Reimagining Traffic: Prof. Markos Papageorgiou on Lane-Free Automated Vehicles

The future of transportation is closer than we think, and it’s about to get a major rethink. On Wednesday, 27 January 2026, Prof. Markos Papageorgiou, a destinguished Academia Europea Member, a global authority in traffic flow theory and intelligent transportation systems, will deliver a lecture that promises to challenge conventional wisdom on how we move.

Titled “Automated Cars: A Lane-Free Future?”, the talk will be held at  Wrocław Tech Congress Hall, Building D-20, Janiszewskiego 8,  at 13:15 CET. 

Prof. Papageorgiou will introduce Traffic Fluid, a revolutionary concept designed for the era of connected and automated vehicles. At its core, Traffic Fluid proposes a complete rethinking of traffic dynamics through two transformative ideas:

The first principle is lane free traffic, which removes traditional lane boundaries and enables automated vehicles to navigate more smoothly and safely. Eliminating lane changing reduces risky maneuvers, increases overall road capacity, and minimizes congestion triggers. The lane free approach also enables real time internal boundary control, dynamically redistributing available road width between directions to maximize system efficiency.

The second principle is vehicle nudging, which allows vehicles to influence not only those behind them but also those on their sides or in front. This removes the classical anisotropy restriction of human driving and improves flow stability and throughput.

Beyond theory, the lecture will showcase cutting-edge research that underpins this vision: nonlinear feedback control, flexible platoon and flock formations, optimal path planning, large-scale lane-free roundabouts, and signal-free intersections, among others.

For researchers, engineers, and anyone fascinated by the future of mobility, this seminar offers a glimpse into the next frontier of transportation systems. Prof. Papageorgiou’s work doesn’t just predict the future—it lays the foundation for it.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore a paradigm that could redefine how we think about roads, vehicles, and the very flow of traffic itself.

On-site participation is free of charge, but the registration is obligatory:

Registration

For online participation: Streaming Link.

The Interdisciplinary Scientific Seminar is a series aimed at a broad audience: students, doctoral candidates, researchers, and anyone interested in expanding their knowledge. The series regularly hosts experts from diverse fields who are eager to share the results of their research and their reflections on the nature of scholarship.