In this issue:

July 2012

Interview with:

Prof. Dr Orhan Alankuş, Okan University

ERTICO Strategynew Supervisory Board & vision of new Chairman, Jean Mesqui, ASFA

Intelligent Transport Systems in Japan

a Farewell to a Renaisance Man

contents

Welcome to the July edition

According to surveys, Belgians are the happiest workers in Europe – although La Libre has an alternative explanation. Whatever the truth, we’ve taken great pleasure in producing this July edition of the ERTICO eMagazine, the last before the summer holidays. But never fear, we’ll be back in September.

In this issue, we take a look at the future for the ERTICO Partnership following the election of a new Supervisory Board and Chairman. ERTICO will continue to evolve to better serve its Partners, and to achieve our common goal of bringing intelligence into mobility for people and goods across Europe.

We also continue our occasional series of articles on international cooperation in ITS, this time looking at long standing partner Japan – the

relationship between ERTICO and ITS Japan goes right back to the early years of the ERTICO Partnership; the most visible manifestation is the ITS World Congress (also with ITS America), but there is much more!

Speaking of the Congress, we would like to remind you that our video competition is fully operational, with already 18 ITS videos submitted! You can submit as many ITS videos as you have; the winning videos in each category will be shown during the closing ceremony of the ITS World Congress in Vienna. Submissions are open until 7 September, to find out more, click here or visit the i-Mobility Network homepage.

Following last edition’s article on ITS and Turkey, we are pleased to interview a new ERTICO Partner from Turkey this month – Okan University, who have big plans and ambitions.

Finally, on a sadder note, we have a tribute to the late Job Klijnhout by Eric Sampson. Job contributed so much to ITS over the years, not least his infectious enthusiasm – he will be sadly missed.

The Editorial Team

Welcome!

The ERTICO - ITS Europe Partnership

Intelligent Transport Systems in Japan

A Farewell to a Renaisance Man

Interview with:Prof. Dr Orhan Alankuş, Okan University

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The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are solely those of the authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of ERTICO or its Partners.

Much has happened in the 21 years that ERTICO has existed. Countries have appeared and disappeared, history ended, a new cycle of terrorism begun, a single European currency launched, China became the world’s second largest economy, mobile phones became ubiquitous, England were expelled from many football tournaments on penalties, flares came back – and went out again, televisions became flatter while the population seems to be going in the other direction…

3

The ERTICO - ITS Europe PartnershipA new chairman, a new supervisory board and new thoughts for the future

…and we have become connected…

ERTICO was set up to drive forward Intelligent Transport

Systems, a new industry made possible by ever faster

and cheaper computing – and made desirable by ever

increasing transport challenges. With about 1 car for

every other person in the EU1, and taking into account the

concentration of population in cities, ITS offers a new path

to tackle the ensuing congestion, safety, logistical and

environmental consequences. As an example, according

to Belgian’s Le Soir, in Brussels by 2015 the average

journey time will have increased by 45% (compared to

the 2001 figure) and the average speed of a car will be no

more than… 15km/hour!

ITS is not only a way to combat these transport challenges,

but also is economically attractive. Investing in ITS

produces a clear return, and provides skilled work for

Europe’s workforce.

However ITS is not straightforward. A public authority

can, for instance, build a metro line, roll-out a bike

sharing scheme, expand a motorway in a comparatively

straightforward manner. To take the latter example,

roads have been built for millennia, and while they have

improved, being able to bear ever greater weights etc., 1 Rates vary significantly between countries and counting methods, with Luxembourg generally top of the list – 7 cars/10*capita – Eurostat pocket book, Energy, transport and environment indicators, 2010 edition

the improvements are incremental and the number of

actors limited. ITS is not only a whole new ball game,

but also involves many different stakeholders from widely

divergent sectors, many of whom have no traditional

transport experience and limited experience in working

across sectors.

And it is here that ERTICO comes into its own. ERTICO

is a public-private platform for cooperation between ITS

stakeholders, working to ensure that Europe achieves

its political goals concerning safer, smarter and greener

transport - as underlined in the recent Transport White

Paper from the European Commission. The ERTICO

Partnership has evolved greatly in the past two decades,

with new Partners from new sectors, but has always had

at its core the public-private principle. It is this successful

marriage of the public

sector and the private

sector(s) that has proved

to be the key to ERTICO’s –

and its Partners’ – success.

