FOT-Net Final event, Amsterdam, 18 March 2014
Around 50 participants of the FOT-Community gathered in the iconic Eye building in Amsterdam on 18 March 2014 to formally close the FOT-Net 2 project. Opening this final event, Myriam Coulon-Cantuer from EC DG CONNECT emphasized how FOT-Net provided the necessary network for all the projects on FOTs. Thanks to supporting materials and seminars, FOT-Net 2 delivered a revision of the FESTA methodology, built a FOT knowledge base through the FOT-Net wiki and website and generated new knowledge via working groups. Myriam Coulon-Cantuer emphasized the project set the bar very high and delivered excellent results which will create high expectations vis-à-vis the FOT-Net Data project that will succeed the FOT-Net 1 and 2 projects.
Fot-Net 2 was really the “one-stop shop” for FOTs: it created an information exchange platform on FOTs, linked national, European and international FOTs, and provided support for FOTs. The project also fostered international cooperation with contributions of FOT experts from Europe, Asia Pacific and US. Via round tables and plenary sessions, participants advanced major FOT topics such as cooperative system, naturalistic driving studies, data sharing, deployment, and data and impact analysis. The project revised and promoted the FESTA handbook. In order to transfer the knowledge developed in the FESTA project and enhance the methodology, seven seminars were organised during the course of the project and relevant material was captured and fed into the FESTA revision.
An important legacy of FOT-Net is the FOT-Net Wiki that has become an established information and reference tool to the FOT community. The Wiki comprises a catalogue of currently 147 FOTs worldwide with respective contact information, information on more than 90 tools that can help everyone to conduct a FOT, a glossary of FOT related items and a FOT of the month. With currently 647 registered users, the wider FOT community developed ownership of this important tool. The FESTA handbook is also available on the wiki and will help viewers to find answers to specific questions quicker.
The final event looked back on the use of the FESTA methodology in a series of FOT projects and how this resulted in an adjustment of the FESTA methodology. The FESTA methodology was adjusted based on lessons learned from the working groups on data analysis, defining crash relevant events, legal and ethical aspects, impact assessment and scaling up, and data sharing.
The FOT-Net project also performed an analysis on how previous FOTs have met stakeholders’ needs. While the analysis shows a rather positive picture of FOTs and the use of the results, it also underlines the need for the deployment of FOT results. The need for collaboration and developing business models gains importance. FOTs are an important step for deployment as they increase cooperation by involving different stakeholders, enable users to be part of the test process, create trust in the supply chain and improve HMI interface. FOT results are also an important support tool for policy decision making. When for example implementing a FOT in a city, it is important to involve the city as stakeholder early on in the process, align FOT with city’s mobile objectives, show how deployment can help accomplish these objectives and include a socio economic analysis.
The FOT-Net 2 final event was concluded by ERTICO’s project manager Yvonne Barnard officially handing over the FOT-Net torch to FOT-Net Data Project Coordinator Sami Koshinen of VTT.
