N° 7 July/August 2015

This month focus on...


SECOND TERRITORIAL WORKSHOP “SOUTH ITALY AND SMART MOBILITY: OPPORTUNITIES AND SOLUTIONS FOR THE LOCAL ADMINISTRATIONS” AND TRAINING DAY “ITS AND SMART MOBILITY” – 8/9 JULY 2015 REGGIO CALABRIA AND MESSINA
 

TTS Italia, in collaboration with the City of Reggio Calabria and the City of Messina, organised the second territorial Workshop “South Italy and Smart Mobility: opportunities and solutions for the local administrations” and the first training day on “ITS and Smart Mobility”.

The Workshop was held in Reggio Calabria on the 8th of July. The aim of the event was to offer an overview on the models and solutions of the smart mobility available on the South of Italy starting from the experience of the City of Reggio Calabria and Messina. Also, the Workshop aimed at analysing in deep the development of the ITS sector in the next future also thanks to the opportunity of the 2014-2020 funding.
Institutions, public authorities and private companies met to discuss future scenarios and to exchange best practices.

The Workshop has been organised with the support of:




For the presentations (available only in Italian), click here
For the press release (available only in Italian), click here
For the photo gallery, click here

On the day after, on the 9th of July, it was held in Messina the training day on “ITS and Smart Mobility” to involve the technical staff of the Messina, Reggio Calabria and the neighbouring areas to share experiences on intelligent mobility. The Agency for Rome Mobility, 5T and the Research Centre of Messina told the audience about their experiences, obstacles in solutions implementations and results.

For the presentations (available only in Italian), click here
For the photo gallery, click here
 

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Focus on…

European Commission: published the delegated regulation on EU-wide real-time traffic information services
On the 23rd of June, the European Commission published on the official journal, the delegated regulation on EU-wide real-time traffic information services supplementing the Directive 2010/40/EU, the ITS Directiv of the European Parliament and of the Council.

This Regulation establishes the specifications necessary in order to ensure the accessibility, exchange, re-use and update of road and traffic data by road authorities, road operators and service providers for the provision of EU-wide real-time traffic information services.

It shall apply to the comprehensive trans-European road network, as well as motorways not included in this network, and priority zones identified by national authorities where they consider this to be relevant.

Among the most important points:

1) Each Member State shall set up a national access point. The national access point shall constitute a single point of access for users to the road and traffic data, including data updates, provided by the road authorities, road operators and service providers and concerning the territory of a given Member State.

2) Existing national access points that have been set up to comply with the requirements arising from other delegated acts adopted under Directive 2010/40/EU may be used, if deemed appropriate by the Member States, as national access points.

3)  For the purpose of facilitating the provision of compatible, interoperable, and continuous real-time traffic information services across the Union, road authorities and road operators shall provide the static road data they collect and update pursuant to Article 8 in a standardised format, if available, or in any other machine readable format.

4) For the purpose of facilitating the provision of compatible, interoperable, and continuous real-time traffic information services across the Union, road authorities and road operators shall provide the dynamic road and traffic status data they collect and update in DATEX II format or any machine-readable format fully compatible and interoperable with DATEX II.

5) Real-time traffic information services shall be based on updates of static road data, dynamic road status data and traffic data, or any combination thereof. All data shall be regularly updated by the road authorities, road operators, service providers. Road authorities, road operators, service providers shall in a timely manner correct any inaccuracies detected by them in their data or signalled to them by any user and end-users.

At the latest by 13 July 2017, Member States shall provide the Commission with a report on the measures undertaken, if any, to set up a national access point and on the modalities of its functioning, and where relevant, the list of motorways not included in the comprehensive trans-European road network and identified priority zones.

The Regulation shall apply from 13 July 2017.

Source: European Union
 

News of the month from TTS Italia partners

5T launches its new web site
5T, TTS Italia ordinary member, has renewed its website with a new design and a new organization of contents and services. The website dedicates new sections to the company's competences, projects and activities in the field of mobility and ITS. The new Moving in Torino section groups all the information services regarding traffic and public transport situation in Torino with a renewed design. For all updates on regional traffic, the new website links to Moving in Piemonte.
Check it out!
Source: 5T

“From Big to Smart” in Rome with Engineering
It was held on the 8th of July, in Rome, the meeting “From Big to Smart: the strategic use of information” organised by Engineering Ingegneria informatica, TTS Italia ordinary member. The event was an opportunity to exchange views on trends and technological scenarios, guidelines and best practices, proposals for new design possibilities.
Source: Engineering Ingegneria Informatica

