HIDDEN (Hybrid Intelligence for Advanced Collective Perception and Decision-Making in Complex Urban Environments) is a Horizon Europe research and innovation project that brings together a complementary consortium of 14 partners and 2 affiliated entities across 7 countries to tackle a key challenge in urban mobility: occlusions—the inability of connected and automated vehicles (CAV) to detect road users or objects hidden from their line of sight. HIDDEN is focused on advancing urban mobility through safer, smarter, and more ethical automation. At its core, HIDDEN develops collective awareness systems that enable connected and automated vehicles to detect occluded objects and vulnerable road users in real time. Using hybrid intelligence (HI), the project combines machine with human intelligence to support decision-making that aligns with human driving styles and ethical principles. HIDDEN also addresses the legal, regulatory, and ethical challenges of AI in mobility, ensuring transparency and trust in how decisions are made.

Key innovations include:

• Advanced behavioral models for predictive perception
• Driver gaze tracking and status monitoring to inform ethical and explainable decisions
• Simulation and real-world validations across Europe using 8 consortium-owned autonomous vehicles
• A dedicated framework for ethical, legal, and regulatory alignment of AI systems in mobility

Field tests across Europe and virtual simulations will validate the technology in real-world scenarios. Through close collaboration with type approval authorities, standardisation bodies, and key stakeholders, HIDDEN aims to set new benchmarks for safe and socially responsible autonomous mobility in complex urban settings.

SEAB is participanting both as a key contributor and a work package leader. Within WP1 (Project Management), SEAB is actively involved in several key tasks: it serves as a contributor in Task 1.2 (Technical Management)—with additional responsibility as the leader of WP6—and also participates in Task 1.3 (Quality and Risk Management) and Task 1.4 (Data Management and Open Science). Most notably, SEAB holds a leading position in WP6 (Outreach and High Impact Creation), where it is responsible for directing the overall work package. SEAB leads both Task 6.1 (Dissemination and Communication) and Task 6.3 (Exploitation and Innovation), while also contributing in Task 6.2 (Liaison and Standardization). This demonstrates SEAB’s central role in shaping the project’s external visibility, stakeholder engagement, and innovation outcomes.