This edition of ITS Europe offered a Special Interest Session which covered the topic of challenges faced by European and international transport. This session brought together three ongoing EU-funded projects, demonstrating automated transport in different scenarios, ranging from urban logistics (HARMONY) and personal shared mobility (SHOW) to an overall automated logistic chain in all weather conditions (AWARD).
The discussion was moderated by ENIDE, the partner at HARMONY which oversees the project´s Conceptual Framework as well as Dissemination, Exploitation and Innovation activities. UCL, HARMONY´s project coordinator participated in this debate on behalf of the Consortium.
What is ITS Europe Congress?
ITS European Congress is the annual European Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, organised by the ERTICO association.
The Intelligent Transport System ITS Congresses represent the ultimate showcase of mobility services deployment and are the means for the ITS Community to keep pace with the incredible evolution of the industry. Over the years, the European Congresses have offered a platform for thought leaders, developers, entrepreneurs and decision-makers from the transport, logistics and IT industries to share ideas and progress in smart and sustainable mobility.
The ITS Congress also hosted a lively exhibition with 60 stands and more than 100 exhibitors showcasing big ideas and smart mobility innovations from industry leaders around Europe. This offered both delegates and visitors the perfect place to network and learn about the latest developments.
The event focused the attention on five key topics: Services for Citizens, Innovative solutions, Green and Sustainable Mobility, From Large-Scale Trials to Deployment: Sharing Lessons Learned and Cities as Logistics Hubs.
Why is HARMONY participating?
European and international transport is faced with several challenges. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, automation stood out as a possible solution to many of these challenges.
The benefit of this panel discussion is at least twofold. On the one hand, it contributes to the transferability of the project results, as it spans almost twenty different European countries. On the other hand, it showcases the achievements made possible by the Horizon 2020 programme and helps stress the role of the European Union worldwide.
Experts panel discussion
Leading experts from industry, academia and international association explore several topics, from vehicle engineering to simulation and modelling, to actual pilot demonstrations and user acceptance. This Special Interest Session highlights the first findings of these projects to cooperatively shape some useful recommendations towards a fully automated transport system, especially directed to the city and regional authorities, as well as to transport operators. This panel discussion ultimately aims at stressing the importance of new technologies as a successful means to meet societal and environmental goals.