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ITS Ireland were pleased to sponsor the successful CAV Ireland workshop on Cooperative, Connected and Autonomous Mobility (CCAM) Opportunities for Ireland which was held in the Oakwood Hotel, Shannon on 4^th November. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together stakeholders from across industry, academia, research, transport authorities and support agencies to discuss and promote CCAM progress in Ireland.

John Davis provided the welcoming address on behalf of ITS Ireland. John also informed delegates that plans to initiate a formal CAV Ireland Cluster, coordinated by University Limerick and ITS Ireland, were delayed by the recent pandemic but will hopefully gather pace in the near future.

This was followed by a series of presentations whereby:

• Bob Flynn from Enterprise Ireland and Marzena Jougounoux from the CCAM Association presented on Horizon Europe Updates [see presentation] and the EU CCAM Partnership [see presentation].

•  Joe Gibbs from Lero provided a progress update on the SFI-funded Blended Autonomous Vehicle Spoke research project [see presentation].

• Russell Vickers, CEO of Future Mobility Campus Ireland provided a progress update on the implementation of Ireland’s first CAV testbed.

Participants then engaged in a structured networking exercise followed by a networking lunch.

CCAM offers enormous opportunities to create a more user-centered and inclusive mobility system, improve road safety, reduce emissions, and ease congestion, ultimately providing significant socio-economic benefits to Ireland.

This CCAM workshop clearly highlighted that Ireland has a vibrant CCAM ecosystem and that all stakeholders are supportive of strengthening that ecosystem through collaboration to ensure that the full benefits of CCAM can be achieved.

Last month in Barcelona, the European project ‘Hyper-Network for Electromobility’ or NeMo began a cross-border drive across Europe under real-life test conditions in an electric car. The project team drove 5,000 kilometres through nine European countries, stopping at various points on the journey to charge the vehicle to demonstrate the validity of the Inter-Roaming protocol developed by the project.

Electric cars are gaining in popularity, but planning for a long trip is not always practical: electric charging stations belong to different networks and offer different conditions of access and payment. Electro-mobility roaming (or eRoaming) platforms already enable an interoperable solution with more than 100,000 charge points all over Europe: they have brought many networks together, but NeMo has taken the next step in linking two of Europe’s leading roaming platforms to further improve interoperability and enable seamless electric vehicle trips across different European countries.

The NeMo project has also developed a Hyper-Network of tools and services, connecting service providers, such as charge point operators, eRoaming providers, vehicle manufacturers and electricity distribution system operators, to enhance the available range of user services.

Within the Hyper-network, the NeMo Open European Inter-Roaming protocol provides interoperable cross-border and platform-independent charging services by interconnecting different eRoaming platforms that currently employ different protocols.

A first test drive performed in 2017 identified key issues affecting long-distance travel in electric vehicles. This second test drive that began on 20 May and was completed last week on 29 June took the project team through Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia and Italy, returning to Barcelona to close a loop 5,000 kilometres long.

The team crossed the finish line in Barcelona at the historic Ca l’Alier building, which will host the NeMo Final Conference and Exhibition on 19th September 2019. The event is free of charge, and will present the achievements of the NeMo project, the lessons learned from the project’s Test Drives, and the next steps for the development of electromobility in Europe.

Registration is open at nemo-emobility.eu/conference.

Together 14 drivers from 8 project partners participated in the Test Drive in the test vehicle, a fully electric Renault Zoé R110, provided by project partner Renault. 67 chargers were tested across 9 countries, some of which are already compatible with the Inter-Roaming protocol. Some were fast chargers, some were residential neighbourhood chargers; located in various areas such as highway rest areas, public squares, car parks, industrial areas, public buildings or village squares.

‘Range anxiety in anticipation of long journeys remains a key concern for many drivers who are otherwise enthusiastic about the benefits of owning an electric vehicle’ says

Hugo Roebroeck, who participated as a test driver for ERTICO. ‘Our test has shown that electric cars are not just limited to commuting or local trips. With the Inter-Roaming protocol, drivers now have access to a continuously expanding network of fast chargers, in cities and along motorways across Europe.’ As many Europeans begin traveling across borders for the summer holidays, the NeMo team has proved that long-distance cross-border journeys in electric vehicles are possible and that electromobility is a viable alternative to internal combustion engines not only in cities, but also for long-distance travel.

