TISA and Members at the ITS World Congress Hamburg 2021

 

ITS World Congress 2021 organised in the Hanseatic city of Hamburg this year had a big success being one of the first face-to-face events of this size in some time with more than 13,200 participants from 66 different countries. Many Special Interest Sessions and Technical Paper Sessions alongside Plenary Meetings and many sessions from the High-level Programme were held where one of the six predetermined congress topics was discussed.

TISA and its members NNG, GEWI, TomTom, BBK, WDR, and BMT had a very busy schedule during the congress. They presented the partnership and the latest updates at the Special Interest Session 28 organised by Stéphanie Chaufton, TISA Coordinator at ERTICO. TISA members also talked about the latest updates especially on TPEG-EAW protocol and the results of early trials on other Special Interest Sessions TISA was invited to. Furthermore, TISA and its members had a stand where two demonstrations were made: Interactions of Automated vehicles with approaching emergency vehicles as well as the effectiveness of the TPEG-EAW protocol: official emergency alerts and warnings to travellers.

Monotch and Be-Mobile announce partnership for further C-ITS roll-out in Europe

At the ITS World Congress in Hamburg, Dutch and Flemish smart mobility specialists Monotch and TISA member Be-Mobile have signed a partnership agreement for the realisation and upscaling of C-ITS services in the Netherlands, Flanders, France and the rest of Europe. With this collaboration, both parties underline the importance of a fully operational C-ITS ecosystem which provides many benefits for the stakeholders in the C-ITS ecosystem such as improving traffic flows and road safety, prioritizing road users and reducing emissions. Together they are able to serve the entire mobility ecosystem and offer cities, road authorities and road users excellent opportunities to deploy C-ITS services to their fullest potential.

By teaming up for the Dutch, Flemish and French market Monotch and Be-Mobile are able to further promote the benefits of V2X platforms. Monotch provides data flows via the TLEX I2V platform by connecting traffic light controllers and other roadside equipment to service providers, the automotive industry, road authorities, emergency services and ultimately road users. This perfectly matches Be-Mobile’s C-ITS platform that enables drivers to instantaneously receive local traffic information and to anticipate traffic conditions beyond the windshield and has gained a lot of knowledge when it comes to C-ITS use case aggregation. Time-to-red, time-to-green, informing road users about hazardous situations, traffic light priority, to name but a few.

Tangible benefits and countless C-ITS services 

The data flows exchanged by connecting traffic light controllers and other road-side equipment to road operators and service providers has an enormous potential to improve traffic flows and road safety, prioritize certain road users and reduce emissions. Road authorities can get realtime insights into the traffic situation, guide traffic and implement and analyse traffic policies without implementing expensive roadside communication systems. System integrators can leverage the data to develop innovative solutions. The collected data can be turned into services which offer travellers a seamless driving experience based on personalized advice, making the interaction between driver and roadside systems a tangible reality.

Ready to serve the entire value chain

Both parties continue building on the successful cooperation and realisation of C-ITS use cases in the Netherlands and their joint submission for the Mobilidata programme in Flanders. The Be-Mobile C-ITS data and use case aggregation for emergency vehicles, traffic lights and variable message signs, the Flitsmeister traffic information and payments services and the Monotch data aggregation of the TLEX I2V platform will clearly reinforce each other. The partnership not only prepares the infrastructure for connected and automated mobility but it also enables a large-scale roll-out of C-ITS services in Europe. The services can make a significant contribution to more sustainable driving, traffic prioritisation, traffic optimisation and realtime traffic information to road users. Road users will direcly benefit from the combined market-ready C-ITS solutions such as in-car signage and hazardous situation notifications.

Menno Malta, CEO of Monotch, really enjoys working together. “Be-Mobile and Monotch not only share the vision of C-ITS, but also have the drive to provide high-quality and scalable services that directly benefit cities, road authorities and road users.”

Jorn de Vries, CCO at Be-Mobile, adds that all parties will have a complementary role. “Together we can serve the entire value chain. This makes us the ideal partner for cities, road operators and other stakeholders to let C-ITS come to life everywhere in Europe.”

