March 2013 In this Issue: Towards Futurama Developments in Road Transport Automation eCall developing in Europe and going International An update on latest emergency call service news My Testfest Quest Discovering the latest and greatest trend in ITS testing ERTICO eMagazine Welcome to the Contact us: [email protected]Follow us on twitter: @ERTICO
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Transcript
March 2013
In this Issue:
Towards FuturamaDevelopments in Road Transport Automation
eCall developing in Europe and going International An update on latest emergency call service news
My Testfest QuestDiscovering the latest and greatest trend in ITS testing
Welcome to the first Spring edition of our eMagazine... although to be honest we didn’t see much of it yet!
In this edition we have some fascinating topics. Ian Bearder introduces us the to the ERTICO Tesfest initiative. These testing events are, as explained in the article, run by engineers for engineers with the scope of testing the interoperability of products of different companies to make sure that their services and products will work with third parties products and services. If this sounds too complicated, the article will clarify everything.
Next up, Anouk Van den Bussche gives us an update on the eCall status and the enlargement of the European project behind the pan-European emergency number, HeERO. Indeed the project consortium went up to 83 partners and 15 pilot sites, including Israel, Cyprus, Slovenia, Hungary and Iceland, that joined the project at their own expenses. But surprises do not end here; as we find out in the article, eCall and its Russian counterpart ERA-GLONASS are in talks to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This
represents a great progress
for the international cooperation on standardisation between Europe and the Russian Federation.
Laura Johnstone takes us to Futurama. No, not the cartoon but the 1939 New York World’s Fair exhibition where Norman Bel Geddes tried to show the world 20 years into the future, predicting automated vehicles driving themselves in cities.
In 2013 drivers still need to pay much attention when driving and automated cars are at their experimentation phase. Nevertheless, as explained in the article, Europe, the USA and Japan, have been putting quite a lot of efforts on automation over the past 20 years. In the article, Laura Johnstone explores some of the most relevant projects and initiatives.
For this month’s interview, Carla Coppola had a chat with Zeljko Jeftic, Head of projects at the newly established IRU Projects. Mr Jeftic explains the new body activities and objectives for the future as well as highlighting the long term benefits of IRU partnership with ERTICO.
Lastly, we would like to announce that the registration for the 9th ITS European Congress in Dublin is now open. You can take advantage of the early bird registration now until 29 April.
As always enjoy this edition of the ERTICO eMagazine and don’t forget to register for ITS Dublin 2013!
The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are solely those of the authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of ERTICO or its Partners.
contents
Editorial
My Testfest Quest
eCall developing in Europe and going International
My Testfest QuestDiscovering the latest and greatest trend in ITS testing
by Ian Bearder
14 years ago, when I was a young, bright-eyed Software Engineering student, I remember sitting through endless
classes in which wise professors would repeatedly warn us of two fundamental Engineering rules:
Never start building anything before you have designed it, and, Never release anything until it has been thoroughly
tested.
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implementation of a technological
standard, but as mentioned before -
the focus is on interoperability. Does
product X work with product Y?
ITS standards, like other standards,
may have inconsistencies or
ambiguities which manifest
themselves in ever-so-slightly
different implementations. If this
happens, then ‘testfesting’ is a great
way to uncover potential conflicts
arising from these inconsistencies;
however this is not the same as
testing your product against the
standard.
Confidentiality and cordiality rule
When I interviewed Sébastien Mure,
Project Manager at ERTICO, about
Testfests he was not just happy,
but genuinely enthusiastic about
the atmosphere of openness and
cooperation he has witnessed at
previous Testfests. Understanding
that many of attendees are
commercial rivals, Sébastien stressed
the importance of strict adherence
to non-disclosure agreements and
the climate of trust that this builds.
Testfests are, after all, about
improving the interoperability and
quality of systems, not beating your
competitors. He believes that the
energy and excitement on display
during these events comes from the
desire to make things work, and to
make things work well.
I have to admit, his enthusiasm was
infectious, and while I was smart
enough to quit Software Engineering
before I did any serious damage to
the reputation of the industry – I am
very much looking forward to the
upcoming ‘fests’ which are being
planned for later this year. The first,
a TPEG Testfest, will take place in
May (see www.tisa.org for further
information) and the second, an
eCall Testfest will take place during
the summer. See www.heero-pilot.
eu. Both events look set to be a huge
success and if they are, I think we
will see many more Testfest events in
the coming years.
