Design of a living lab for autonomous driving: an investigation under the lens of the triple helix model

Living labs (LLs) are identified as innovation ecosystems to test and facilitate the diffusion of complex technological innovation, rising attention especially on cutting-edge automotive technologies. Autonomous and connected vehicles are indeed expected to deeply affect the automotive industry and the society in the coming years, by involving important technological, political, social, and legal issues. In such a complex framework, where different fields and stakeholders are deeply intertwined, new modes of interaction between multiple actors are necessary to support such technological innovation. By focusing on the case of the Modena Automotive Smart Area, an urban LL located within the Italian Motor Valley, we analyze the evolution of roles and relationships among the involved government, academia and industry actors. More specifically, by adopting the lens of Triple Helix model in practice, the purpose of the paper is to analyze how the actors contribute to and relate within the knowledge, consensus and innovation spaces, in a time span from before the formal inception of the LL to three years after. Results highlight how actors’ collaboration and participation unfold in the creation of the LL when complex innovative technologies are tested in real urban environment, hence contributing to burgeoning literature on LL and the current academic debate on triple helix model. Policy and practical implications are also derived