Hi-Drive Concludes with Events Showcasing Europe’s Automated Driving Future
Brussels, Belgium | 25 November 2025 - After nearly five years of research and large-scale testing, the European flagship project Hi-Drive has reached its conclusion. In the lead-up to its Final Event in Brussels, IRF and the Hi-Drive consortium hosted a closing webinar exploring the technologies enabling safer and more reliable automated driving across Europe.
Advancing Technology Enablers for Higher Automation
Held on 15 October, the webinar “Technology Enablers for Higher Vehicle Automation and Operations” brought together experts to discuss how key technologies such as V2X communication, high-precision positioning, machine learning and cybersecurity. It was shared how these kinds of technology are helping extend and harmonise Operational Design Domains (ODDs).
Speakers from ICCS and Stellantis-CRF shared insights from more than 120 experiments carried out across Europe, covering controlled environments and public roads with real traffic and weather conditions. These tests provided valuable data on how Automated Driving Functions (ADFs) perform in complex situations including low visibility, mixed traffic and cross-border travel.
This final knowledge exchange set the stage for Hi-Drive’s full results showcased in Brussels.
Celebrating Europe’s Flagship Automated Driving Project
On 25 November, the Hi-Drive Final Event at AutoWorld Brussels gathered experts, industry leaders and partners to celebrate the outcomes of this €60 million Horizon 2020 project. The event featured 29 exhibits, including 16 prototype vehicles and 5 simulators.
It demonstrations of next-generation automated driving technologies and featured panel discussions highlighting achievements across vehicles, enablers, operations, impact assessment and user studies
Testing during the project included over 6,000 test runs, 37 prototype vehicles, 38 use cases and 1,800 participants, covering motorways, urban and rural roads, parking environments and diverse weather conditions.
Human-Centric Automated Mobility
A central component of Hi-Drive’s work was understanding how people engage with automated vehicles. Through global studies involving 20,000 participants, the project examined user acceptance, comfort, safety perception and interaction with both in-vehicle and external human–machine interfaces (HMIs). Innovative methods such as VR-based comfort studies and advanced driver monitoring helped shape a more inclusive approach to automation.
The closing webinar and Final Event together showcased how Hi-Drive has transformed research into practical innovation. Hi-Drive leaves behind a robust legacy for future automated mobility across Europe, having strengthened technical foundations, validated operations and presented deep insights into user needs.
Hi-Drive Webinar Explores the Technology Enablers for Higher Vehicle Automation
15 October | Online - IRF and the Hi-Drive European Project recently hosted a webinar titled “Technology Enablers for Higher Vehicle Automation & Operations: Testing Performance and Reliability of ADFs for Extending and Fragmenting ODDs.”
The webinar gathered experts and innovators from across Europe to explore how advanced technologies are paving the way for safer, smarter and more connected mobility and showed how testing methods directly shape the vehicles, road systems and safety technologies we use every day.
Hi-Drive is at the forefront of efforts to extend and harmonise Operational Design Domains (ODDs), the real-world conditions under which automated vehicles can operate safely. By focusing on critical technology enablers such as Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication, high-precision positioning, cybersecurity and machine learning, the project tackles some of the toughest challenges to achieving trustworthy, scalable automation.
These innovations aim to make automated driving more reliable and responsive to the diverse realities of Europe’s road networks, both urban and rural, national and cross-border.
Turning Research into Real-World Results
During the webinar, Christina Anagnostopoulou from the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) and Luisa Andreone, Stellantis-CRF, shared how Hi-Drive has been testing Automated Driving Functions (ADFs) in diverse environments. The topics covered a scenarios ranging from controlled test tracks to public roads with real traffic and weather conditions. Having conducted over 120 experiments across Europe, the project’s partners are generating valuable insight into how automation can perform safely and consistently in complex scenarios, such as low visibility, cross-border travel, and mixed traffic.
The initiative also relies on advanced data engineering tools to ensure transparent, high-quality analysis across all trials, an essential step in building public confidence in automated transport. As Luisa Andreone, Stellantis-CRF, explained, the project “is pushing towards robust and reliable automated driving, extending and defragmenting ODDs whilst ensuring interoperability across countries and brands.”
A Step Forward for Safer, Smarter Mobility
By connecting research with policy and practice, Hi-Drive exemplifies how technological innovation can contribute to safer and more sustainable transport systems. The integration of automation, connectivity, and data-driven learning has the potential to reduce crashes, optimise traffic flow and support greener, more efficient mobility across regions.
“Hi-Drive’s operations are designed to test automated driving functions under a variety of real-world conditions, such as those exhibited in closed-track simulations and public-road trials, to ensure their safety and reliability.” - Christina Anagnostopoulou
The project’s outcomes will be showcased at the Hi-Drive Final Event: “Bridging the Gaps in the ODD,” which will be held on 25th November 2025 at the AutoWorld Museum in Brussels.
Together with partners like Hi-Drive, the IRF continues to advocate for innovation, making roads not only more advanced but also safer, cleaner, and more accessible for all.
