Sensors

Technological innovation is a powerful ally of safety. Autostrada del Brennero has therefore decided to utilise it at various levels to enhance motorway monitoring, both in terms of its structure and traffic flow, but also to lay the foundations for the connected and autonomous driving approaches of the future.

The Company has, in fact, launched a plan to equip all major engineering structures with sensor systems capable of immediately detecting any critical issues, thereby enabling earlier and less disruptive interventions, all to the benefit of the motorway’s safety. The Colle Isarco viaduct and the bridge over the Po River are already equipped with a wide range of these devices such as strain gauges, accelerometers, speed sensors, crack gauges, temperature sensors, inclinometers, altimeters and vertical sensors for monitoring the riverbed, weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems, load cells, total stations and optical prisms, elastomagnetic sensors, satellite measurements (DInSAR) and acoustic emission sensors.

Sensors and cameras also enable traffic monitoring, and 68 special antennas – known as Roadside Units – have been installed along the 314-kilometre stretch of the motorway as part of the C-Roads project, which has enabled the trialling of cooperative intelligent transport systems. However, the new frontier in this regard is now represented by 5G: Autobrennero is leading the European 5GBEAM project that aims to enhance the 5G infrastructure along the A22, integrating seamless 5G coverage (700 and 3,700 MHz). The primary objective is to implement connected and automated mobility (CCAM) by utilising the capabilities of the Standalone (SA) 5G network – that is, a network entirely independent of 4G – and, in particular, its ultra-reliability and low latency (URLLC) features that are essential for achieving higher levels of automation.