The International Road Federation (IRF) reaffirms its leadership at the ITS European Congress in Seville (19-21 May) in preparing infrastructure for the next generation of mobility. Through two high-level presentations, IRF Project Manager Agostina Massarini showcased IRF’s work aimed at enabling the safe, scalable deployment of Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM).

Harmonising Infrastructure for Automation: AUGMENTED CCAM 

In the session “CCAM: Challenges Towards Large Scale Deployment” organised by FACTUAL, IRF presented the short, medium and long terms that infrastructure will face in the arrival of autonomus vehicles.  

One of the main challenges highlighted by the IRF, is at the foundation level, stressing the importance of understanding and harmonising the infrastructure. IRF spotlighted the work of the Augmented CCAM Project which is doing exactly that. 

The project seeks to harmonise and evaluate Physical, Digital, and Communication Infrastructure (PDI) to accelerate the integration of automated mobility across Europe. It is developing 11 PDI support solutions (aiming at TLR 6-7) that are being applied and evaluated in different configurations in seven test sites across three European Countries (France, Latvia, Spain), encompassing a vast spectrum of physical (living labs, closed areas, open traffic highway, urban and periurban/rural environments) and virtual (DT, AV & driving simulators) test beds. 

“It’s not autonomous vehicles alone that will shape the future of mobility—it’s the system we build around it.”  — Agostina Massarini, IRF Project Manager 

Measuring Readiness: The Smart Road Infrastructure Classification Index    

In a second session, “The Arrival of Autonomous Vehicles and the Infrastructure Challenges: Are We Ready?” organised by SWARCO, IRF provided a global overview of infrastructure readiness and introduced the Smart Road Infrastructure Classification Index (SRICI) as a tool to tackle one of the main challenges posed by the arrival of AVs: ensuring that road networks are equipped to support autonomous mobility.  

Developed by the IRF in the context of the FRONTIER Project, the SRICI provides a universal, 1–10 scale framework for assessing road network readiness for AVs, considering physical, digital, and connectivity parameters, where 1 means a road is not smart and 10 that only TRL5 vehicles can perform. To do so, the SRICI evaluates everything from road markings and signage to digital mapping, cybersecurity, and network latency. This enables authorities and stakeholders to prioritise upgrades using data and supports harmonised development across contrasting environments—from government-led systems to private-sector-driven markets.  

IRF’s contribution lies in its advocacy for globally adaptable infrastructure solutions that support both urban and rural contexts, promoting safer, more equitable integration of AVs.