The most forward-looking ITS World Congress beckons
First published in ITS World Congress Preview - October 7, 2019
Arguably, the 2019 ITS World Congress will be the most forward looking ever. The Congress theme “Smart Mobility, Empowering Cities” reflects Singapore’s commitment to create the most liveable smart city in support of a higher quality of life and an ever-connected community. Singapore is proud of the extensive progress made in technological advancements for its intelligent transport systems: participants will see and experience a myriad of the latest technology being developed and deployed in Singapore which many other cities can only dream of.
Perusing the Congress Preliminary programme, which is available for download, will underline just how forward-looking this event is going to be. This is illustrated by just two examples – the Plenary Sessions and the demonstration programme.
PL 01: Advancing Connected & Automated Mobility Deployment will focus on multi-intermodal autonomous mobility, infrastructure and policy. The recent leap in technology, enabled by progress in AI, new sensors and computing power is helping us to approach this new frontier faster. It could potentially bring huge benefits by making transportation safer, more accessible and sustainable.
Promoting Innovative Mobility Services Plenary Session will examine the challenges and ideas for realising innovative or integrated mobility services such as Mobility on Demand and MaaS. To enable a truly integrated multi-modal and a just in-time mobility service that brings together public authorities, new transport service providers, travel brokers, public transport operators and other stakeholders, this Plenary will fully examine new innovative ideas and address the key challenges in the current transportation framework.
Meanwhile, PL 03: Intelligent Mobility Solutions for a Sustainable Smart City will examine people with intelligent mobility solutions, multi-modal options and preferred mode choices.
Another example of how much this Congress is not only looking to the future, but putting it in the hands of delegates, is the Demonstration programme which is being staged at the nearby Float @ Marina Bay – the world’s largest floating stage, accompanied by an impressive skyline view of Singapore.
Virtually all of the demonstrations feature autonomous shuttles and vehicles. Ai Robotics will demonstrate its cutting-edge technology, which transforms any vehicle into an autonomous robot. Singapore-based ComfortDelGro, one of the world’s largest land transport companies, and its partners Inchcape Singapore and EasyMile, will showcase the EasyMile EZ10 autonomous shuttle. Delegates will also be able to experience one of Singapore’s first autonomous shuttle solutions by MooVita in a demonstration of an urban town shuttle service.
The Land Transport Authority, Singapore will demonstrate a concept of a Smart Public Bus Of The Future. In 2017, LTA organised the Smart Bus Challenge where youths were invited to play a part in rethinking and co-creating concepts that can change the way commuters travel on public buses. After the conclusion of the Challenge, selected ideas from the submissions were chosen to be integrated into a single bus to showcase what the public bus of the future could look like through the lenses of the young.
The ST Engineering Land Systems demonstration invites delegates to come aboard the Navya Autonom Shuttle, the electric and autonomous mobility service. Meanwhile, Quantum Inventions / Continental will be demonstration Improving Road Safety For Fleets And Drivers Through Connected, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Using V2x.
What is claimed to be the world’s first electric autonomous bus will be demonstrated by the Energy Research Institute at Nanyang Technical University, Singapore, in collaboration with SMRT and Volvo. A unique controller algorithm mimics the normal manual driving capabilities of a human driver, enabling autonomous or driverless vehicle operation along any specific route. Cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) systems are integrated in the AV bus platform to facilitate autonomous object detection and classification, ensuring a seamless and reliable ride.
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) that will see air taxi operations in congested cities in the near future, will need ground-based infrastructure. Voloport by Volocopter in collaboration with Skyports will showcase the world’s first full-scale air taxi Vertiport prototype. Designed to provide passengers with a seamless air taxi experience that is safe, secure, and relaxing, they will merge with their surroundings, allowing passengers and passers-by to see through the whole structure. VoloPorts are a crucial step in making UAM a reality. A full-scale model of the Volocopter 2X air taxi will be on display in the VoloPort prototype in the demonstration area.
To find out more about the 26th ITS World Congress in Singapore and to register, visit the website where the Preliminary programme is now available for download so you can plan your schedule ahead to attend your preferred sessions!