The goal? Deploying ITS

not for its own sake but

to achieve societal and

political goals, strengthen

the competitiveness of

industry and optimise

by Henry Wasung and Rasmus Lindholm

services for the user. How? Through

creating win-win situations for all

stakeholders - or at least appropriate

solutions which take all positions into

account.

Indeed, the reason that the ERTICO

Partnership has evolved is that

ITS itself has evolved. ITS is in an

important transitional phase from

deployed island solutions with very

limited data exchange networks

and lack of interoperability towards

a comprehensive co-modal data

exchange network and seamless

mobility services, where people,

goods and vehicles are continuously

and ubiquitously connected receiving

or sending useful data/information.

Likewise, ITS is highly advanced

with respect to most technologies

to collect, provide, process and use

vehicle, traveller and infrastructure

data/information. Many ITS services

already exist supporting traffic

management, providing driver

navigation and traveller information.

These services can be further

improved and will have substantial

additional potential for serving

customers.

With the evolution of the ERTICO

Partnership, it should come as

no surprise that ERTICO itself has

evolved. While European (co-)funded

projects are still a very important part

of ERTICO’s service offering, ERTICO

is addressing the need to enhance

cooperation both within the different

sectors and between them through

the Sector Platform initiative,

through its Fora and workshops, and

through its productive relationship

with the European Commission.

Deployment issues are not neglected

either, through the ERTICO hosted

TISA and ADASIS organisation, and

through new deployment platforms

such as the Cooperative Mobility

Alliance. Likewise, ERTICO has

recently established Task Forces on

ITS issues of note, such as the Task

Force on ITS for ElectroMobility,

which is charged with developing

an ITS roadmap for ElectroMobility

and an implementation work plan

for the ERTICO Partnership, or the

Task Force on Safe and Secure Truck

Parking, initiated in 2012 to map

existing activities and identify short

and medium term goals.

Another related initiative already

bearing fruit is ERTICO’s efforts

towards certification, standardisation

and international harmonisation. In

this regard, ERTICO teamed up with

ETSI for the first Cooperative Mobility

Services (CMS) Interoperability event

in November 2011, the success of

which inspired the recent second

CMS Interoperability gathering in

June 2012 ERTICO’s portfolio of

MoU’s with its international peers

is also impressive, with cooperation

agreements signed with Russia and

China in 2011, to add to the existing

agreements with Japan and the

United States. These agreements not

only work towards the development

of international standards and

certain specific areas of interest,

such as eCall / ERA GLONASS, but

also provide opportunities for ERTICO

Partners.

Along with international cooperation,

ERTICO is also developing

partnerships with public authority

associations, such as EUROCITIES,

with whom a Forum on ITS for Urban

mobility was organised in May 2012,

and with public authorities generally,

recognising their importance in the

deployment of ITS.

Not to mention the European and

World ITS Congresses, which not only

Sector Platform Successes

The eight Sector Platforms were successfully launched in 2011, providing Partners with the opportunity to discuss issues within their sector, identify focus areas as well as to work with other sectors. All sectors met a number of times throughout the year with active participation from Partners. For many of the Sector Platforms, priorities focus around the issues surrounding eCall whilst the Public Authorities worked together with the Network of National ITS Associations in support of reporting activities for the ITS

Directive

Gunter Zimmermeyer wished the best of luck to Jean Mesqui, his successor as Chair of

the SB by saying “chairing the ERTICO Supervisory Board is a great honour and responsibility, ERTICO is increasingly taking on the role of providing a bridge between development and deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems. We have

made important steps towards realising ITS to the benefit of users and society”.

5

showcase the latest developments

in the ITS world but are also full of

demonstrations, highlighting to all

and sundry not just what

could be achieved

through the

d e p l o y m e n t

of ITS, but

what can be

a c h i e v e d

now…

This year’s

G e n e r a l

Assembly on

20 June 2012

was particularly

significant as it is

the first year following the

modification of the ERTICO Statutes.

