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Alcatel successfully implemented the first electronic interlocking on RATP metro line 11 in Paris
14/11/2005
Alcatel today announced that its PMI solution (electronic interlocking equipment) has been successfully commissioned, as planned, on November 14th, 2005, on Paris RATP metro line 11.
High Level Group adopts 10-year-roadmap for a competitive EU car sector
13/12/2005
Today the CARS 21 High Level Group has adopted a 10 year roadmap for a competitive EU car industry. The Group has agreed on a number of recommendations to make cars cleaner, safer and to simplify the legal environment for EU car makers.
Launch of the SpeedAlert Forum
08/12/2005
The EC DG TREN co-funded SpeedAlert project (May 2004 - June 2005) organises a workshop on 31 January 2006 at the ERTICO office in Brussels.
ICT in Motion the mobile world of tomorrow on display at the CeBIT
05/12/2005
Information and communications technology in transportation and infrastructure has never been more crucial to the mobility of both people and goods.
EU-India eSafety Cooperation Project Kicks Off
05/12/2005
ERTICO’s new project EU-India officially kicked off 1 December 2005. The project will last 18 months with the aim of initiating long-term cooperation between the Indian and European ITS communities. EU-India is co-funded by the European Commission’s DG Information Society and Media and is their very first contract to be awarded under the 4th call of the 6th Framework Programme.
Ten things you probably don’t know about road accidents
23/11/2005
Road transport is, and has always been, pivotal to European development and to sustaining its much-valued quality of life. But our laneways, bi-ways, roads and highways have also taken their toll. Despite vast improvements in vehicle and road-building standards, technology and regulations, lives are still being lost. Drivers might want to pay heed to the World Health Organisation’s fast facts about road safety!
Colombia: Allianz drives customers home safely
22/11/2005
Accident prevention is a good thing for both insurers and their customers. Allianz Colseguros helps in many ways to reduce the number of road accidents in Colombia.
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims - the third Sunday of November
20/11/2005
The United Nations calls for global recognition of this Special Day just days before its 12th anniversary.
Commemorated for the third year as World Day of Remembrance, this special day was initiated by RoadPeace in 1993 and observed for the past 12 years in Britain, Europe, and beyond, as the day on which all those killed and injured in road crashes are remembered, together with their families, the emergency services and all others affected or involved in the aftermath.
Expanded IC Tag Child Protection Service Developed
18/11/2005
NTT DATA Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., its communications Inc., Tokyu Security Co., Ltd., and TRENDY Corporation today announced that they have developed an expanded IC tag i-safety® Service that is expected to help reduce traffic accidents involving children, in addition to help protect them from crime.
eSafety at the 12th ITS World Congress in San Francisco
02/11/2005
The 12th ITS World Congress in San Francisco this month attracted around 7,000 visitors from 57 countries. The event included an exhibition, a congress with many sessions as well as a large demonstration of ITS technologies on the parking lot of a baseball stadium.
The European Commission is publishing the 2nd eSafety Communication
16/09/2005
"Bringing eCall to Citizens"
Download the 2nd eSafety Communication:  .pdf (196 KB)
German Minister asks vehicle manufacturers to include ESP as standard fit on all vehicles.
16/09/2005
The Commission’s Intelligent Car Flagship under the i2010 initiative: Questions and Answers
15/09/2005
Cars will dial 112 - but will anyone answer? Commission urges Member States to act on eCall
15/09/2005
Industry is well on the way to enabling your car to call the emergency services, but infrastructure upgrades needed to handle the call are way behind schedule, says the European Commission in a Communication today. All new cars in Europe are to be equipped with automatic emergency call (eCall) technology as soon as 2009, under an action plan agreed by the Commission and industry in February this year.
From eCall to the Intelligent Car: How the EU’s ICT policy can contribute to the competitiveness of Europe’s automobile industry
15/09/2005
Speech of Viviane Reding
Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media at the 61st International Motor Show (IAA)
Frankfurt, 14 September 2005
Commission launches five-year strategy to boost the digital economy
15/09/2005
The Commission today adopted the initiative “i2010: European Information Society 2010” to foster growth and jobs in the information society and media industries. i2010 is a comprehensive strategy for modernising and deploying all EU policy instruments to encourage the development of the digital economy: regulatory instruments, research and partnerships with industry. The Commission will in particular promote high-speed and secure broadband networks offering rich and diverse content in Europe.
