**Abstract**

Automatic vehicles represent one of the most active research fields within engineering. Among transportation systems engineering research topics, we highlight the need to update and/or develop new mathematical models, computer science methods and electronic technologies that contribute to the development of more effective, accurate and robust tools. In order to develop more effective models, it is advisable to consider the opportunity to interact with other specialists from sectors different of the transportation systems engineering to provide solutions to problems that may arise during the modeling and further new points of view. The main goal of this paper is discussing the most likely positive and negative effects of mixed flow expected in the near future, analyzing the main classifying criteria such as ownership, on-board technologies (sensor), and reviewing the most effective tools already available for macroscopic analysis of multi vehicle type transportation systems.

**Keywords:** advanced vehicles, sensors, classification, transportation systems, macroscopic analysis, mixed flow
