed CSA for this topic, aims to support the accelerated take-up of C-ITS by increasing the alignment of technological solutions with user needs, thereby removing perceived barriers and risks in deployment. European highways authorities are relatively well educated, prepared and supported regarding C-ITS, including through a series of EC- and national funded R&D projects. However the greatest benefits are expected through the more complex and fragmented city context, which up to now is much less understood. CIMEC focuses especially on this urban C-ITS context. CIMEC brings together key collaborative institutions, supported by a panel of core cities and by the European city network Polis. This meta-network has extensive experience in bringing together cities and suppliers to optimise ITS, and has specific expertise in a range of C-ITS at national and European level. The objectives of CIMEC are to •capture and document a set of realistic use cases for C-ITS in cities, supported by robust business cases •identify practical project structures which enable the deployment of these use cases •identify how emerging standards for C-ITS will affect, and should respond to, urban systems and processes •show possible system architecture and workflow of C-ITS support systems •promote multi-sector stakeholder dialogue, engagement and collaboration The principal output will be a roadmap for city deployment of C-ITS which has been validated against user needs and technology maturity, captured in meaningful project descriptions. By developing a single, coherent narrative and communicating it effectively to all relevant stakeholder groups, this will ensure that standards, product development, project management, and policy goals are fully aligned across the European urban C-ITS context.

SATELLITE will function as anchor for the entire CIVITAS Network, coordinating and supporting ongoing and future CIVITAS2020 projects. SATELLITE will address the MG5.5b call topic by helping cities gain better access to innovative solutions to properly address transport challenges they are facing. SATELLITE will make sure the latest innovations resulting from European urban mobility research reach cities through adequate cross-project coordination and exchange mechanisms. For innovations to be properly scaled up, sufficient information on their actual impact is required. SATELLITE will further elaborate the CIVITAS Impact and Process Evaluation Framework and provide IA projects with support mechanisms to implement and apply this framework. Through capacity-building, SATELLITE will provide city practitioners with the necessary skills to apply innovations in their own context, while additional exchange activities will prepare for the actual transfer and take-up of these solutions through community building approaches where cities can learn from their peers. Moreover, the project enhances the direct exchange and cooperation between the public and private sector, offering a dedicated online marketplace for urban transport innovations. SATELLITE dissemination activities will promote CIVITAS successes and improve access to available solutions through a varied range of communication tools and activities. Structured networking among all CIVITAS Forum members, with the annual conference as main highlight and with strong links to CIVINETs will encourage lasting capitalisation of activities. Unique selling points include: functioning as bridge between past and future of CIVITAS; bringing research tools to a marketplace for improved application and accessibility; gathering leading European and international urban transport networks in one CIVITAS CSA for the first time; reaching beyond Europe to widen the impact of CIVITAS; preparing for a lasting legacy of CIVITAS innovations