The EVENTS project aims to help Connected and Automated Vehicles deal with unexpected situations, such as sudden traffic changes, bad weather, or sensor problems. It develops perception and decision-making systems that keep driving safe and reliable, including backup strategies when needed. The Institute of Measurement, Control and Microtechnology (MRM) focuses on on-board perception using V2X, as well as testing V2X communication in real traffic with connected infrastructure sensors and evaluating the results with automated vehicles.

The CONTROL project is developing a comprehensive systemic approach for the automotive, commercial vehicle, and rail sectors to identify and evaluate very rare but safety-critical situations in the operation of autonomous systems. In other words, the project focuses on the evaluation and control of uncertainties that arise due to the complexity of the open environment of automated vehicles. The Institute of Measurement, Control and Microtechnology at the Ulm University is a partner in the project and focuses its research on the uncertainty assessment of fusion and tracking methods.

PoDIUM works on improving both physical and digital infrastructure to enable safe and efficient automated and connected driving, tackling challenges like data coordination and system compatibility. The project tests its solutions in real conditions across three European Labs and aims to create a flexible blueprint for a wide range of road environments. Germany’s only real-world laboratory for connected and automated driving is located at the University of Ulm, where a pilot intersection is equipped with infrastructure sensors. The MRM focuses on reliably supporting cooperative automated vehicles in urban traffic, including assessing the trustworthiness of sensor data and using multiple communication channels.

The autotech.agil project contributes to road mobility by developing an open software and electronic framework. It emphasizes standardized interfaces and modular design to enable components to be reused and expanded. This allows new functions to be easily integrated across areas such as research and development. At Ulm University, the MRM focuses on advancing context-aware perception and connected features and integrating them into planning and control systems for automated driving.

The CONNECT project creates a trust management framework for autonomous and connected vehicles, combining cloud-based information and 5G communication to enable faster, safer, and cooperative driving while supporting next-generation intelligent transport services. The Institute of Distributed Systems (VS) provides expertise in developing innovative trust models for connected and automated mobility systems.

The VERANO project is developing digital radar networks that are designed to enable reliable environmental perception for automated driving through optimal load balancing and the use of AI. The focus is on efficiency and real-time capability. The approaches developed can also be transferred to other areas such as industry, logistics, and medical technology. In Verano, the Institute of Microwave Engineering (MWT) is working on networks of radar sensors and the question of how these can be synchronized internally. Synchronized coherent networks can increase the angular resolution of the sensors many times over.

The 6G-ICAS4Mobility project investigates the interaction between communication and sensor technology so that vehicles and other mobile systems such as drones can jointly detect their surroundings more accurately. One focus is on direct sidelink connections, which also work without network coverage, thereby enabling greater safety and efficiency. Demonstrations in realistic scenarios show the potential for future mobility applications. In this project, MWT is investigating how imaging techniques from radar technology can be applied to communication signals for environmental detection. The aim is to enable environmental detection using typical communication devices.

The ConnRAD project develops concepts to enable secure and resilient communication in networked mobility systems. The focus is on methods for building trust and evaluating information quality, which will serve as the basis for future standards and approvals. Prototype applications are used to test the approaches in practice and demonstrate their usability.

In this project, the Institute of Media Informatics is investigating how highly automated vehicles can be made usable for people with visual impairments. The focus is on developing and testing interfaces that enhance situational awareness through auditory, haptic, and multimodal approaches. The aim is to promote mobility, trust, and acceptance while providing design guidelines for future systems.