Eureka Prometheus Project

The <a href="/facts/Eureka_(organization)/eU32YTw6">Eureka</a> PROMETHEUS Project (PROgraMme for a European Traffic of Highest Efficiency and Unprecedented Safety, 1987–1995) was the largest <a href="/facts/Research_and_development/2h5UddUu">R&D project</a> ever in the field of <a href="/facts/Driverless_car/KXeFywXS">driverless cars</a>. It received <a href="/facts/Euro/NWG2nlCx">€</a>749,000,000 in funding from the <a href="/facts/EUREKA/eU32YTw6">EUREKA</a> member states, and defined the state of the art of <a href="/facts/Autonomous/5ne4C7N8">autonomous</a> vehicles. Numerous universities and car manufacturers participated in this Pan-European project.
In formulating the project, the automotive and industrial partners recognised the need for a wide range of skills and cooperated with over forty research establishments to create a programme consisting of seven sub-projects. Under a steering committee were three projects on industrial research and four on basic research.
Industrial research

<ul><li>PRO-CAR : Driver assistance by computer systems</li>
<li>PRO-NET : Vehicle-to-vehicle communication</li>
<li>PRO-ROAD : Vehicle-to-environment communication</li></ul>
Basic Research

<ul><li>PRO-ART : Methods and systems of artificial intelligence</li>
<li>PRO-CHIP: Custom hardware for intelligent processing in vehicles</li>
<li>PRO-COM : Methods and standards for communication</li>
<li>PRO-GEN : Traffic scenario for new assessment and introduction of new systems</li></ul>
In 1987, some UK Universities expressed concern that the industrial focus on the project neglected import traffic safety issues such as pedestrian protection. PRO-GEN project leader, the UK Government's <a href="/facts/Transport_and_Road_Research_Laboratory/LKmAwCKP">Transport and Road Research Laboratory</a> noted that research activities should 'in some way, further the aims of the vehicle companies.

Eureka Prometheus Project open-in-new

Eureka Prometheus Project