In many respects today’s vehicles are already connected devices interacting directly with each other and with the road infrastructure. This interaction is the domain of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), which will allow road users and traffic managers to share information and use it to coordinate their actions. ERTICO works on many projects in this domain with C-MobILE being the latest example of the benefits of these technologies.
The C-MobILE interviews with the project partners look at progresses and different aspects of the C-MobILE technology and solutions for a smart and efficient deployment of C-ITS services in Europe. This month, we talk to André Perpey, Head of NeoGLS, an ERTICO Partner and pioneer company in GPS location, real-time data exchange, map integration and on-board terminals integration in vehicles.
Together with local partners, you have been involved in several EU projects focusing on C-ITS and solutions for cities for several years, what are the priorities for you in terms of improving safety, traffic management and in general mobility for road users?
NeoGLS works to improve safety and optimise road management through the deployment of innovative technologies. Use cases like red light violation warning (RLVW), speed limit alert in school areas, vulnerable users and safety for patrol vehicles are of high priority in the innovative developments we undertake through EU projects. Optimising road management and traffic management is also of high interest to our company since we developed an application called Prism through a EU project back in 2004, which permits patrol vehicles to optimise their work through an android app. The application is today being deployed on all national roads and already available on half of the local roads in France. Lastly, through the EU project Scoop, under development with the French Ministry of Transport, the Prism functionalities have being merged with other C-ITS use cases to provide the best tool possible to road operators.
GLOSA is one of the concrete deployment applications coming from public and private research and investments. Why do you think this service has been so successful, not only in Bordeaux, but also in other deployment sites?
GLOSA (Green Light Optimised Speed Advisory) has multiple advantages compared to other C-ITS services. It is quite new to the public and it is useful since end-users understand right away the impact on CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. It is a concrete service since end-users can interact in a dynamic way by following the advice and for example they are told when to slow down to catch a green light. The fact of providing the service on all traffic lights made GLOSA successful, since end-users do not perceive it as a research or trial but as a real mobility service.
What has been the biggest impact of the COVID pandemic on the deployment plans for Bordeaux? How did you overcome it / liaised with it?
The main issue with the COVID pandemic was – and still is – the lockdown imposed in March and November 2020. With almost no vehicles on the roads it was difficult to increase the number of downloads of the CTD Connected Mobility app which makes available the C-MobILE services to the users. To limit the problems, we launched a dissemination campaign after the lockdowns and we have also developed an IOS version of the app. Luckily downloads are going up again.
Do you have any other success stories about transport solutions that the city has implemented? What was the role of the private industry in ensuring this success?
Bordeaux Metropolis in collaboration with the French Ministry has also deployed C-ITS infrastructure and use cases through the C-Roads project. NeoGLS contributed to this deployment and proposed as much as possible the C-Mobile architecture and tools.
You are the French deployment site leader, what do you hope to achieve with C-MobILE for your business but also for the city of Bordeaux in general?
C-MobILE allowed the development of interesting new use cases, an innovative architecture and a deployment strategy of the services through bundles. These innovations are well adapted to urban deployments of C-ITS use cases, which made Bordeaux an open living lab whose characteristics could be replicated in other cities. NeoGLS hopes that the experience gained in C-MobILE will allow similar deployments in other French and European cities.
Find out more about C-MobILE Bordeaux deployment site and the mobile App here.
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You can read previous posts from the C-MobILE Interview Series here.
