Click on the front cover to download the full report
‘Intelligent Mobility’ is an exciting prospect. It could enable travellers to plan and execute their journeys seamlessly across the whole spectrum of available transport options whilst enabling more vehicles to flow more freely through our existing infrastructure.
The concept is about ‘mobility’, rather than being about choices between cars, buses and trains as competing systems. As such, it has the potential to sweep away the ‘either/or’ decision making process between road, rail, or air transport, which characterises the conventional approaches to journey and infrastructure planning.
Importantly, Intelligent Mobility emphasises the roles that public transport systems, private cars, freight vehicles, commercial fleet operators, infrastructure providers, and government must all play in delivering those levels of improved mobility which are essential if we are to avoid clogging the nation’s transport arteries and stifling our economy.
The key to Intelligent Mobility lies in the interconnections which can be made between a range of different industries and technologies. This range includes: vehicle manufacturing; electronic sensors and controls; transport information systems; communications technologies; logistics & distribution; and infrastructure management. At present, each of these business segments is a fast-moving, independent sector in its own right and there is little formal connection between them all. For this reason, developments in the field of intelligent mobility to date look rather fragmented and the full potential of the concept remains to be delivered. Identifying the interconnections, and making this happen, is the key challenge to those who advocate Intelligent Mobility as an important national goal.
However, new user-focused products designed to assist travellers and drivers are evolving very rapidly and convergence across the different business segments is beginning to occur. This convergence opens the door to the delivery of true Intelligent Mobility, and we might anticipate dramatic improvements in the areas of:
Reduced congestion
Improved fuel efficiency
Increased road safety
Reduced carbon emissions
Enhanced journey predictability.
Intelligent systems for transport applications have come a long way since interest in the subject first started to produce meaningful results in the late 70s/early 80s. There are now many examples of ITS operating within our infrastructure, including Managed Motorways and the London Congestion Charging system. There are also many examples of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) that have been adopted very widely by the automotive industry. But, in many cases, they are no longer categorised as ITS (eg Adaptive Cruise Control, SatNav).
The convergence of these singular ITS products into a more comprehensive Intelligent Mobility framework is now beginning to appear in several different parts of the user-spectrum:
In the public transport domain, where a wide variety of travel products and services are now available to assist users plan and execute their journeys. The Oyster Card in London, and the availability of bus and train timetable and movement information at home via the internet are two examples.
In the private car domain, developments have been mainly concentrated in the spheres of ‘infotainment’, driver assistance and safety. Increasingly, these systems are reaching beyond the car itself to interact with other vehicles and the fixed infrastructure via wireless communications and the internet.
In the domain of fleet/commercial operations, real-time vehicle and item tracking is common-place. Vehicle monitoring/reporting systems are increasingly integrated with enterprise management systems with the goal of increasing operational efficiency and competitive advantage.
In the infrastructure domain, traffic management systems deliver variable speed limits and lane controls on our motorways. A variety of road-side sensors is used to monitor traffic conditions; number plate recognition systems are used to enforce the law; and electronic tolling is becoming common for infrastructure bottlenecks (eg windscreen tags for the Dartford Tunnel and Severn Crossing).
In future, it is likely that the functionalities in the separate domains described above will converge to provide continuous functionality across the whole spectrum of need. This will allow all forms of transport to participate in continuous, ‘intelligent’, interactions (both vehicle-to-infrastructure, and vehicle-to-vehicle). At that stage, Intelligent Mobility will offer the possibility of relieving those problems of congestion, air quality, safety and carbon emissions which threaten to choke the development of the UK economy over the coming decades.
Given the present constraints on public funding and the recognition that the problems of congestion and air quality, etc are unacceptable economic and social burdens, wise investment by both public and private organisations in the intelligent management of existing infrastructure is essential. To be able to reduce (or remove) these problems without embarking on a major national programme of physical infrastructure upgrades represents a tremendous opportunity for the UK.
However, the route to convergence is unlikely to be an easy one. There are some difficult obstacles which confront the planners and developers of Intelligent Mobility systems. These are essentially business obstacles, rather than technical obstacles, and include the following:
The short-term user benefits (eg entertainment and driver convenience) are quite different from the long-term user benefits (eg congestion/pollution management at the national scale). Unfortunately, it is not clear that a free-market economy, acting alone, will encourage the transition from the first to the second.
Associated with the above, the business drivers for the vehicle OEMs are quite different to those for the infrastructure providers and electronic/information communications systems developers. But there is no authoritative forum in which these independent business interests are brought together.
