Smart Urban Infrastructure for Multimodal and Resilient Mobility

SMARTIN stands for Smart digital solutions for Multimodal, Accessible, Resilient, user-centric urban Infrastructure. This project, funded by the European Commission, launched in July 2025 and lasting 36 months, will bring together 17 European partners with the goal of easing the monitoring of cyber-physical infrastructure and promoting multimodality in transportation.

It aims to accelerate the attainment of the Green Deal goals through an holistic framework of innovative models, tools, and services that enable data-driven evolution of infrastructure management, facilitate dynamic monitoring of cyber-physical infrastructures and promote multimodality and fair use of transportation systems and services.

Advanced AI-driven analytics have to be developed for fusing infrastructure monitoring data at different geospatial resolutions, enabling proactive incident detection and supporting infrastructure providers and users in operations and maintenance management. The approach will be validated through four thematic demonstrations in different European countries, addressing different infrastructure configurations and multimodal services. These include enhancing safety levels for micromobility users and vulnerable road users through hazard-aware assets, enabling dynamic management of infrastructure to support sustainable and inclusive transport, improving coordination of land-based multimodal services for passengers and freight, and increasing the efficiency and safety of inland waterways.

The first demonstration pilot takes place in Barcelona, and the outcome will be an application prototype that integrates a computer vision module, capable of processing video captured from a vehicle, obtaining information for safety and infrastructure, and communicating it almost in real-time. More specifically, it will be able to recognize lane types and estimate pedestrian density ahead of micromobility vehicles, detect and classify pavement issues like potholes or cracks, and automatically assess the safety of cycling lanes based on the CycleRAP methodology.

CARNET is focusing on two main tasks:

• • • • Pedestrian density estimation: Developing a computer vision model to estimate and map the density of pedestrians.
      • Lane defect detection and classification: Developing a computer vision model to detect, classify, and locate defects in the micromobility infrastructure that may pose a hazard to the safety of riders.

The expected scientific impacts from the project are better interconnection of transport infrastructure and transport means to reduce average delays, redesigning existing infrastructure for improving coexistence of different mobility forms in urban environment, reduction of transport infrastructure operational costs, and creating a greener, more dynamically adapted, and attractive mobility system with reduced pollutants and fossil fuels.

In conclusion, the SMARTIN project represents a significant step toward the digital transformation of urban infrastructure management, with a strong emphasis on safety, accessibility, and sustainability. By leveraging AI-driven analytics and real-time computer vision technologies, the project aims to enhance the monitoring and maintenance of multimodal transport systems while promoting inclusive and environmentally friendly mobility. The contributions from CARNET in pedestrian density estimation and lane defect detection are expected to yield impactful scientific and societal outcomes. These include improved infrastructure interoperability, enhanced safety for vulnerable road users, reduced operational costs, and progress toward climate-neutral urban mobility in alignment with the European Sustainability Goals.