What does it take to turn advanced mobility technology into something people actually trust, accept and use? ERTICO together with its Partners SAE Group Europe, ICCS, and experts from the University of Leeds plus other organisations across Europe, are helping bring this question to the forefront of the automated mobility debate.
A new article developed around the EU-funded HIDDEN project explores why technological progress alone is not enough. Trust, accessibility, human behaviour, ethics and societal acceptance can ultimately determine whether innovation moves successfully from research to real-world deployment – and why Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) need to be part of that journey from the very beginning.
Entitled “The Value of Including Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) in EU-Funded Innovation and Research: The HIDDEN Project,” the article examines the growing role of Social Sciences and Humanities in European transport research and innovation. It brings together perspectives from experts across engineering, psychology, ethics, law, standardisation, human factors and social sciences, demonstrating why interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for the successful development, deployment and societal acceptance of Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM) technologies.
The article also reflects a wider evolution in European research and innovation: from the predominantly technology-centred approach of Horizon 2020 towards the more multidisciplinary model of Horizon Europe, where technological innovation is increasingly considered alongside social, economic, behavioural and governance dimensions. Its central message is clear: SSH should be integrated throughout the entire innovation lifecycle – from defining the problem and designing solutions to implementation, evaluation and deployment – helping ensure that automated mobility technologies are not only technically advanced but also ethical, inclusive, trustworthy and aligned with real societal needs.
Bringing expertise across the mobility ecosystem together
ERTICO Partner SAE Group Europe is prominently represented through Dr Johanna Tzanidaki, Executive Director EU Policy and Innovation Research at SAE Group Europe and lead author of the article. Her contribution addresses, among other areas, the role of standardisation in bringing the human dimension into CCAM, recognising diverse human responses to technologies – including differences in digital literacy and perceptions of safety – rather than approaching users as a homogeneous group.
The article also features important contributions from ICCS/NTUA, including Dr Angelos Amditis, HIDDEN Project Coordinator, Research & Development Director at ICCS/NTUA and Chairman of the ERTICO Board, and Pinelopi Alexiou, Scientific Project Manager and researcher in transport and mobility at ICCS. Their perspectives underline the importance of human-centred design, co-creation and recognising vulnerable road users as a starting point for technology development rather than an afterthought.
Adding another dimension, Dr İbrahim Öztürk, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds, explores the human factors behind automated mobility, including the complex relationship between trust and acceptance. As the article demonstrates, even a technologically successful system may struggle to deliver its intended impact if people do not understand, trust or ultimately use it.
ERTICO – ITS Europe is represented by Christoph Vollath, Manager Green and Urban Mobility and one of the article's co-authors. Drawing on discussions at the ITS European Congress in Istanbul, the article highlights the importance of involving users before solutions and deployment plans are finalised, rather than using SSH primarily to validate technologies towards the end of a project. As Christoph points out, successful adoption also depends on understanding exactly who needs to accept an innovation, recognising that the relevant users extend beyond the end user alone.
From technological readiness to societal readiness
The article ultimately challenges the mobility community to look beyond whether a technology can work and ask an equally important question: will it work for the people and communities it is intended to serve?
By combining technical excellence with SSH expertise from the outset, European research and innovation can develop CCAM solutions that better reflect the diversity of real travellers and strengthen the pathway from promising research and pilots towards trusted, inclusive and meaningful deployment. As automated mobility continues to advance, societal readiness must progress alongside technological readiness – because the smartest mobility solution is only truly successful when people can and want to use it.
Source: HIDDEN Project