IP PReVENT and AIDE meet to discuss HMI, validation issues
The EC-supported IP PReVENT held a 29 June workshop in Athens, Greece in cooperation with the AIDE IP about HMI issues.
Hosted by ICCS, the event was a common initiative of the IP PReVENT subprojects LATERAL SAFE, SAFELANE, SASPENCE and WILLWARN, along with the AIDE IP. A follow-up meeting 30 June was devoted to validation issues
Launch of European Nomadic Device Forum!
Following the organisation of two successful workshops on nomadic devices in January and March 2005, the EU-supported AIDE project and ERTICO joined to launch the European Nomadic Device Forum at a successful workshop on 23 June 2005 at the Volvo AB premises in Brussels. The event was attended by over 30 delegates from a wide range of stakeholders.
SpeedAlert concludes activities in Graz
The EC-supported, ERTICO-coordinated SpeedAlert project held its final meeting 27 June in Graz, Austria, hosted by project partner EFKON. The meeting’s main subject of discussion was the consolidation of final project results demonstrating the viability of the defined speed alert concepts in terms of technology and market maturity.
Inter-vehicle communications may save lives
31/08/2005
Emerging wireless technologies for vehicle-to-vehicle communication promise to dramatically reduce fatal roadway accidents by providing early warnings to motorists. As well as improving road safety, such technologies will also help optimise traffic flow and enable drivers to take greater control of their vehicles.
This is the broad vision behind the IST-funded project CarTALK 2000. The project developed cooperative driver assistance systems and a self-organising ad-hoc radio network with the aim of preparing a future standard. Dr Christian Maihöfer of DaimlerChrysler and coordinator of CarTALK 2000 believes that such technology will have a vital role to play in saving lives in the future.
Commissioner Barrot is first VOICE Personality
20/07/2005
The first VOICE Personality has been awarded last week to European Commission Vice President and Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Jacques Barrot.
This award is given for his commitment that “improving road safety will be one of [his] top priorities” during his term of office.
Robust real-time embedded software for better car safety
14/07/2005
With cars becoming ever more computerised, real-time embedded automotive software is more and more needed to implement drivers assistance functions such as the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) or Line Departure Warning (LDW). The IST-funded RISE project, which ended in February 2005, set out to address this demand by developing a software toolset specifically geared to the automotive industry.
On the right road to dynamic map updates
29/06/2005
Enhancing the quality of digital maps in future vehicle navigation and safety applications via a new dynamic updating mechanism will help drivers always find the right way.
The IST project ActMAP developed a standard data model and exchange format for distributing updated map components and data entities from the map vendors and location-based content providers, through a service centre online to the in-vehicle applications.
ActMAP's work has aimed to improve the performance of the currently existing applications and enables the use of digital maps by innovative telematic services and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.
Next generation of driver support systems - EDEL workshop
29/06/2005
A workshop entitled "Next generation of driver support systems for driving in reduced visibility" will be organised by the IST project EDEL in Karlsruhe, Germany on 13 July.
EDEL has developed a fully integrated driver support system for night vision application.
At the workshop, major results and conclusions of the project will be presented, and it will also include a round table discussion on the next generation of driver’s support systems for driving in reduced visibility conditions. Participants will be able to have face-to-face meetings with the developers and view the technical demonstrations of the application.
The workshop represents an ideal platform to discuss further research needs for co-operative systems, and potential future co-operation in the final round table.
Nomadic Device Forum launched!
The IST project AIDE will launch the Nomadic Device Forum on 23 June in Brussels.
The Forum will address the safety threat Nomadic devices could pose if they are not adequately designed, controlled and installed. In addition, there were calls for more research to understand their risks, the need to extend existing guidelines to include nomadic devices, and for a wide-ranging safety charter to include the full range of stakeholders.
The Nomadic Device Forum is organised as a focus group for all issues relating to nomadic devices in the project, leading to the validation of user and stakeholder requirements at the start of the project, and the AIDE solution that emerges. A broader aim of the Forum is to establish itself as the principal European body in the area of Nomadic devices, to continue the work after the AIDE project ends and support the take-up of the AIDE results and application of future guidelines for nomadic systems.