All eight Sectors of the ERTICO

Partnership will be represented in

the newly elected Supervisory Board

(SB) from now on. In addition a new

Chairman of the SB, Jean Mesqui from

ASFA, was appointed. The expansion

of the SB will further guide

the activities of the

ERTICO Partnership

w h i l e

m a i n t a i n i n g

the necessary

focus to

ensure that

tasks are

met and goals

achieved.

ERTICO is an

initiative of ITS

stakeholders who are

willing to work together, share

information and develop common

positions. The combination of a

broad partnership base, targeted and

integrated activities as well as broad

involvement in related ITS initiatives

is the basis of its success in supporting

the development and deployment

of ITS. ERTICO is the initiative to

enable effective cooperation of

stakeholders towards intelligent

mobility. ERTICO’s professional team

are there to facilitate and support

effective cooperation of ERTICO

Partners and ITS stakeholders.

The ERTICO initiative has as its

ultimate goal to bring intelligence

into mobility.

Jean Mesqui stated: “I feel very privileged to have this opportunity and I thank my colleagues

for their trust; it is clear that the ERTICO public-private Partnership is most essential for Europe

to succeed with the development and deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems. The one major challenge I see is for ERTICO to use all the motivation and skills existing within the Partnership to achieve effective deployment on a

European scale and this will lead to saving lives, reduce congestion and protect the environment.”

ERTICO exists to serve its Partners. To

further discover how ERTICO can help meet

your companies goals, or to discuss possible new

initiatives, contact Rasmus Lindholm

Visit the latest ERTICO corporate publication online

The ERTICO Activity book 2012 - for full information on

the whole range of ERTICO activities

The ERTICO Annual Report 2011

Intelligent Transport Systems in Japan ITS lessons from the land of the rising sun

by Henry Wasung

“The information and communication technology (IT) revolution is in essence a revolution of sovereignty over

information” - Japan’s New Strategy in Information and Communications Technology.

Japan is facing interesting transport

challenges. Of course, every country

in world is facing transport challenges,

especially if you consult those working

in the transport industry, and perhaps

Japan’s challenges, like those in other

developed countries, cannot compare

in sheer scale with developing

countries, where urbanisation is

occurring at an unprecedented rate.

However, Japan does have a declining

yet ever more urbanised population in

a country with few natural resources

and thus, especially following on

from the earthquake in March

2011, a vested interest in energy

diversification and management.

So perhaps “interesting” is the mot

juste.

A technologically advanced country

with a strong manufacturing base,

and a coherent and resilient society,

Japan has bounced back from the

earthquake and subsequent tsunami,

although much has changed.

Perhaps the most prominent change

is the fact that all of Japan’s nuclear

power plants were shut down, due

to widespread public fears following

the failure of cooling systems in the

Fukushima nuclear power plant –

although some have restarted, as of

July 2012. However, Japan generated

30% of its electricity through nuclear

power, so clearly this has had a huge

effect, giving rise at one point to

speculation that there would be

rolling “brown-outs” – thankfully

avoided.

Energy was first on the list of transport

challenges faced by Japan, according

to Hajime Amano, President of ITS

Japan, who notes “in addition to

the reduction of CO2 emissions,

diversification of energy sources and

supply management are immediate

challenges”. Mr Amano went on to

underline that the electrification of

vehicles poses additional challenges

in this regard; “cars are no longer

simple consumers of energy but an

integral part of smart grid systems”.

This is an interesting insight, as

the full scale electrification of all

“By 2020 a smart grid network shall become a common practice. We shall also see the home and

business sectors spearheading the reduction in CO2 discharge as the IT-aided zero-energy architecture becomes a reality in typical new homes and in all new public buildings. Also by 2020, we shall accelerate reduction in automotive CO2 emission through the use of the intelligent transport systems (ITS) while aiming at reducing traffic congestion on major highways by 50% of the current level.” New Strategy in Information and Communications Technology (p3)

7vehicles would, if all other factors

remain the same, actually decrease

energy diversity – the switch from

petrol or diesel to electricity simply

means that more electricity has to

be produced at source. This may well

be good for a number of reasons, not

least city air quality and noise levels,

but would be an additional – albeit

manageable – factor in energy supply.

