As Europe moves towards smarter, safer and more inclusive transport systems, the EvoRoads project continues to advance across its work packages. One of its key pillars is Work Package 3 (WP3) – Integrated safety systems and digital twins, which focuses on turning data into real-time safety actions by linking digital twins, behaviour-aware services and smart road equipment to reduce risk for all road users, especially the most vulnerable.
Building the Safety Intelligence of EvoRoads
Work Package 3 (WP3) plays a central role in EvoRoads as the project’s “safety brain”. Its purpose is to transform data into concrete safety actions by connecting road infrastructure, vehicles and users within a single, integrated Safe System framework. Rather than simply monitoring road conditions, WP3 focuses on understanding how risks emerge and responding to them in real time, with particular attention to vulnerable road users.
At the heart of WP3 are the Smart Mobility Digital Twin and the Network Digital Twin for V2X connectivity. Together, they form the data backbone of EvoRoads, linking pilots, vehicles, infrastructure and safety services across the entire project and enabling coordinated, data-driven safety interventions.
What WP3 Develops
WP3 delivers a set of complementary tools designed to work together as an active safety ecosystem. These include digital twins for real-time data management, smart road equipment such as plastronic guardrail beacons and dynamic lighting signage, behaviour analysis frameworks and monitoring protocols, smartphone-based nudging tools, and advanced safety services for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) and micromobility users.
This combination allows WP3 to close the loop between data and action: it analyses how infrastructure and road users interact, identifies unsafe situations and behaviours, and then translates those insights into timely warnings, guidance or infrastructure responses. The result is a system that actively supports safer behaviour on both urban and rural roads.
Progress to Date: Key WP3 Deliverables
WP3 has already delivered two major reports that together represent the first operational release of its safety ecosystem.
D3.1 – Digital Twin and Smart Road Equipment V1
This deliverable presents the first version of the EvoRoads Digital Twin platform. The platform manages smart-road data in real time and acts as a common communication layer between pilots, tools and other work packages. The report also introduces the first iteration of plastronic smart warning beacons: cost-effective, solar-powered guardrail units capable of displaying dynamic light patterns to warn drivers in hazardous locations, particularly on secondary and rural roads.
D3.2 – Behavioural Models, CAV Infrastructure Readiness and Micromobility Services V1
This deliverable focuses on understanding and improving road-user behaviour and infrastructure readiness. It introduces a first behaviour taxonomy and monitoring framework, outlines the concept and design of a smartphone nudging application, and presents tools for assessing road conditions from the perspective of connected and automated vehicles. It also includes initial micromobility safety solutions, such as a mountable sensory kit for bicycles and e-scooters.
Overall, the core building blocks of WP3 are now in place. Most technologies have reached a pilot-ready or near-pilot-ready level, and the work package is well positioned to move into large-scale integration and testing.
Key Insights from the Work So Far
One important insight from WP3 is the value of combining infrastructure data with detailed behaviour information. Linking digital twins, behaviour taxonomies, surveys and roadside or vehicle sensors makes it possible to identify not only where risks occur, but also why unsafe behaviours emerge in specific locations or conditions.
Another key observation is the effectiveness of low-cost, widely distributed technologies. Smart plastronic beacons and mountable sensor kits can reveal safety issues that are often missed by traditional inspection regimes, especially on rural and secondary roads that are monitored less frequently.
Finally, early work with behaviour monitoring and surveys highlighted a clear gap between perceived behaviour and actual observed behaviour. This finding underlines the importance of combining subjective data (such as questionnaires) with objective measurements and nudging tools in a single, coherent framework.
Contributing to Safer European Roads
WP3 contributes directly to EvoRoads’ goal of delivering tangible safety benefits for European citizens. The Smart Mobility and Network Digital Twins enable faster detection of risks and coordinated responses across vehicles, infrastructure and services. Smart road equipment provides targeted, real-time warnings in dangerous locations, while behaviour-focused tools help identify unsafe habits and encourage safer behaviour through guidance rather than enforcement alone.
At the same time, the road-condition assessment system for CAVs and the micromobility sensor kit improve safety for emerging vehicles and vulnerable users by detecting surface defects and hazards along their real travel paths. Together, these solutions support a more cooperative and preventive approach to road safety.
Addressing Urban, Secondary and Rural Roads
WP3 solutions are explicitly designed to operate across a wide range of road environments. Solar-powered, LoRa-connected smart beacons are suitable for rural and secondary roads where traditional roadside infrastructure is limited. The digital twin architecture can integrate data from dense urban intersections, rural curves and micromobility corridors within a single platform.
Behaviour analysis and nudging strategies are developed in close collaboration with the pilots to reflect real conditions in both urban and rural contexts. For micromobility and vulnerable road users, particular attention is given to surface quality, lighting and infrastructure continuity, which are critical safety factors outside city centres.
What Comes Next for WP3
Following the delivery of D3.1 and D3.2, WP3 is now moving from design and prototyping into full integration and pilot deployment. The next phase will focus on integrating all WP3 tools into the EvoRoads platform and Data Space, deploying and validating solutions across all pilot sites in Spain, Italy, Latvia and Romania, and refining the tools based on real-world feedback.
With its technical foundations in place, WP3 is entering the phase where its solutions will be demonstrated in practice, showing how integrated data, behaviour analysis and smart infrastructure can work together to prevent crashes before they happen.
