Real-Time Communication and Digital Twin Modelling Towards Smart Mobility in the SAMOTHRACE Project

Smart mobility is one of the major application domains of smart cities. It has become increasingly important for the daily management of cities. In this context, smart mobility can help to improve the well-being of citizens through the provision of an efficient mobility system and adequate services. Never-theless, although extensive research on practical cases of smart mobility, pursuing sustainability goals requires to investigate the components of smart mobility and the technical requirements of smart mobility systems to promote their integration. Based on this premise, the SAMOTHRACE project aims to design and validate a holistic smart mobility framework through a multidisciplinary approach. In this regard, this paper provides a project overview with some hints on research investigation directions. Specifically, the four research strands will be overviewed concerning (i) in-vehicle communications, (ii) transport models for the implementation of digital twin, (iii) collaborative machine learning solutions for vehicular scenarios and (iv) models for the placement of virtual functions inside the vehicles. The most challenging issue within SAMOTHRACE project related to this smart mobility area concerns the model implementation and related procedures and their integration in a comprehensive research framework. This paper lays the basis for future research developments to help address the project in a more holistic way, fostering smart mobility within cities.