 

The NeMo partners are now working on analysing the results of this real-life test. Stay-tuned for further feature articles about the team’s experience and join the Final Event and Conference in September to learn more and meet the team. nemo-emobility.eu/test-drive-2019/.

Digital technology that lets vehicles “talk” to each other and to the infrastructure (Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems, C-ITS) is key in moving towards a smart road transport sector. The European Commission, the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) and members of the C-ROADS platform met today in Eindhoven (The Netherlands), on the occasion of the ITS European Congress, to reinforce their commitment towards the deployment of C-ITS in Europe.

The C-ROADS platform was created in 2016 to help deploy C-ITS in Europe with a more coordinated approach. It currently sees the participation of 16 countries (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom).

Today, nine new C-ITS projects are coming to life, with two new Member States joining the platform (Greece and Ireland), while other members are continuing the deployment of C-ITS also in urban areas.

All the C-ROADS projects are supported since 2016 by the EU under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Transport, with a total funding of €171 million. The new Grant Agreements signed today were selected under the 2018 CEF Transport calls, which made €100 million available to finance projects to improve European transport infrastructure, promote transport safety, develop intelligent transport systems and mitigate the environmental impact of the sector. The project promoters are set to receive a combined €77.2 million in EU support.

INEA Director Dirk Beckers, who signed the grant agreements together with representatives of the C-ROADS projects, remarked: “The EU will continue to support the deployment of cooperative ITS services, making way for an interconnected road transport sector where vehicles, users and infrastructure all communicate with each other. This will invariably lead to improved safety, less pollution and will make the European road infrastructure overall more efficient in the long run.”

The C-ROADS projects will install C-ITS equipment in various locations throughout the EU, with pilot schemes designed to test the solutions in different operating environments (for instance in highways and urban areas). Moreover, C-ROADS partners will cooperate with each other to identify common specifications (communication, security, etc.) to ensure cross-border interoperability and harmonisation of C-ITS services. By making cross-border C-ITS services a reality, the C-ROADS platform is building the foundations for connected vehicles in the European Union.

What do we mean by C-ITS?
Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) allow vehicles to communicate with other vehicles, with traffic signals and roadside infrastructure as well as with other road users.

With alerts generated from the increased information available, these systems have a strong potential to improve road safety and the efficiency of road transport. For example, information about a traffic jam ahead or about the optimal speed to catch a green light can be displayed to the drivers inside the vehicle in due time.

See the original article here

 

The 6th edition of Transport Research Arena will be organized in April 2020 in Helsinki. We expect over 3000 participants to Helsinki, from research to business and academia to civil servants. From start-ups to major players. 

 Transport, as we know it now, is going through a major transformation. This transformation concerns every single aspect of the mobility of passengers and goods. This transformation is enabled and fueled by digital and automation technologies, helping us to forge measures to mitigate climate change and to safeguard European jobs and know-how. 

 TRA2020 offers an excellent opportunity to rethink, together, how to navigate amidst technological disruptions, making the best use of them, and respond to the increasingly diverse and challenging demands.

The European Commission adopted EU rules to ensure increasing drone traffic across Europe is safe and secure for people on the ground and in the air. The rules will apply to all operators of drones – both professionals and those flying drones for leisure. Following the technical requirements for drones this is another key deliverable under the Commission’s Aviation Strategy for Europe whose core objectives are to maintain the highest level of safety and to support the competitiveness of the EU’s aviation industry.

Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said: “The EU will now have the most advanced rules worldwide. This will pave the way for safe, secure and green drone flights. It also provides the much needed clarity for the business sector and for drone innovators Europe-wide.”

These rules, which will replace existing national rules in EU Member States, not only address safety but also contain important building blocks to mitigate drone related security risks. Through operators’ registration, remote identification and definition of geographical zones, all national authorities will have means to prevent misuse or unlawful drone activities. As of 2020 drone operators will have to be registered with national authorities. In principle, the rules apply to all drones regardless of weight. However, the majority of drones concerned will belong to the market of mass-produced drones, which merely need to meet a minimum set of requirements such as registration and electronic identification. Operators of drones weighing less than 25 kg will be able to fly those without prior permission under a certain number of conditions. Among others such conditions are that the drone must not fly higher than 120 meter and that the operator always keeps the drone in his/her visual line of sight and flies it far away from people.