Safety is second on Mr Amano’s list of

transport challenges, which bring a

wry smile to Amaury Cornelis’ face. Mr

Cornelis, project manager at ERTICO,

having lived in Japan for several

years through his time at Toyota, was

kind enough to give his insights and

anecdotes regarding transport, ITS

and Japan for this article. Mr Cornelis

stressed the uniqueness of many of

the safety related regulations to be

found in Japan, including the fact

that every car sold there must have

an electronic speed limiter, albeit at

a generous 180kph, or the mandatory

third mirror for vans, MPVs and SUVs.

Logically, drink driving is a strict no-

no.

On the other hand, this is far from

a paradox, as Mr Cornelis goes on to

explain that, certainly in comparison

with many European countries, Japan

prioritises safety, with companies

organising road safety meetings and

trainings on a frequent basis, and

road signs exhorting the driver to

drive in a conscientious manner. So it

should come as no surprise that even

with a good record in road safety, Mr

Amano brings our attention to it.

Specifically, Mr Amano, acknowledging

the success in continually bringing

down the number of fatalities,

identifies vulnerable road users

(pedestrians and cyclists, especially

the elderly) as an area for action,

as they make up about half of road

casualties. “Market penetration of

already available safety technologies

is important to bring the full benefit

to society” underlines Mr Amano,

who further highlighted that the

scope of cooperative services must

be expanded to include people, as

only in this way could VRUs – who by

definition are not in connected cars –

can benefit from the proven potential

of these services. The promotional

film for the 2013 ITS World Congress,

to be held in Tokyo, gives some nice

examples of the latter.

An interesting consequence, also to

be found elsewhere in the developed

world, of urbanisation, especially to

Tokyo, and an aging population, is

third on Mr Amano’s list, under the

title “enhanced mobility”. What does

this mean? The depopulation and

increased age of Japan’s

rural communities mean

that “…public transport

operators stop services one route

after another because of financial

difficulties.” This has a downward

spiral effect for those communities,

and seriously affects the standard of

living of their remaining populace,

who may have other transport

limitations.

But Mr Amano is upbeat. “With

new modes of transport, such

as on-demand bus services and

Personal Mobility Vehicles, coupled

with efficient management of the

multimodal network, we will be

able to provide all the population,

with decent and sustainable means

of transport for a better quality of

life and the revitalisation of those

communities.

Fourth on Mr Amano’s list is another

direct consequence of the March 2011

earthquake, that of resilient transport

chains. The whole world had another

wake-up call about the dangers in

relying on just-in-time delivery and

supplier concentration, although of

course Japan was most affected. Mr

Amano emphasises that “rebuilding

global supply chains… will also

“We shall also advance the adoption

and deployment of cooperative driving safety support systems using IT to reduce traffic accidents.” New Strategy in Information and Communications Technology (p14))

Observing these challenges (see main text), ITS Japan defined its mission for the current

midterm action plan (2011-2015) as follows:

• Accelerate innovation in transport with rapid progress of the mobile network and its penetration in the society

• Establish sustainable and enhanced mobility in line with changes in energy sources for automobiles and supply structure

• Lead international collaboration among existing regions and emerging countries, who have crucial potential for the entire world to grow

• Create competent and efficient mobility to support affluent and vigorous society with diversified styles of life

strengthen agile global operations to

respond to top radical fluctuations of

the global market. Dependable and

efficient transport networks is one of

the key factors”.

In this regard, Mr Amano highlighted

the role that ERTICO and ITS Japan

has to play. “ITS is the key technology

to effectively and efficiently manage

such global systems and international

harmonisation is a very essential

enzyme for the systems to evolve.

Cooperation between ERTICO and ITS

Japan will play substantial roles to

sustain such development.”

The Japanese government is also

responding to these challenges, set

out in a New Strategy in Information

and Communications Technology on

11 May 2010 followed by its roadmap

on 22 June 2010. Mr Amano explains

and emphasises that “…under the

strategy, national projects on ITS have

been initiated targeting deployment

around 2014 in the following areas:

• cooperative driving safety support systems

• greening the transport of people and goods

• consolidating and distributing wide-area road traffic information

• advancing traffic control technology”

Japan has been quick to deploy ITS

technologies. Mr Amano highlights

the relatively quick development

of standards and private sector

cooperation as key factors, thanks

to the uniform nature of Japanese

society. In Europe, consensus building

takes longer, as befitting a club of 27

sovereign countries.