Many stakeholders such as vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers, are involved or interested in nomadic devices. The Forum hopes to attract the most active and influential participants, who are willing to help create and validate a cross-industry consensus for a single solution that can be accepted and implemented across Europe.
DaimlerChrysler invests in the safety of commercial vehicles
23/06/2005
DaimlerChrysler will demonstrate pioneering technologies for passenger cars and commercial vehicles at the "DaimlerChrysler Innovation Symposium 2005", held 23 June 2005. The event also feature:
- an exhibition of a Freightliner heavy-duty truck, fitted with a number of advanced safety systems such as lane guidance, radar collision warning, adaptive cruise control and a side-view camera.
- driving demonstration of broadband car-to-car communication between a Mercedes-Benz E-Class and a Dodge Durango (with vehicle-to-vehicle communication, features for accident prevention which can be applied such as warnings when changing lanes or turning off a road).
Additionnally, the automaker has announced that the PRE-SAFE occupant protection will be fitted in the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class as standard equipment starting in the fall of this year.
Driving improvements to night vision
20/06/2005
In a bid to reduce the annual death of more than 50,000 people and the countless severe injuries on Europe’s roads, future onboard night vision systems have been developed that highlight unexpected obstacles and improve driver visibility.
The system, developed by a team of carmakers, automotive suppliers and university researchers under the IST programme’s EDEL project, is expected to increase safety by highlighting unexpected, sudden events; improving visibility of road signs; assisting drivers on unknown roads and the timely detection of obstacles invisible to the human eye under night driving conditions.
GST Forum Architecture Workshop
Focused on creating a Global System for Telematics (GST) enabling on-line safety services, the EU-supported GST Integrated Project presented its architecture proposals at a two-day workshop on 7-8 June in Brussels that was open for companies external to the GST consortium. Attended by more than 140 experts representing all major stakeholders in Europe, the workshop focused on how GST’s technical solutions can greatly facilitate the development, remote installation and updating of innovative services on a broad range of telematics platforms.
The event reviewed all of the latest developments in the project, covering topics such as:
* What standardized delivery chain will exist for services?
* Why have different protocol stacks been defined?
* What basic services are foreseen on the client system?
* What access to in-vehicle systems is foreseen?
* What are the relevant security models in a distributed system such as GST?
* How to federate identity management via circle of trust establishment?
* How does GST deal with pricing and billing?
* How to test the conformance & interoperability of the GST protocols?
* How to inspect and test GST security?
* Which messages are worth being included in a Safety Channel?
* How to collect Safety Channel messages, process them into a Safety Channel service, and manage and distribute Safety Channel services?
* What is the proposed EFCD in-vehicle framework?
* What EFCD messages and prioritization mechanisms are proposed?
* How to carry out in-vehicle, PSAP1 and PSAP2 eCalls?
* How to carry out vehicle-to-vehicle communication in a Rescue context
Dutch “Roads to the Future” Demo Day
On 24 May 2005, a demonstration day was organised in Lelystad (Netherlands) by Roads to the Future (RttF), the innovation programme of the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.
RttF is a programme designed to initiate innovations that contribute toward making road transport in the Netherlands less congested, cleaner, safer, quieter, and more comfortable. The programme features about 10 opportunity-driven innovative projects launched every three years which involve both public and private partners.
Diverse active and preventive safety applications were presented - ranging from safety applications available on series cars to more advanced concepts such as APIA (Active Passive Integration Approach) and Assisted driver demonstrations.
As a result of an interactive panel discussion, 62% of the audience felt that consumers should pay for safety applications in their vehicles, while 77% thought that a life-saving safety application such as eCall should become compulsory in every vehicle.
Member States Expert meeting of the eSafety RTTI Working Group
13/05/2005
The meeting was held on Wednesday, 11 May at the offices of the Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau- und Wohnungswesen (BMVBW) in Berlin.
Technical experts, Commission representatives and representatives of the Member States gathered to review the status and recommendations of the Working Group, following an opening address from Roland Niggestich on behalf of State Secretary Dr Nagel.