The product development and product life cycles in the different business sectors are quite different (electronics/communications 6-12 months; automotive industry 3-5 years; infrastructure provision 5-30 years). This makes it very difficult to coordinate development programmes across the different sectors.
A consequence of all these factors is that there has been little strategic interaction between the business sectors in the past and the approach to overall system development has been uncoordinated. The result is the rather fragmented picture referred to earlier in this summary.
Despite the difficulties, the case for developing a comprehensive national approach to Intelligent Mobility is compelling. Indeed, it might be argued that a plan to deal with our problems of congestion, pollution, safety and carbon reduction through the introduction of such systems (rather than through the introduction of expensive new fixed infrastructure, or draconian regulation) should be made a national goal. When viewed in this light, all of the business sectors currently engaged in the independent development of new transport-related products should be encouraged to engage cooperatively in the pursuit of the bigger goal, despite the fact that the short-term economic returns may be questionable.
Despite this lack of immediate business benefit, there are several factors which could still act to accelerate the short-term development of new Intelligent Mobility products. These include:
The new EU ITS Directive, introduced in August 2010, titled the ‘Framework for the Deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the Field of Road Transport’ (Directive 2010/40/EU). This document puts forward an Action Plan aimed at speeding the deployment of ITS throughout Europe with targets and activities detailed in six key action areas. Delivery dates across these action areas run from now until 2014.
The needs of freight and commercial operators, where considerable and immediate business benefits can be derived from ITS applications. Examples include fleet management (eg tracking items in transit; improving driver behaviours; and reducing fuel consumption) and off-road vehicles (like construction and agricultural machinery, where the movement of vehicles is already being controlled using satellite navigation and on-board computers).
The public awareness of carbon and climate change, which will provide a more receptive user-base for products aimed at improving fuel economy and reducing emissions.
Electric vehicles, for example, are likely to raise public interest in advanced vehicle concepts and provide opportunities for the OEMs (and others) to offer products which both assist the driver and interact with the fixed infrastructure (eg displaying the location of charging points, and enabling billing and information transfer via the grid).
Intelligent Mobility represents an important opportunity for the UK at large. In the long term, it has the potential to provide solutions to some of the most pressing transport-related needs of the nation. Whilst on this journey, there is an opportunity to create UK jobs and global leadership, underlining the claim that the UK is a global vehicle R&D ‘Test Bed’. The strong national position in the fields of fixed and mobile communications technologies, software systems, and information services can be mobilised as part of this claim.
Finally, Intelligent Mobility represents an especially important consideration for the UK automotive industry. In the long run, the Industry will benefit from such developments because they will help to prevent the increasing sales of cars being seen as an unacceptable barrier in the struggle against congestion and carbon. Purchasers are more likely to be in sympathy with the Industry if they can see that these downside problems are being taken seriously and effective solutions are being developed.
With increasing demands being made on the UK’s road transport system, leaders from the automotive, communications, IT, and infrastructure industries as well as policy makers came together for the first time to discuss the issue with a business focus.
The Intelligent Mobility summit, hosted by the Automotive Council, heard from the Government and senior industry executives. They explored the business opportunities arising from innovative solutions to address:
increasing the capacity of the UK’s existing transport infrastructure;
enhancing road safety;
improving air quality; and,
reducing carbon emissions.
Speakers from around the world shared their experiences of ‘intelligent mobility’ initiatives already in operation.
Click on the front cover to download the full report
‘Intelligent Mobility’ is an exciting prospect. It could enable travellers to plan and execute their journeys seamlessly across the whole spectrum of available transport options whilst enabling more vehicles to flow more freely through our existing infrastructure.
The concept is about ‘mobility’, rather than being about choices between cars, buses and trains as competing systems. As such, it has the potential to sweep away the ‘either/or’ decision making process between road, rail, or air transport, which characterises the conventional approaches to journey and infrastructure planning.
Importantly, Intelligent Mobility emphasises the roles that public transport systems, private cars, freight vehicles, commercial fleet operators, infrastructure providers, and government must all play in delivering those levels of improved mobility which are essential if we are to avoid clogging the nation’s transport arteries and stifling our economy.
Click the following link to download presentations from the Intelligent Mobility Summit on 25 April 2012.