“We are working hard on connected

vehicle systems using vehicle-to-

infrastructure communication and

vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

The first phase of deployment was

completed in 2010, with about 1,600

roadside antennas installed along

the highways. To further expand the

applications including congestion

mitigation, government and industries

are conducting field evaluation tests”

explains Mr Amano.

An integrated ITS information service

platform is also being developed,

drawing on the lessons learnt in the

Great East Japan Earthquake.

“We are building regional information

centres in some model cities. In

addition to traffic management

centres, a platform is being set

up where other information, such

as weather, public transport and

infrastructure status is also shared

on a cloud network system. Daily

services are provided by both public

sector and private sector. Dynamic

route guidance for shortest time

or lowest energy consumption,

promotion of local events, and

other local community services are

anticipated. In an emergency, the

information network is turned into

crisis management mode. Local

government takes control to deliver

evacuation orders, guidance to

shelters, information on safety of

community members, and relief

goods supplies” explains Mr Amano.

For more information on the benefits

of ERTICO-ITS Japan cooperation,

please contact Vincent Blervaque.

For more information on the recent

EU-Japan Cooperation Workshop on

ITS and ITS Spot Demo, click here

“The ITS World Congress in Tokyo

2013 will be the best opportunity for you to experience the new set of connected vehicle applications on the field” Hajime Amano, President of ITS Japan

ITS World Congress 2013 - Tokyo

ITS enters a new stage:

technological evolution helps

create safe, comfortable,

sustainable societies

The theme for the 20th ITS

World Congress Tokyo 2013

is “Open ITS to the Next.”

While retaining a focus on

resolving transport problems,

this theme aptly conveys the

expansion of next-generation

ITS into new domains. We

hope to welcome as many

participants as possible from

emerging countries in Asia

and elsewhere, which face

a growing array of transport

issues.

“The ITS World Congress 2013

in Tokyo is not a Japanese

world congress but an Asia-

Pacific world congress.

Transport network investment

Decision makers from all the

Asia-Pacific member counties

and regions will get together

to share challenges and

ITS visions to maintain the

growth of their society, which

is driving the world economy.

I would like to strongly

encourage our European

colleagues to join and

share your technologies and

experiences with participants

from rapidly growing

countries.” Hajime Amano,

President of ITS Japan

“Call for Papers” for Tokyo

2013 is now open!

A Farewell to a Renaisance Man

Job Klijnhout 1941 - 2012

by Eric Sampson

Many people are able to tell you exactly where they were when they heard the news of President Kennedy’s

assassination. I can tell you exactly where I was when I first met Job Klijnhout and where I was when I heard the

news of his terrible illness and the awful inevitability. Richard Harris and John Miles have written a lucid account

of Job’s numerous contributions to transport; this note records some more personal memories.

Way back in 1987 I had gone to the

old Berlaymont building for my first

meeting of a Transport Officials

Working Group and over coffee before

the start had committed the UK Civil

Servant crime of having a public

argument with another Department.

I was unimpressed by support for a

proposal to fund a particular line of

work on the grounds that it would

contribute little if successful and

I was certain that I had seen some

results from similar work elsewhere

but I hadn’t been able to find any

evidence. The meeting started

and after a short time an envelope

travelled round the room addressed to

me c/o the UK delegation. Inside was

a note saying “hope you don’t mind

but I heard what you said earlier. You

are quite right; a waste of time and

money as the Netherlands project in

this area showed that you spend lots

and get littles(sic) “ It was signed

‘J J K’. Armed with this I grabbed

the microphone at a suitable point

and torpedoed the proposal saying

loftily “And I believe the Netherlands

Government has conducted some

trials in this area which support my

point of view”.

Afterwards I went to thank him and

we ended up sitting together in a

group over dinner and formed a

friendship that lasted 25 years. For a

lot of that time we served on various

EC Committees and I would like to

think we enabled progress in many

difficult areas by assembling small

groups of experts outside the formal

proceedings to take problems apart.