About Be-Mobile and subsidiary Flitsmeister

Be-Mobile is a smart mobility service provider, headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. Be-Mobile offers high-quality services in the field of smart mobility, traffic monitoring and management, traffic information, mobile payments and tolling. The most important asset is (big) data from connected vehicles and devices, so-called Floating Car Data (FCD). In addition, as co-owner, Be-Mobile is also responsible for marketing business-to-business services and data from Flitsmeister. With more than 2,200,000 users, the most famous traffic application in the Netherlands. With a customer portfolio consisting of more than 32 car manufacturers, Be-Mobile is one of Europe’s leading traffic information suppliers with a set of exclusive data.

About Monotch

By connecting data, services and transactions Dutch smart mobility specialist Monotch helps customers respond to the latest mobility trends and challenges. Monotch improves traffic flow and offers solutions for smart traffic, smart parking and smart travelling and thereby contributes to safe, smart and sustainable mobility. Monotch’s activities cover the entire mobility ecosystem from traffic, parking to mobility as a service. Monotch works for reputable organisations, such as equipment & technology vendors, service providers, app developers, cities, regions, parking resource providers, and road authorities.

TISA Schedule at the ITS World Congress 2021

Here is the TISA schedule at the ITS World Congress in Hamburg between 11 and 15 October.

Enhancing road safety: New technology provides travellers with public emergency warnings

The German Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) and members of the Traveller Information Services Association (TISA), namely ARD (NDR & WDR), bmt, GEWI, mecom, NNG, TomTom, and Teatownlake, have successfully concluded a trial, which provides public emergency warnings to travelers in real time

Bonn, Brussels, 28th September 2021: “This summer’s flooding catastrophes in Germany and the Benelux have made it absolutely clear that early and effective warnings can save lives,” said Teun Hendriks, TISA Technical and Standardisation Committee co-chair. “TISA has proven that TPEG Emergency Alerts and Warnings are an effective dissemination channel to inform travellers, who may not speak the local language, nor be familiar with the local geography and locations of towns, about various dangers, not only while driving, but also without the need to take their eyes off the road to look at their cell phone,” he concluded.

A part of the TPEG protocol family (ISO 21219-series), the TPEG Emergency Alerts and Warnings technology distributes official Emergency Alerts and Warnings as issued by public authorities and/or authorized agencies. Emergency Alerts and Warnings are typically issued to warn the general public of impending danger, for example fires, flooding, civil emergencies, severe weather, but also security hazards, or hostile acts.

TPEG-based distribution of Emergency Alerts and Warnings now provide alerts/warnings to travellers in a safe way while ensuring compatibility with both in-vehicle navigation systems, as in-vehicle digital radio receivers, and ensuring that messages are understandable also for non-native speakers who are residents and visitors from foreign countries. Now, emergency warnings can reach also travellers and stimulate those at risk to take action.

Image courtesy of NNG

The trial, conducted in Germany throughout 2021 and concluded in September, confirmed the effectiveness of the TPEG-based Emergency Alerts and Warnings protocol, which now will be submitted to ISO for world-wide standardisation.

More information about this trial (which was partially funded by the ISF project1) will be made exclusively available at the ITS World Congress between 11 and 15 October. TISA and its members will be present in hall B5, booths #5011 and #5012.
For a demonstration of TPEG2-EAW, book your time slot here

Click here to view the TISA Press Release.

TISA strengthens ties with Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn is one of the biggest mobility and logistics companies in Europe, serving millions of rail and bus travellers every year and acting as an important travel information data hub for all passengers.

Beside regular travel information, passengers also deal with different kinds of disruptions on a daily basis, this is why TISA is glad to be working closely with Deutsche Bahn in the framework of TPEG2-PTS, which is helping the German rail operator to better inform public transport customers via public broadcasting.

“TPEG2-PTS is a chance for public transport to achieve better travel communication for its own customers”, said Ingo Ritter. “Thanks to TISA’s service, we can now obtain the reduction of input formats, quality-controlled data and literally connect to a new world!”, he concluded.

Although a nationwide rollout in Germany will be challenging, TISA Members are positive about the future outcomes of the collaboration with Deutsche Bahn. The presentation is available here.