First eCall interoperability testing event
How a Testfest works• The event is organised, advertised and booked for specific
dates. Attendees sign confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements.
• Industry experts define the test scenarios and specifications which will be used
• Attendees arrive on day one and setup/calibrate their equipment
• Testing begins. Tests are carried out using a ‘Championship’ formula which means each company or group will test their product against all others.
• Each test is carried out in accordance to specific rules and each is marked as OK, Not OK, Not done or Not applicable.
• Depending on the number of tests and the number of participants, each day allows for about 3-4 testing sessions.
• The day ends with a debriefing and discussion in which common problems can be discussed together with industry and standard experts.
• If they wish, participants attend evening social events. Others retire to their hotels to continue work on their products and services.
• At the end of the festival, attendees receive the results of their own tests and may participate in a final discussion session and debriefing.
• Attendees leave and return to their work and hopefully use their experiences to enhance their products for the benefit of the industry and their end users.
Towards FuturamaDevelopments in Road Transport Automation
On the 7 May, the iMobility Forum Working Group on Automation for Road Transport held a workshop dedicated to the subject, with speakers from across the globe presenting the progress made and challenges still to overcome.
Interview with: Zeljko Jeftic, Head of Projects IRU Projects
In January 2013, the
International Road Transport
Union (IRU) recently decided to
establish IRU Projects. Can you
explain why and what are the core
activities of the new entity?
The IRU is the global voice of bus,
coach, taxi and truck operators
worldwide, from large fleets to
individual owner-operators. Its
mission is to facilitate and ensure the
sustainable development of the road
transport industry in order to drive
economic growth and prosperity via
the sustainable mobility of people
and goods by road worldwide. The
IRU was established in 1948 and is a
global industry federation of national
Member Associations and Associate
Members in 74 countries on the 5
continents.
IRU Projects is a Belgian entity,
established to support the IRU and
its members in participating in
European Commission co-financed
activities. Many of IRU members
have been hesitant in participating
in EC co-financed activities due
to the amount and complexity of
administration as well as lack of
knowledge about opportunities for
cooperation. IRU Projects is a service
to all these members in making the
administrative burden lighter so that
We aim to make the voice of commercial
fleet operators more prominent in European Commission co-financed projects and to continue providing solutions to the real-life problems bus, coach, taxi and truck fleet operators are facing every day
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business models which will enable all
stakeholders to commit to running
the piloted services even in the
future, as an integral part of their
traffic management operations.
What do you think the main
benefits of cooperating with
other European stakeholders
through European projects are?
The main benefit for us is to be able
to work together on the development
of technologies and policies. By
influencing both of these at an early
stage, it is easier to ensure that they
are aligned with the real-life, end-
user needs. As the latest example
on how an EC supported project has
contributed to policy development,
we should mention the TRACE
(Transport Regulators Align Control
Enforcement) project, to which
the IRU contributed. The project
description is available in all EU
languages on the EUROPA website,
and presents the TRACE project
team’s views on the application
and implementation of a number
of provisions of Regulation (EC)
No 561/2006 establishing rules on
driving times, breaks and rest periods
of professional drivers.
Another positive example is the
ECOeffect - ECOeffect is a high-quality eco-driving training programme combining the latest technology, advanced training techniques and safety behaviour specifically designed for the road transport sector.
MOBiNET - MOBiNET will develop an ‘Internet of mobility’ and simplify the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in Europe. MOBiNET project hopes to capitalise on the widespread growth in mobile communications and cloud-based computing to deliver a new generation of travel services to European citizens.
Compass4D - Compass4D will deploy concrete and sustainable Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems in 7 European cities aiming to enhance road safety, reduce CO2 emissions and improve traffic flows.
TRACE - TRACE project supported the devopment of a European harmonised training format for enforcers controlling the respect of the Drivers’ Hours’ Rules’ Regulation.
FREILOT - The FREILOT project aimed at increasing energy efficiency of urban freight through deployment of ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) services.