Job would lead the dissection and I

would break pencils taking notes to

write up the results as a “bout de

papier” to be given to the Commission

officials the next day. During this time

I became aware of Job’s love of the

English language and in particular

English humour and television comedy

shows. I doubt there are many Dutch

folk who today could recite the words

of the Monty Python “Cheese Shop” or

“Dead Parrot” sketches. Some years

later I introduced him to the works of

Tom Stoppard and he telephoned me

at home to enthuse about the section

in “Travesties” where four characters

each make sensible coherent speeches

but they are interleaved so that the

result is a series of limericks. “You

can only do this in English!”

He was also an enthusiastic fan of A

9

A Milne and could recite long tracts

from “Winnie the Pooh” with no

difficulty. He was fascinated by what

he saw as the precision of English

and said to me once “The Inuit are

supposed to have 30 different words

for snow but only in English are there

30 ways to write something nice about

someone while being rude in a way

they do not understand”. From time

to time an e-mail would arrive from

Job asking me to look at his English

and if necessary change it so that he

could be apparently nice to someone

while delivering a severe reprimand.

He relished puns and I borrowed his

official envelope routine in an FP4

meeting sending the Netherlands

Delegation the question “What’s

brown and sticky?” I returned his

reply “Hunny” [a Winnie the Pooh

quote] and he laughed out loud to

the Chairman’s bewilderment after

he read “No; a stick”.

I can’t recall when I became aware

of his love of music. He followed the

Royal Concertgebouw and Haitink

around the world and I remember

sitting in the Festival Hall in London

waiting for their concert to begin

when my wife whispered “there’s a

man with amazing hair waving at you

as if he knows you”. I used to think

that he listened only to Bruckner and

Marler and occasionally would send

him a CD to widen his tastes. He

responded to receiving Hilary Hahn

and the Bach Partitas with “I used

to think only American men could

play the violin properly; now I know

better”. Paul Lewis’s Beethoven

sonatas were rewarded with “I think

it’s time for another visit to the UK.

Where have you been hiding him?”

He was very knowledgeable about

art and history too. When we had

the ITS World Congresses in Chicago

and Turin those of us intending to

make cultural visits asked Job first

for recommendations and among the

treasures he revealed are the ‘canal

boat’ trips and Monet collection in

Chicago and the underappreciated

artist Morandi in Turin.

I haven’t mentioned his professional

work. As Richard and John have

illustrated he was a pioneer; a

visionary; an evangelist for a new

way of thinking. In a world where too

many are worried about the trivial

consequences of failure he focused

on the much larger benefits from

success and constantly argued “let’s

try it. If it turns out not to work as

we predict then we stop it”. And it

did work: the standard Netherlands

intersection controller, the Motorway

signalling system, the section control

system for speed enforcement

in the Netherlands, the small

national architecture experiment

that developed into the European

standard. The Netherlands excellent

road safety record rests hugely on his

innovations.

Job believed in cooperation especially

international cooperation and he was

a founding member of ITS America,

ERTICO and ITS Netherlands. During

a spell working with Minnesotan

colleagues he attended a Rural

ITS Congress in Colorado where a

surgeon explained the benefits from

immediate trauma help after traffic

accidents and introduced the term

‘Golden Hours’ – no trauma help

within 2 hours is invariably final.

Job immediately recognised the

significance of this which led him

to press the case for changes to the

management of emergency services

which we all now take for granted

and which are visible as the globally

accepted 911 and 112 numbers. The

ITS World Congress was his idea as was

“ITS in Europe”. He was disappointed

that the original title as used in

Amsterdam of “IT’S in Europe” was

suppressed on the grounds that it

didn’t translate into French. His

comment was the somewhat acerbic

“French isn’t the language of Europe;

English is”.

And suddenly he is no longer with

us. He announced last year that he

intended to retire “properly” so

would not work on the Austrian World

let’s try it. If it turns out not to work as we predict then we stop it

Congress and we sent him off with our

best wishes. He was planning various

trips with Tineke including tastings

at selected Scottish distilleries and

we exchanged mails about which

ones should be included and in which

order. Suddenly in early May we had

the news that he was “seriously” ill

and it soon became clear that this

really meant “terminally”. I gather

that the doctors estimated three

or four weeks but Job was in good

general health and he had the last

laugh in proving them wrong by more

than doubling their estimate.