INDRA implements ITS Smart Technology for tunnels in Portugal and Iran for €7.5M
Texeira Duarte has awarded Indra, TTS Italia ordinary member, a contract for the design, installation and commissioning of intelligent traffic systems (ITS), control and communications for the Marao tunnel, currently under construction and which, spanning close to 6 km, will be the longest of Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula. Furthermore, Indra has been awarded another contract by Iran for implementing its tunnel control technology in the tunnel of the Mashhad Metro Line 2. The global value of these contracts for Indra is more than €7.5 M. Indra will equip the Marao tunnel control center with its proprietary Horus intelligent traffic and tunnel management solution, integrating and permitting a centralized control of the tunnel's different intelligent traffic systems (ITS). Indra will also implement these intelligent traffic systems (ITS), like automatic incident detection (AID) and video surveillance systems using closed circuit television (CCTV), signaling systems, fire detection, communication, public address system, SOS posts, and loading gauges and dangerous goods controls. An advanced video surveillance system with automatic incident detection using artificial vision will enable an immediate response to events that could endanger user safety or traffic. This permits, for example, for vehicles to travel in two directions on a single lane, when necessary, without interrupting traffic. The Indra solution will also integrate an innovative control system for dangerous goods using video surveillance and a license plate recognition system based on algorithms. Thanks to Indra's technology to be applied in the Marao Tunnel, operators will be able to monitor the status of the roadway at all times, and have access to real-time information for decision-making purposes. The high level of automation of operations will help for quick and accurate management of everything that happens in the tunnels, both for daily control as well as during emergency situations. It will also be possible to offer drivers real-time information and optimal safety and service quality, helping to reduce the risk of incidents and optimizing the use of resources when responding to these. Indra, likewise, will install the Horus solution in the control center of the Mashhad Metro Line 2 in Iran. In this case, Indra will design and install the tunnel's ventilation control, which also includes the supply of 13 redundant, remote communications stations, environmental sensors (anemometers), fire detection systems, as well as IT equipment for the control center. Indra will carry out this project together with a company from Asturias, Zitron, and another from Iran, Garivekan, the consortium to which the contract has been awarded. Indra completed a similar project with these partners for the Toheed tunnel in Tehran, the country's capital, five years ago. The projects for the tunnels of Marao and Mashhad are proof of the versatility and scalability of Indra's Horus solution, which meets the requirements of all types of infrastructures and adapts to different needs through intelligent and integrated management of its different subsystems.
Source: INDRA

Kapsch helps saving Italy’s historic city centers
Kapsch, TTS Italia ordinary member, implemented a new system to regulate city access into Prato (Tuscany, Italy). The Automated Access Control System in the Limited Traffic Zone (LTZ) started operations in early July 2015. The system consists of a central system, software managing and issuing the permits and cameras placed at six gates that mark the access points to the city center. This solution replaces the old system based on paper permits and manual control. Currently, the Limited Traffic Zone is active 24 hours a day and the only ones allowed to enter the area are permit holders: residents, shopkeepers, disabled people, public utility operators, maintenance personnel and hotel guests. The introduction of an Automated Access Control System includes several advantages. It ensures greater efficiency both in the enforcement of regulation as well as the payment in case of infringements. The cameras capture the license plate of vehicles when driving through the access points. The images obtained are automatically checked against a list of registered vehicles. If there is a discrepancy between authorization and license plate, the system will forward the data for processing to the local authorities. Before using the new technology, the system went through a month-long test run. Firstly fine adjustments have been made during this time. Secondly, the residents were given time to get familiar with the automated operation. The number of violations already sharply declined during the test month – according to the local police, this trend speaks for an increased awareness and acceptance of the access restriction among the citizens. The aim of the access solution in Prato – like in many other Italian cities – is not to collect large sums of money by traffic offenders. Rather, it is about the protection of the historical heritage of the city and the environment. The residents appreciate the better quality of life and the constraints are also of importance to the touristic appeal of the historic city centers. Because of this heritage and the special narrow structure of inner cities Italy was worldwide among the first countries which adopted rules for limited traffic zones. Today, there are in Italy more than 100 urban areas with absolute driving ban and approximately another 170 with regulated access. Kapsch was the first company that has designed, planned and implemented automated systems for these zones. The first was installed in Bologna in 1994. Since then, Kapsch has participated in similar projects in around 35 Italian cities; including Rome, Naples, Turin, Ravenna, Salerno, Piacenza, Bergamo, Bardonecchia and now Prato.
Source: Kapsch

Survey on the use of the European satellite navigatio (EGNSS) for dangerous goods transport
EGNOS and Galileo for the track and trace of the multimodal transport of dangerous goods: the European project CORE, involving among partners Telespazio, TTS Italia ordinary member, and TTS Italia, launched the survey available until 29 February 2016.
To participate, please click here
Source: Telespazio/TTS Italia