The key to Intelligent Mobility lies in the interconnections which can be made between a range of different industries and technologies. This range includes: vehicle manufacturing; electronic sensors and controls; transport information systems; communications technologies; logistics & distribution; and infrastructure management. At present, each of these business segments is a fast-moving, independent sector in its own right and there is little formal connection between them all. For this reason, developments in the field of intelligent mobility to date look rather fragmented and the full potential of the concept remains to be delivered. Identifying the interconnections, and making this happen, is the key challenge to those who advocate Intelligent Mobility as an important national goal.
If you wish to download the full report, executive summary or press release, click to jump to the bottom of the page.
However, new user-focused products designed to assist travellers and drivers are evolving very rapidly and convergence across the different business segments is beginning to occur. This convergence opens the door to the delivery of true Intelligent Mobility, and we might anticipate dramatic improvements in the areas of:
Intelligent systems for transport applications have come a long way since interest in the subject first started to produce meaningful results in the late 70s/early 80s. There are now many examples of ITS operating within our infrastructure, including Managed Motorways and the London Congestion Charging system. There are also many examples of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) that have been adopted very widely by the automotive industry. But, in many cases, they are no longer categorised as ITS (eg Adaptive Cruise Control, SatNav).
The convergence of these singular ITS products into a more comprehensive Intelligent Mobility framework is now beginning to appear in several different parts of the user-spectrum:
Jump back to top
In future, it is likely that the functionalities in the separate domains described above will converge to provide continuous functionality across the whole spectrum of need. This will allow all forms of transport to participate in continuous, ‘intelligent’, interactions (both vehicle-to-infrastructure, and vehicle-to-vehicle). At that stage, Intelligent Mobility will offer the possibility of relieving those problems of congestion, air quality, safety and carbon emissions which threaten to choke the development of the UK economy over the coming decades.
If you wish to download the full report, executive summary or press release, click to jump to the bottom of the page.
Given the present constraints on public funding and the recognition that the problems of congestion and air quality, etc are unacceptable economic and social burdens, wise investment by both public and private organisations in the intelligent management of existing infrastructure is essential. To be able to reduce (or remove) these problems without embarking on a major national programme of physical infrastructure upgrades represents a tremendous opportunity for the UK.
However, the route to convergence is unlikely to be an easy one. There are some difficult obstacles which confront the planners and developers of Intelligent Mobility systems. These are essentially business obstacles, rather than technical obstacles, and include the following:
Jump back to top
A consequence of all these factors is that there has been little strategic interaction between the business sectors in the past and the approach to overall system development has been uncoordinated. The result is the rather fragmented picture referred to earlier in this summary.
Despite the difficulties, the case for developing a comprehensive national approach to Intelligent Mobility is compelling. Indeed, it might be argued that a plan to deal with our problems of congestion, pollution, safety and carbon reduction through the introduction of such systems (rather than through the introduction of expensive new fixed infrastructure, or draconian regulation) should be made a national goal. When viewed in this light, all of the business sectors currently engaged in the independent development of new transport-related products should be encouraged to engage cooperatively in the pursuit of the bigger goal, despite the fact that the short-term economic returns may be questionable.
Despite this lack of immediate business benefit, there are several factors which could still act to accelerate the short-term development of new Intelligent Mobility products. These include:
Intelligent Mobility represents an important opportunity for the UK at large. In the long term, it has the potential to provide solutions to some of the most pressing transport-related needs of the nation. Whilst on this journey, there is an opportunity to create UK jobs and global leadership, underlining the claim that the UK is a global vehicle R&D ‘Test Bed’. The strong national position in the fields of fixed and mobile communications technologies, software systems, and information services can be mobilised as part of this claim.
Finally, Intelligent Mobility represents an especially important consideration for the UK automotive industry. In the long run, the Industry will benefit from such developments because they will help to prevent the increasing sales of cars being seen as an unacceptable barrier in the struggle against congestion and carbon. Purchasers are more likely to be in sympathy with the Industry if they can see that these downside problems are being taken seriously and effective solutions are being developed.
Downloads:
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Intelligent Mobility summit: 25 April 2012
With increasing demands being made on the UK’s road transport system, leaders from the automotive, communications, IT, and infrastructure industries as well as policy makers came together for the first time to discuss the issue with a business focus.
The Intelligent Mobility summit, hosted by the Automotive Council, heard from the Government and senior industry executives. They explored the business opportunities arising from innovative solutions to address:
Speakers from around the world shared their experiences of ‘intelligent mobility’ initiatives already in operation.
Downloads:
Jump back to top