His funeral / cremation was a sad

but not a despondent event. Karen

and Inger, his daughters, each gave

a short address about “my dad” –

and huge thanks to whoever secured

their texts and translated them for

the considerable number of overseas

mourners – accompanied by a short

piece of music. They were followed

by Tineke and Jette, a longstanding

family friend, who likewise spoke

with associated poetry and music.

And then at the end we were spared

the artificial ‘transition’ involving

conveyor belts, curtains, descending

coffins and instead had a quiet,

civilised moment to pay personal

respects with Bruckner’s Fifth, one of

his favourites, in the background.

How we miss him. He contributed so

much in so many areas. He was truly

a Renaissance Man.

written by

Eric Sampson 29 June 2012

11

ITS for Urban Mobilityat the 19th ITS World Congress, Vienna, AustriaWednesday 24th October 2012

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Logistics optimisation and public

transport optimisation systems

represent another area where Okan

University engineers have a certain

level of experience.

The University collaborates also with

Prof. Dr Umit Ozguner from Ohio

State University who is involved

in the autonomous vehicle and

communicating vehicles projects of

Okan University too.

Why have you joined ERTICO - ITS

Europe? What are your expectations

for this Partnership?

ITAS has a vision to be one of the

best “Centre of Excellences” in the

world on intelligent transport systems

by the end of 2020. Such a vision

requires being in the network of the

best companies and research centres

in the field. After investigating,

we have seen that ERTICO is one of

the best networks for intelligent

transport systems that bring together

the research performing companies

and universities. We intend to be

actively participate at meetings

and contribute to the sharing and

extension of knowledge - and projects

- in the field.

As a university which has many

departments and specialisations

in industrial engineering, civil

engineering, computer science

engineering, mechanical, electrical/

electronic, automotive and

mechatronics engineering and who

has a vision on Intelligent Transport

Technologies, all related departments

organise their research to support

this field and achieve the related

objectives. This will provide a unique

and innovative contribution to the

joint projects.

Are there any projects, activities

or sectors within the ERTICO

Partnership you are particularly

interested in? Which ones?

Cooperative mobility, autonomous

vehicles, electromobility and

comprehensive energy management

are subjects in which Okan University

can make a valuable contribution.

Logistics optimisation and integrated

personal transport in smart cities are

also subjects that Okan University

can support. Okan University

has experienced researchers in

technology and innovation strategies

who can support the research and

innovation activities of ERTICO and

Europe.

Okan University has recently

organised and hosted a workshop

on ITS which focused on research

priorities in the ITS field. Can you tell

us more about these priorities and

the future trends Okan University and

Turkey in general intend to invest in?

Okan University is part of

National Automotive Technology

Platform of Turkey. The Technology

Platform has come up with a strategy

plan in the Automotive Field for

Turkey. Okan University ITAS has

decided to detail the ITS part of the

general strategic plan. We organised

two workshops to develop the ITS

Interview with: Prof. Dr Orhan Alankus, Okan University

Can you describe Okan University

activities in the ITS field?

Okan University has an “Intelligent

Transport and Automotive Systems

Research Centre” (ITAS). In this

centre there is research going on in

different areas.

The first area is autonomous vehicles.

Using GPS information and the LIDAR

system, Okan University autonomous

car can follow a certain path,

checking for any obstacles on the

road. Today, the work is on-going

for the improvement of the system

for different traffic scenarios and

the integration of environmental

perception.

Another important area is

communicating vehicles, V2V and

V2X systems. Okan University is

participating in a joint project

between TOFAS-FIAT, Ford Otosan and

Koc System in Turkey. The University

participated in the Grand Cooperating

Driving Challenge, held in Holland in

May 2011.

Electric vehicles are another area of

Okan University research. There are

joint projects with OEM companies for

the development of efficient electric

motors, drive systems and also energy

optimisation control systems.

Strategy of Turkey. One in 9 December 2011 and the

other on 15 May 2012. There were participants from

around 50 different companies, state organisations,

associations and universities to both meetings.

On 9 December 2011, after the presentations from

experts and the state organizations, working groups

were formed and special sessions were organised to

determine the strategic plan priortiies.