VisLab’s merger with Ambarella
Ambarella, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA), a leading developer of video compression and image processing semiconductors, today announced the acquisition of VisLab S.r.l., a privately held Italian company based in Parma, Italy for $30 million in cash.
VisLab, the Vision and Intelligent Systems Laboratory at the University of Parma, TTS Italia ordinary member, is a pioneer in perception systems and autonomous vehicle research and was founded by Professor Alberto Broggi. The company has developed computer vision and intelligent control systems for automotive and other commercial applications, including Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and several generations of autonomous vehicle driving systems. These include “Porter,” an autonomous vehicle that made a 13,000 km autonomous trip from Italy to China in 2010. 
“Computer vision is an area of significant focus for Ambarella, and will be critical to our current video markets, as well as future markets such as automotive OEM cameras,” said Fermi Wang, CEO of Ambarella. “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Broggi and the VisLab team to Ambarella to jointly define, develop and deploy future generations of computer vision solutions.”
“The unique combination of VisLab’s computer vision expertise and Ambarella’s high performance, power-efficient video processing technology will enable extremely powerful systems,” said Professor Broggi. “We are very pleased to join Ambarella and to realize the full potential of our research and algorithms across a wide range of customers’ products.”
As part of the acquisition, VisLab’s 27 researchers will join Ambarella’s advanced computer vision development team. This will enable extensive and robust computer vision support in future Ambarella solutions targeting Ambarella’s core markets including automotive, IP security, wearable, and flying cameras.  
Source: VisLab

VVA wins tender on GNSS
Valdani Vicari & Associati (VVA), TTS Italia ordinary member, has won the tender issued by the European Commission – Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry for the provision of legal, technical and organisational support for the European Commission's activities on global navigation satellite system (GNSS) applications.
Source: TTS Italia

TTS in action

Public transport + carpooling + social media crowdsourcing = SocialCar
SocialCar is an innovative software and service making urban mobility smarter
“Improvable connectivity”, “optimisable use of available transport resources”, “less susceptible itineraries to public transport disruptions”, “simplifiable travel experience for passengers, “assimilable public and private services” – this is how the majority of European public transport planners would describe the potential of their local networks. A lot is being done across Europe to forge ahead with modern public transportation, yet, with cities growing in importance by leaps and bounds, their transport networks often fail to stand the pace.
A new trailblazing concept to advance public transport in European cities has come to light. SocialCar is a research and innovation project that seeks to assimilate carpooling into existing mobility systems by means of powerful route planning algorithms and integration of big data from public transport, carpooling and crowd sourcing.
What is really new for citizens?
Meet Clara. Clara is 22 years old student having an ERASMUS semester in Brussels. Being in Brussels for the first time, Clara is looking for convenient and inexpensive commuting options to Université libre de Bruxelles. Recently, Clara read a tweet from her fellow ERASMUS student Anna reporting on traffic disruptions at Avenue de Tervueren. What drew her attention in particular was the hashtag “#SocialCar project”. Clara genned up on SocialCar and decided to try the new service. She opens the SocialCar app and enters her current location, her destination as well as desired departure and arrival time. The app generates multiple integrated multimodal travel options including carpooling, walking and public transport. Eva, a Brussels car pooler, is informed about Clara’s request, and accepts. Before Clara and Eva meet, SocialCar offers them the possibility to see each other’s profile and chat. Before starting the trip, Clara and Eva are updated in real-time about traffic conditions, and they decide to carry on with their travel arrangement. Clara reaches the University conveniently and makes a new friend. Eva receives positive SocialCar feedback points as a sign of Clara’s gratitude. Finally, SocialCar gains a new loyal user who updates her fellow commuters about traffic disruptions and other travel aspects through social media to help the collective efforts of engendering reliable and pleasant city travel experiences for everybody.
The project unites ITS developers, social and economic scientists, transport engineers, carpoolers and public authorities from Italy, Greece, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Poland, Switzerland, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Spain and Belgium. With a kick-off meeting held on 25-26 June 2015 in Rome, the consortium, in which also TTS Italia is involved as a partner, embarked on joint efforts to exploit the ever growing connectivity of people and objects, the proliferation of internet services, the potential of Future Internet, GNSS and social media. Their mission is to design, develop, test and roll out a service that simplifies the travel experience of citizens in urban and peri-urban areas.
SocialCar will define data processing flows and design algorithms to match travel requests with the integrated public-private transport supply, complemented by a reputation-based mechanism. The partnership will, furthermore, design the architectural and logical framework of the service by using open source software under the GNU General Public License. With all software modules integrated, SocialCar will be tested in 10 European cities.
The project seeks to apply an open access approach to its software components. Offering new business opportunities along with simplified mobility patterns for citizens and urban planners, it is likely that the new concept will grow in popularity and spread throughout Europe. To streamline new city travel business models, the partnership will also offer a business and investment strategy for the implementation of SocialCar systems.

SocialCar project consortium

Follow us on Twitter: @SocialCar_RDI
For contacts: Ms Paola Cossu - cossu@fitconsulting.it
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 636427”. Project duration: 3 years

ITS relevant tenders in Italy

Italia-Ascoli Piceno: Videosurveillance system
Italia-Caserta: Traffic lights
Italia-Rivarolo Canavese: Services for parking areas management
Italia-Roma: Transport tickets
Italia-Roma: Software fo data security
Italia-Tursi: Services for cash collection

Save the date

Citytech and BUStech 2015
17-18 September 2015, Rome
For further information, click here

The 18th International IEEE Conference on Intelligent Transportation
15-18 September 2015, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
For further information, click here

1st IRF Europe & Central Asia Regional Congress & Exhibition
15-18 September 2015, Istanbul, Turkey
For further information, click here

TTS News Alert wishes you happy holidays!

  See you in September!

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