Last month, the SHOW project held an Ideathon in Pörtschach (Austria) to explore solutions for integrating public transport with autonomous services, designing contactless shuttle systems, and optimising transportation efficiency for people and small goods. The Ideathon was the latest in the series of events and activities – such as Hackathons, training courses, and surveys – that the SHOW consortium organises to understand the needs of stakeholders and engage them in shaping the project’s services and technologies and the deployment of the pilot sites.

On 5 July, SHOW consortium member SURAAA organised an Ideathon in Pörtschach, bringing together experts, citizens, and users of different ages and from different walks of life to advance an inclusive vision on the steps toward safer and more efficient automated mobility. Over 50 participants were divided into nine groups to reflect on three key challenges related to:

  • Integrating public transport with autonomous, demand-oriented services.
  • Designing autonomous shuttle systems to facilitate contactless use through app-based interfaces, monitors, voice outputs, or sensors.
  • Developing strategies to combine the transportation of people and small goods to optimise vehicle usage and reduce empty runs.

The winners of each challenge received a cash prize of 500 euros: Challenge 1: App2anywhere (Carolina Petschnig, Christof Müller, Guntram Hallegger, Jürgen Holzbauer, Peter Zenkl), Challenge 2: Shuttle Bots (Hector Perez-Villeda, Ozioma Ozogau, Timotheus Zankl, Gordana Krstic), and Challenge 3: Kings of Combination (Gaby Sailer, Johann Rabitsch, Luca Wiesner, Gerald Miklin).

The purpose of SHOW’s Ideathons is to gather solution-oriented ideas, identify gaps, and actively search for innovative solutions. Last month’s session was the second of its kind and was a follow-up on the findings and outcomes from the project’s first Ideathon held in January 2021. The previous Ideathon brought together individuals from different backgrounds to brainstorm on creating automated urban mobility solutions that answer real end-users needs. The participants provided invaluable insights into various user groups and had a chance to gain access to advanced knowledge in Europe’s largest initiative piloting automated vehicles in urban environments.

Stakeholders’ ideas shaping creative solutions

The creation of a stakeholder ecosystem enables the consortium to co-create suitable Cooperative, Connected and Automated Vehicle (CCAV) tools and services in response to real needs. ERTICO has a leading role in coordinating the SHOW Hackathons and Ideathons, designed to understand stakeholder requirements and integrate the main takeaways into the pilot sites.

SHOW Hackathons bring together developers from the project and external participants from each Pilot site and beyond. Participants are invited to test the project tools and push the boundaries of innovation by creating additional value-added services. The focus is to address the unfulfilled needs identified by travellers and to enhance and complement the services already developed by SHOW. In March last year, SHOW held a Hackathon in Thessaloniki (Greece), with the support of Y4PT (Youth for Transport). The Hackathon responded to the challenges arising from the 2021 Ideathon and explored solutions for human assistance stand-by, capacity optimisation to handle demand and accessibility for persons with reduced mobility.

Through the collaborative and inclusive approach of the Ideathons and Hackathons, SHOW is fostering creativity and ensuring that the solutions developed align closely with real-world requirements, contributing to a more user-centric urban mobility experience.

The SHOW project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 875530.