The main results were:

Research on

• Energy efficient, effective, safe public

transport and logistics systems

• Full electric and hybrid vehicle technologies

• Communicating vehicles and systems

• Autonomous vehicle systems

For the objectives of

• Zero accidents

• Safe and clean transport

• Effective public and goods transport

On 15 May with Paul Kompfner from ERTICO, Fraunhofer

Inst, Siemens, TOFAS, and Ford, another workshop

was organised. Mr Kompfner made an interesting

presentation explaining the priorities of Europe in the

ITS field. Other participants have also explained the

strategies and applications. The workshop consolidated

the strategic priorities developed previously.

In Turkey the intelligent road infrastructure and

effective exploitation of traffic information are also

very important and a lot of work is being carried out in

these fields.

With these priorities in mind, who are the other

stakeholders in Turkey that should be part of future ITS

deployments?

Okan University is keeping close contacts with

stake holders in Turkey. The Transport Ministry is

one of the main actors. The Istanbul Municipality also

believes in intelligent transport and has many plans

and investments in the area. Electronic and software

companies, telecommunication companies, automotive

industry both OEM’s and suppliers, logistics organisations

and companies are all part of the stakeholders with

whom Okan University is in contact. There are also

many innovative companies in Technoparks in Turkey.

Okan University, one of the youngest and the most dynamic universities of Turkey, was founded in 1999 and began its academic life in 2003-2004. Since the 2006-2007 academic year, the rapidly growing university has been located in its new and modern Akfırat campus.

True to its motto, “The University Closest to Business Life”, Okan University effectively combines theory and practice by employing an academic staff who are experts in their own fields, adopting a contemporary approach to education, and focusing upon practice-oriented studies which prepare the students for business life, starting from students’ very first year of study. The University, which had the pleasure of presenting its first graduates with their diplomas in 2006-2007, has fulfilled the promise of its motto, as all members of its first graduating class of graduates have found employment. Okan University aims to build a bridge between the academic and the business world.

ITS enable elements within the transport system to become intelligent by embedding them with microchips and sensors and enable them to communicate with each other through wireless technologies. Interest in and development of this technology results from the problems caused by traffic congestion and a synergy of new information technology for simulation, real-time control and communications networks. Congestion reduces efficiency of transport infrastructure and increases travel time, air pollution as well as fuel consumption. ITS maximise the capacity of infrastructure, reducing the need to build additional highway capacity. Okan University has therefore decided to create an Intelligent Transport Technologies Research Centre in 2009 as the R&D potential is not sufficiently explored and must be activated to contribute to intense ongoing research activities in Turkey and in Europe in order to improve the efficiency and cleanliness of transport globally.

Okan University is located near to a

few big technoparks and is working to

establish a research network in ITS.

What policy/political issues do

you think the European Union should

address or need to consider in order

to strengthen the cooperation with

Turkey and other international actors?

Basic science, related to

intelligent transport and

automotive systems exist. Now, the

major challenge is the development

of value added new technologies

and innovative products. In order

to satisfy the challenge, innovation

is very important. For innovation,

we have to tap all the innovative

potential in different countries.

Therefore an “open innovation

system” is vital. Turkey should be

involved in research projects to a

greater extent. An open innovation

channel and network should be

established encompassing all actors

in the field from all over the world.

Proprietary rights will be one

important issue for such a system to

be addressed in detail.

ERTICO Partnership events

ERTICO Events @ Vienna

10-12 September 2012ERTICO-TISA TPEG TestFest - Munich, Germany

27th September 2012Public Authority Meeting

11th October 2012Strategy committee meeting

22-26 October 2012ITS World Congress

23rd October 2012ERTICO – ITS Europe & ITS China Bilateral meeting

24th October 2012ITS for Urban Mobility

26th October 2012ITS Standardisation for harmonised and effective deployment

www.ertico.com

www.itsworldcongress.comwww.itsworldcongress.com

Open day for the public on 25 October 40 demonstrations on public road, closed demo area and parking zone300 exhibitors from all over the world3000 delegates to the conference10000 international participants...

For further information, please contact us:

Avenue Louise 326B-1050 Brussels Belgium +32 (0)2 400 07 00 +32 (0)2 400 07 01pr@mail.ertico.com

www.ertico.com

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