Member States will be able to define so-called “no-fly zones” where – through satellite geo-location – drones will not be allowed to enter. “No-fly zones” may include airports and airfields or city centres.

Next steps

The European Commission and EASA will soon publish guidelines and so-called “standard scenarios” for drone operations that will help drone operators to comply with the adopted rules. The European Commission is also developing an institutional, regulatory and architectural framework for the provision of U-space services, which aim to enable complex drone operations with a high degree of automation. Finally, a systematic review of all existing EU aviation rules is progressing to identify the necessary changes to improve applicability to drone operations.

Further information

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 of 24 May 2019 on the rules and procedures for the operation of unmanned aircraft
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 of 12 March 2019 on unmanned aircraft systems and on third-country operators of unmanned aircraft systems
• Rules for safe drone operations in the EU
• Drone operations now and in the future

Background

Following the entry into force of the new aviation safety Basic Regulation, setting rules for unmanned aircraft, irrespective of their weight, is a Commission competence. The updated Regulation also empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts laying down detailed rules with regard to the necessary features and functionalities for unmanned aircraft.

See the original Article here

The European Commission today published the 2019 edition of the ‘EU Transport Scoreboard’, a benchmark comparing how Member States perform in 30 categories covering all aspects of transport. The goal of the Scoreboard is to help Member States identify areas requiring priority investment and action.

It shows how the EU further deepens the progress towards a safer, cleaner and more efficient internal market in transport and promotes the shift towards low-emission mobility, two priorities of the Juncker Commission at the core of the ‘Europe on the Move’ proposals and the Clean Planet for All. The Scoreboard shows improvements in road safety, the uptake of renewable energy in transport and the punctuality of shipments across the EU.

Sweden tops the Scoreboard with high scores in 15 categories, followed by the Netherlands and Austria. While they have different strengths, these countries all share a solid framework for investment, good transport safety levels, and a good record for implementing EU law. Publication of the scoreboard coincides with the publication of an update to the report on Transport in the EU: Current Trends and Issues.

Main findings

Internal market

Romania, Sweden and Bulgaria performed well in this section due to their strong performance in applying EU law and market openness in the rail sector. At EU level, the rail market opening increased by 6% for passengers and 13% for freight between 2011-2016. The degree to which EU Member States transpose EU law into national legislation is generally very high across the EU, while the number of infringement cases opened for rail, aviation and maritime is declining.

Energy Union & Innovation

Overall, Sweden and the Netherlands score highly for these topics. Sweden had the highest market share for electric passenger cars, and share of renewable energy in transport. The Netherlands had the most electric vehicle charging points – amounting to 2.6 per 1 000 urban inhabitants in 2017. While the market share of electric passenger cars in the EU is still low, it has grown significantly since 2013.

Infrastructure & Investment

Investment in transport infrastructure takes time to show effects. However, some positive effects of investment can be seen in the perceived efficiency of transport services. The Netherlands and Finland perform particularly well for efficiency of air, train and seaport services. At EU level, the completion of TEN-T Core network corridors averaged 77% for road infrastructure, 60% for conventional rail, 45% for high-speed rail, and 88% for inland waterways.

People

People in Slovenia were the most satisfied with urban transport, and among the most satisfied for rail and air transport in 2017. Estonia had the highest level of satisfaction for rail transport, whereas Hungary topped the satisfaction table for air transport satisfaction. The share of women employed in transport has traditionally been low (averaging 22%). In 2017, the highest share was in Cyprus (29%), followed by Slovakia and Czech Republic (both 27%). Sweden and the UK had the best road safety records in 2017.

Background

The Scoreboard brings together data from a variety of public sources (such as Eurostat, the European Environment Agency and the World Economic Forum). It can be consulted either by country or by topic (Internal Market, Investment and Infrastructure, Energy Union and Innovation, People).

For more information

EU Transport Scoreboard

See the original article here

The European Commission today adopted common EU-wide rules setting technical requirements for drones. They will set features and capabilities that drones must have in order to be flown safely and, at the same time, help foster investment and innovation in this promising sector.  The EU rules build on national rules that were in place and now provide a harmonized framework across the European Union.

Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said: “Today’s decision is vital for the further development of the European drone sector. We wholeheartedly support the development of these new technologies and services, which are essential for the digitalisation and decarbonisation of the European economy. However, above all, we have to ensure that they are safe for other airspace users and people on the ground. The rules adopted today are a first building block for a comprehensive set of rules, which will ensure safe, secure and green drone operations throughout the European Union.”

The approach taken by the Commission, with the support of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, is to apply the highest safety standards achieved in manned aviation to drones as well. The rules are based on an assessment of the risk of operation, and strike a balance between the obligations of drone manufacturers and operators in terms of safety, respect for privacy, the environment, protection against noise, and security. For example, new drones will have to be individually identifiable, allowing the authorities to trace a particular drone if necessary. In addition to the technical requirements for drones adopted today, the Commission intends to adopt provisions covering the operation of drones. The rules will cover each operation type, from those not requiring prior permission, to those involving certified aircraft and operators, as well as minimum remote pilot training requirements.

Today’s adoption contributes to a major deliverable under the Commission’s Aviation Strategy for Europe whose core objective is to support the competitiveness of the EU’s Aviation Industry and reinforce its global leadership.

Next steps

In addition to the technical requirements for drones adopted today, the Commission intends to adopt provisions covering the operation of drones. The rules will cover each operation type, from those not requiring prior permission, to those involving certified aircraft and operators, as well as minimum remote pilot training requirements. These technical and operational rules will also replace any national rules on drones that may currently exist in the different Member States. From 2020, drones will have to be registered with national authorities.

The EU approach will ensure that drone operators – whether recreational or professional – will have a clear understanding of what is allowed or not. Operators will also be able to operate their drones seamlessly when travelling across the EU or when developing a business involving drones around Europe. Common rules will help foster investment and innovation in this promising sector.

See the original article here

Automation in transport, including “self-driving” autonomous vehicles, has the potential to improve the lives of billions of people and transform mobility as we know it. It could enable a safer, more efficient, accessible and ecological means of transport. It could also ultimately save billions of dollars every year and help combat climate change while reducing congestion and emissions.

However, these advancements can only be realized on a global scale if countries work together on the necessary international laws and regulations. Otherwise, with different systems in place in different countries, all autonomous vehicles would stop at the border, meaning that international transport of people and goods could not benefit from these technologies. Furthermore, manufacturers would have to develop different vehicles for every country, making them prohibitively costly. 

Focusing on the need for a uniform approach to ensure that the benefits of these technologies can be fully harnessed for all modes of inland transport, automation has been high on the agenda as close to 400 representatives of governments and key transport stakeholders from over 70 countries around the world gather in Geneva this week for the 81st session of UNECE’s Inland Transport Committee (ITC). ITS Ireland was represented at the meetings by Donal Hodgins.

Aiming to capitalize on the potential of automation in inland transport to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Ministers and Vice Ministers of transport and representatives from 31 countries so far – with further expressions of interest from other countries – in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East have adopted a resolution on “Enhancing Cooperation, Harmonization and Integration in the Era of Transport Automation.“

The resolution enshrines countries’ commitment to ensuring that the accelerated pace of innovation in transport automation and digitalization will be characterized by harmonization and interoperability, as well as the highest levels of safety, environmental sustainability, equal access and the enhanced integration of multiple modes of mobility. It acknowledges “the unique role of the Inland Transport Committee as the specialized intergovernmental body for inland transport and as the centre of United Nations conventions that provide the platform that forms the international regulatory framework for inland transport and thus a key actor to achieve globally interoperable solutions for future transport”.

The resolution, which was adopted at the Committee’s high-level Policy Segment, addresses the need for strengthened cooperation to ensure that benefits are shared as widely as possible. The ITC will help to guide the realization of this vision, ensuring that this new era of transport automation is defined with a truly global vision.

The week’s events began with a day-long exploration of “Automation in Transport: Safe deployment of automated vehicles in traffic”, organized by the two intergovernmental bodies under the Committee that are at the heart of the legal and regulatory work needed for the widespread introduction of autonomous vehicles on the roads: the Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety (WP.1) and the World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29). 

