The CAV project (Integration of Cooperative Systems for Autonomous Vehicles in Shared Traffic: Analysis of the Driving Environment) is a research initiative funded by Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation through the State Research Agency (AEI) (TRA2016-78886-C3-1-R).

The technical development of the project is led primarily by the University Institute for Automotive Research (INSIA) at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), with the goal of facilitating a safe transition to automated mobility in urban environments and on conventional roads.

From a technical standpoint, the core of the project consists of developing a high-level cognitive layer based on artificial intelligence. This technology processes and fuses, in real time, the data captured by onboard sensors (lidar, radar, and cameras) with wireless information received through cooperative intelligent transportation systems (C-ITS) and V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) networks. By mathematically modeling human behavior and different driving styles on both real and simulated platforms, the system provides the autonomous vehicle with situational awareness analogous to that of a real driver, ensuring smooth, safe, and coordinated decision-making within mixed traffic.