The TMC Forum presented current status of TMC roll-out and future developments, and presentations of TPEG and of the advanced location referencing method AGORA were made.
eSafety Users Outreach Working Group Meetings
The eSafety Users Outreach Working Group, chaired by Johann Grill, Director General of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile European Bureau, met 23 March and 10 May in Brussels.
The aim of the Working Group, which was set up in April 2004, is to investigate methodologies of how to improve the take up of eSafety systems amongst the general public.
Following the decision to develop some examples of communication concepts for eSafety technologies on the basis of a communication model, the group discussed the responses to a questionnaire that had been submitted to the eCall Working Group. The feedback helped to guide the Group to develop guidelines for campaigns on eSafety. The questionnaire went in depth into the subject and focused on users’ knowledge, behaviour and attitude.
The Group agreed to a twofold approach for communication on eSafety. On one side, communication is to be supported by campaigns, whereas on the other side a system of rating/labelling will help to bring a more lasting contribution. In order to facilitate a broad and rapid roll-out of these technologies, the group suggested that the tax authorities and the car insurers should give financial incentives.
At the 10 May meeting, Robert Bosch GmbH informed the group about their communication strategy on driver assistance systems. The objectives are to increase the awareness of dealers (with the support of the OEMs) and consumers. Trade marketing is done through product training, product brochures and sales arguments, incentive programmes for salesmen and point of sale support. This is also enhanced by consumer marketing. Moreover, the German motoring club ADAC presented the mission and targets of Eurotest, a programme testing infrastructure which could be used as a model for eSafety campaigns. Eurotest has a common platform for campaigns targeting media (e.g. logo, website, flyers, brochures, conferences). The Commission supports the idea to have a common platform for eSafety campaigns.
A preliminary report will be presented at the eSafety Forum on 2 June in Hannover. The Group intends to give a general outline of the work done up until now, its tasks and objectives as well as its first recommendations. The next meeting of the Group is scheduled on 5 July 2005 in Brussels.
South Holland Province selects RoDIN24 for deployment
22/04/2005
The Province of South Holland has selected the RoDIN24 road traffic information system, based upon the bulk and passive monitoring of the GSM mobile network, for deployment.
The system will be supplied as a component of partner LogicaCMG's Mobile Traffic Services (MTS) suite, and Vodafone NL supply the network data for the overall solution. The system builds upon previous commercial deployments in Holland for the same system.
IBM's $125 million deal to build nationwide Speed Trap in UAE
21/04/2005
IBM has signed a four-year, $125 million deal to build an automobile-monitoring system and install a device in cars to track drivers in the United Arab Emirates, making it the largest telematics deal in history.
KGP complete active safety systems research project
19/04/2005
British automotive management and technology consultants Knibb Gormezano & Partners (KGP) announced the completion of their multi-client research programme investigating the market for Active Safety Systems in passenger vehicles and forecasting its development over the next ten years.
Brian Knibb, KGP’s Managing Director said on announcing the completion of the work, “Road transport in Europe and North America continues to result in around 100,000 deaths a year and substantially more cases of injury. Much of the improvement (aimed at reducing these numbers) that has occurred in recent decades has arisen from passive safety features such as safety cells, seat belts and air bags. However, these don’t stop accidents. To do this you either need to have better drivers or systems that help overcome the consequences of common driver errors. The in-vehicle (as opposed to infrastructure based) systems are what we concentrated on in this project”.
The study, which looked in depth at the development and deployment of Active Safety Systems to 2015, used a number of research techniques, including interviews with key suppliers and OEMs throughout the global automotive industry, legislators and other regulatory bodies. KGP has developed a routemap for the development of Active Safety Systems and its enabling technologies, together with a number of scenarios looking at the market penetration of key systems.
The study concluded that Active Safety Systems are now emerging as effective product differentiation tools. However, although the social case for fitting Active Safety Systems to cars in terms of a reduction in fatalities and injuries is easily made, commercial conditions do not, as yet, positively influence system development or fitment.
A key impediment, say the research team, is that commercial realities result in it being difficult or even impossible to make a good business case for adoption. In addition, the average consumer is ill-informed and thus not well-equipped to appreciate the value of Active Safety Systems. Concerns over the reliability of systems, together with the high risk of litigation, particularly where Active Safety Systems take control of the vehicle, and few incentives to date from either governments or the insurance industry have done little to increase the rate of fitment. There is also a marked difference in driver behaviour, and attitudes to Active Safety Systems, between the North American and European markets, which is likely to remain for the foreseeable future.