The event featured the participation of high level policy makers and experts, who discussed the issues around the safe and systematic introduction of autonomous vehicles in traffic. Key themes addressed included finding a common terminology so that developers and lawmakers are in sync, the current technical capacity of vehicle automation systems, and the safe interaction between automated vehicles and drivers.

In his policy statement, the Russian Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Alexander Morozov, highlighted the huge potential of automated vehicles for coping with the ever-increasing demand of transportation and mobility, “but it has to be safe and secure, which can only be achieved when experts for road safety and experts for vehicle certification work together”.

Mr. Mathew Baldwin, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Transport and Mobility and EU Coordinator for Road Safety, highly welcomed this initiative by UNECE bringing together both global fora that provide the international regulatory basis for road traffic rules and vehicle regulations, highlighting the need for further cooperation to unlock the benefits of autonomous transport.

The joint event came the day before the opening of the 81st annual session of the ITC. The annual session always dedicates its first day to a High-level policy segment focused on a specific topic. This year the focus was on automation in transport, covering all modes of inland transport as well as the digitization of transport documents. 

The Committee session continued until Friday 22 February and also focused on issues such as road safety, harmonization and integration in the era of transport document digitalization and automation, as well as seeking to adopt a new 2030 ITC Strategy, with automation as a key dimension.

See the full article here

In this, the second KPMG Autonomous Vehicle Readiness Index we rank 25 countries on their preparedness for the AV revolution. The Netherlands tops the rankings for the second year and the 2019 Index includes five new countries: Norway, Finland, Israel, Czech Republic and Hungary.

The Index provides an in-depth view of what it takes for countries to meet the challenges of self-driving vehicles, evaluating the preparedness of a cross-section of 25 countries—up from 20 in the inaugural year of the AVRI—globally. Each country is evaluated against four pillars: policy and legislation; technology and innovation, infrastructure, and consumer acceptance. Within the four pillars are 25 factors that reflect everything from legislation allowing AVs to operate to the condition of roads.

“The results of the 2019 Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index tell us that countries are making rapid progress toward a future with autonomous vehicles,” says Richard Threlfall, Global Head of Infrastructure, KPMG International. “They show that governments are focused on encouraging the modernization of transport, and ensuring that innovation in driverless cars and trucks delivers real benefits to their communities.”

Highlights from the top ranked countries include:

• The Netherlands, ranked number one for a second year, is working with neighbors to adopt AV technology for freight, with a plan to launch platoons of more than 100 driverless trucks on major routes from Amsterdam to Antwerp and Rotterdam to the Ruhr valley.

• With a leading university, second-ranked Singapore has created a test town for driverless vehicles complete with traffic lights, bus stops, skyscrapers and a rain machine to recreate its extremely wet, tropical weather.

New this year, KPMG conducted a consumer opinion research project to better understand consumer sentiment on AVs. The findings revealed a correlation between countries lower in the rankings having the most consumer interest in AVs.

Download the report here

The second face-to-face meeting of the CONCORDA project Hybrid Communication Task Force was held on January 15 in Paris. Experts from telco and automotive industry, as well as academia, came together to scope solutions for Cooperative ITS using hybrid communication.

“Hybrid”, in this context, means not only enabling long-range (3G/4G and beyond) cellular communication of C-ITS messages, but a truly integrated solution where long-range cellular can complement short-range communication technology-based systems.

The task force is currently collecting insights from previous connected driving trials, where long-range cellular communication was used. This includes the evaluation of communication on the radio link, but also backend solutions assuring that different IT systems (clouds) can be interconnected.

Shaping and agreeing on a common view of available solution concepts is a first step for reaching the task force goal: defining a holistic end-to-end solution, centered on the goals of European C-ITS.

 

About CONCORDA

 CONCORDA (CONnected CORridor for Driving Automation) is a 20MEuro CEF project (Connecting Europe Facility for the transport domain), aiming at demonstrating vehicular platoon with a lead vehicle and more highly automated or driverless following vehicles, across testing sites in five countries (Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain).

To learn more, please read here or contact the Project coordinator, Dr. Eusebiu Catana: e.catana@mail.ertico.com

See the original article here