Following the 26th ITS World Congress in Singapore, ERTICO took off to Japan to attend the Japanese government – led SIP-adus conference to exploit new partnership opportunities. This annual conference on the topic of automation gathers international participation from Europe, the US and Asia. This year Senior Managers of ERTICO – ITS Stephane Dreher and Jean-Charles Pandazis Europe were present to put some of the work carried out in Europe and ERTICO’s innovation platforms on the table for discussion.

At the two-day conference, ERTICO’s activities were presented in the field of Connected and Automated Driving (CAD) in particular related to the European-funded project ARCADE (Aligning Research & Innovation for Connected and Automated Driving in Europe) as well as in the field of dynamic maps with ERTICO’s innovation platforms SENSORIS and ADASIS. A future collaboration between ITS Europe and ITS Japan was a significant result for the team.

The international nature of SIP-adus’ provides the perfect backdrop to present the results and ongoing work carried out by ARCADE. During the SIP-adus breakout workshop on regional activities and the meeting of the Trilateral working group on Automation in Road Transport, Mr. Dreher presented the knowledge base of CAD related activities which ARCADE is currently developing, as well as some  initial insight on European Research and testing initiatives for highly automated driving.

Mr Pandazis, on the other hand, presented the current status in Europe with potential collaboration on “ITS solutions and assessment in reducing the environmental impacts of transport” with a focus on ERTICO’s international strategy. During the SIP-adus breakout workshop on Dynamic Maps, a formal request was made by the SIP-adus management (NEDO) for the use of the ADASIS specification for the SIP-adus FOT in 2021-22.

The SIP-adus workshop has certainly opened a door for the ERTICO Partnership and for Europe’s ITS sector, with possibilities to receive support from EC’s Japan representation, ITS Japan, UTMobi and the University of Tokyo.

On 19th November, Mr Dreher was also invited by the University of Nagoya, Japan, to present the status of ITS and CAD activities in Europe, from ERTICO’s perspective.

These discussions will form the initial framework and start-point from which to organise a partner delegation to Japan in November 2020. This will give European companies and organisations representing Service Providers, Suppliers, Traffic and Transport Industry, Research, Public Authorities, Users, Mobile Networks Operators and Vehicle Manufacturers the unique chance to meet with leading organisations from the Japanese ITS industry, as well as relevant public authorities, associations and research institutes.

Networking is at the heart of ERTICO’s DNA. After one intense month in Asia at the ITS World Congress in Singapore and in Japan, ERTICO will be working in the coming months to create new knowledge exchange and business opportunities for its Partnership with the region.

So stay tuned, the best is yet to come!