Governments and legislative bodies are however beginning to examine how industry conditions can be changed to promote the fitment of Active Safety Systems, recognising the potential of their contribution to society. In the US, Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems are becoming mandatory and Electronic Stability Control is fast becoming standard on vulnerable vehicles in a move that the industry believes has pre-empted legislation. In Europe, eSafety initiatives are examining the role of Active Safety Systems in steps to halve the rate of road deaths by 2010.
Both in the US and Europe the crash test ratings (NCAP and EuroNCAP) that OEMs look to as a tool for demonstrating the safety performance of vehicles will change to reflect the fitment of Active Safety Systems and the ability of the vehicle to help the driver avoid accidents rather than just survive them. It is changes in these rating systems that could prove to be the catalyst for significant increases in market penetration.
By the end of the time period under study the forecast scenarios suggest that several key systems will have become much more commonplace on both sides of the Atlantic. As with much new technology, Active Safety Systems are likely to be introduced first as options on prestige vehicles before spreading across the medium and lower segments, and eventually being fitted as standard on most vehicles.
Next SpeedAlert Consultation Group Workshop
05/04/2005
Hanover, Germany
31 May 2005
The Workshop will start with the presentation of final results of SpeedAlert project on in-vehicle speed limit information and warning systems including functional architecture and associated technical building blocks, implementation scenarios, remaining issues and recommendations for successful implementation. Then the discussion will be opened to all participants leading to the consolidation of the consensus among all key stakeholders. SpeedAlert is a European project supported by the European Commission (DG TREN), for more information please contact Vincent Blervaque (v.blervaque@mail.ertico.com) or Helge Sturesson (h.sturesson@mail.ertico.com)
First meeting of the MAPS&ADAS Public Authorities Consultation Platform
The meeting was held at ERTICO on 25 February 2005 with participants from EC DG INFSO, Public Authorities (Belgium, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden) and MAPS&ADAS Consortium (ERTICO, NAVTEQ, TELEATLAS). Besides the presentation of on-going activities within MAPS&ADAS related to safety road content and digital maps and the very promising initiatives developed by Public Authorities to collect and make available road data relevant to safety applications (e.g. speed limits), fruitul and constructive discussion lead to identify fields of cooperation to support provision of safety road content with regards to ADAS applications requirement and to consolidate objectives of the MAPS&ADAS Public Authorities Consultation Platform. MAPS&ADAS is a subproject of PReVENT integrated Project (FP6 DG INFSO), for more information please contact Vincent Blervaque (v.blervaque@mail.ertico.com)
Commission enables cars to be equipped with road safety technology
19/01/2005
Short-range radars that can detect collision dangers and automatically apply a car’s brakes should be available by mid-2005, further to a Decision adopted 18 January 2005 by the European Commission. The decision, which allocates a specific radio frequency band to short-range radar devices, is the result of a two-year drive by the Commission and EU radio spectrum and road safety experts. According to the European Road Safety Action Programme, the number of road accident victims is to be halved in the EU by 2010.
ATX Group - Expand the delivery of telematics services
13/01/2005
ATX Group, the world’s second largest telematics service provider to the automobile industry, plan to expand the delivery of telematics services to vehicle owners throughout Western Europe over the course of the next couple of years. In January 2005, ATX’s telematics service coverage extends into Italy. Expansion of service throughout France should be completed by mid-2005, leaving only the future coverage of Spain. ATX currently provides service in Germany and the United Kingdom.
ATX is re-deploying its telematics platforms to meet the needs of its European customers. These systems provide services that do not rely solely on a specific wireless carrier, telematics protocol, content provider, or the customer’s preferred language. The company will continue to support multiple wireless carriers to establish seamless, wireless voice and data connectivity between telematics vehicles on Italian, French, British and Spanish roadways and ATX’s response center in Düsseldorf without the driver needing to use a new SIM card upon crossing borders.
ATX provide drivers with Italian-, German-, French-, and English-language response by either live operator or automated, interactive voice technology | 
