New alliance for connected and automated driving
At a Round Table on Connected and Automated Driving, the automotive and telecom industries have formally announced the creation of Europe’s first Automotive-Telecom Alliance. The Alliance includes six leading sectorial associations, as well as 37 companies, including telecom operators, vendors, automobile manufacturers and suppliers for both cars and trucks.
The main goal of this Alliance is to promote the wider deployment of connected and automated driving in Europe. The first concrete step is the advancement of a Pre-Deployment Project, aimed at testing three major use-case categories with exact details still to be decided.
Remotely controlled parking
Automated driving could include high-density platooning, remotely controlled parking, highway chauffeur and high-definition maps. The theme of road safety and traffic efficiency might include traffic optimisation for smart cities. The third theme, digitalisation of transport and logistics, will possibly include remote sensing and data management.
These tests will identify and address both technological and regulatory issues. Among other important elements, the project will tackle interoperability issues as well as infrastructure investment to address connectivity needs, and the improving of safety and security. At the same time, pilot projects will help to elaborate the basic business models that both sectors can start deploying when investing in these technologies.
Pilot projects
Funding will be crucial, and the Alliance is setting up a dedicated task force to ensure that pilot projects can count on the necessary resources and the cooperation of public authorities, which are both prerequisites to the success of the Project.
In terms of coordination and administration, the Alliance has appointed ERTICO (Europe’s Intelligent Transport Systems Partnership) as project manager. So far, the initiative involves the following Member States: Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. The Alliance is working towards finalising the details of the Pre-Deployment Project by December 2016.
