The Scientific Conference of the Association of Spanish Scientists in the Republic of Austria (ACERA), held at the Business School of Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz on April 17, 2026, featured a series of presentations and live demonstrations from the European research project OptiPEx, highlighting innovative solutions for safer and more efficient mobility systems.
The OptiPEx project was showcased through two key use cases: pedestrian-to-vehicle communication and passenger distribution optimisation, both addressing current challenges in urban mobility through advanced data analysis and artificial intelligence.
In the pedestrian-to-vehicle communication use case, researchers presented two posters: “Evaluating Pedestrian Risks in Shared Spaces Through Autonomous Vehicle Experiments on a Fixed Track” and “V2P Collision Warnings for Distracted Pedestrians: A Comparative Study with Traditional Auditory Alerts.” These contributions explored how emerging technologies, including autonomous systems and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, can enhance safety in complex traffic environments.
Complementing the presentations, a live demonstration featured a wheeled robot performing autonomous navigation and pedestrian avoidance in the area outside the venue. The demo illustrated real-time interaction between automated systems and pedestrians, offering a tangible example of how such technologies could be deployed in future shared spaces.
The second use case, passenger distribution optimisation, focused on improving efficiency in public transport systems. The poster “Counting on AI? A Real-World Test in Public Transport” presented results from applying AI-based models to monitor and analyse passenger flows. This work was accompanied by a live demonstration using a camera feed from the conference venue, where AI algorithms were used to count and track participants in real time, showcasing the practical application of these tools in dynamic environments.
Together, these activities highlighted the potential of the OptiPEx project to leverage AI and intelligent systems for enhancing safety, optimising mobility flows, and supporting data-driven decision-making in transportation.
The ACERA conference provided an ideal platform to present these developments, fostering exchange between researchers and strengthening collaboration within the European scientific community.
