The European Space Agency (ESA) held an Information Webinar last week on the Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP) Thematic Window: Ubiquitous Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) for Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) for more efficient, safe, and sustainable roads and vehicles. The Webinar was one of the first initiatives following the recent Memorandum of Intent (MoI) between ESA and ERTICO.
With the launch of NAVISP, derived from the established collaboration between the two organisations, the Thematic Window will bring together different sectors working towards intelligent road transport systems, including space and non-space actors. Their objectives will contribute towards decarbonisation and support mobility-related emissions reduction to address climate challenges in line with the EU agenda for safe, clean, and connected mobility and with the ESA strategy ‘Space for a Green Future’.
Mr Joost Vantomme, ERTICO CEO and Dr Nikolaos Tsampieris, Senior Manager of Innovation & Deployment, were invited to deliver a keynote presentation on CCAM and to discuss the different benefits, opportunities and ongoing projects from the ERTICO perspective. By 2035, ERTICO envisions integrated, accepted, inclusive, and infrastructure-supported operational CCAM services supporting decarbonisation.
“It was a pleasure to attend and present ERTICO and our Partnership’s active engagement on CCAM and our roadmap reflecting the vision for 2035. Promoting connectivity, next-generation sensors and automation are a few examples that strengthen the unique opportunity of CCAM to make our transport systems safer, cleaner, more efficient and more user-friendly,” says Mr Joost Vantomme. “This Webinar was the first of many forthcoming concrete initiatives following our cooperation with ESA. Looking ahead, we are foreseeing a continuous strengthening of our joint effort of building bridges and promoting knowledge exchange to advance the future of automated and sustainable mobility.”
ERTICO CCAM Roadmap: The Future of Mobility is Connected, Cooperative & Automated
CCAM services play a central role in delivering decarbonisation and improving safety in transporting people and goods within the right legal and regulatory frameworks and in line with the European Green Deal and Vision Zero among many other key targets.
Synchronized with the European Union’s (EU) policy focus, the ERTICO CCAM Roadmap combines long-term project initiatives and action points from different EU strategies, including the Smart and Sustainable Mobility, Urban Mobility, Green Deal, Digital and Data Economy, AI and Cybersecurity, and the Competitiveness and Industrial strategies. During ERTICO’s presentation of the CCAM roadmap, the discussion also touched on the important element of the key enabling technologies for successfully realizing CCAM solutions, for example, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Cybersecurity.
“ERTICO is paving the way towards the advancement of CCAM by leading several Research and Innovation projects, platforms, and initiatives while coordinating multiple stakeholders to focus on common challenges, develop a shared vision, and enable a harmonized approach”, comments Dr. Nikolaos Tsampieris. “Projects such as 5G-MOBIX and SHOW, to mention but a few, are setting the paradigm for the future mobility sector, allowing for higher levels of CCAM automation and bringing us closer to Vision Zero.’’
Opportunities & Challenges: A Broader Scope of the Thematic Window
Over 100 participants joined the Webinar to learn about the societal and environmental benefits of CCAM presented by ERTICO, and to hear the public sector perspectives on scaling up CCAM innovation. Following presentations from organisations such as the Centre of Excellence ExEmerge (Italy) and the Satellite Applications Catapult (UK), the NAVISP team also outlined the PNT opportunities within CCAM to address current challenges for vehicles and infrastructure.
An enriching Q&A session marked the end of the Webinar, raising some important points about the accurate and resilient timing validated by real-time PNT monitoring and the vital need to prioritize safety and security, leading towards greater public acceptance of CCAM.
Read about the Webinar discussion here to find out more about role of PNT, one of the largest key technology enablers for CCAM.
Download all the presentations here.
