ATOS : Atos, Sernauto and UAB drive innovation for intelligent transport

Atos, an international information technologies services company, has partnered with the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and with Sernauto (Spanish Association of Automotive Equipment and Components Manufacturers) to form part of the international consortium T-TRANS, whose objective is to promote innovation in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in Europe. UAB, as coordinator of the T-TRANS Consortium, has signed a contract with the European Commission for 1.7 million euros for the "supportive action" type project entitled "Enhancing the transfer of Intelligent Transportation System innovations to the market (T-TRANS)", which will be co-financed with 1,499,000 million euros from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for Research.

Between September 2012 and November 2014, a group of experts in the innovation chain of all modes of transport from 9 organisations in 7 EU countries - including universities, research centres, companies and associations - will study innovation mechanisms for Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and identify best practices and guidelines for bringing the associated innovative products and services to market. The technologies in Intelligent Transport Systems are very important for increasing industrial competitiveness on a European level, and T-TRANS will attempt to respond to the difficulties of transferring developing technologies to market that, once on the market, can significantly improve costs and efficiency for the transport sector.

The following are among the significant benefits that T-TRANS will bring to the European transport sector:

• Complete overhaul of the current transport situation in the European Union, and of ITS research
• Identification of best practices and guidelines for action on strategies for bringing ITS innovation to market
• Laying the foundation for a European network of innovation in ITS

Four Case Studies will be considered during the project:

• Smart Grid: connection, charging and energy storage. Efficient use of intelligent control systems for the management of batteries and networks. Integration of electric vehicles into distribution networks by means of information and communication technologies.
• Invoicing management technologies for freight transport. Gradual implementation of invoicing management in the air freight transport market, based on demand and oriented to product and price.
• Revolution in intermodal transport units: Intelligent Intermodality. Key technologies in Intelligent Transport Units (ITUs) to increase efficiency, sustainability and transparency in logistics chains, with information in real time. Advanced information services for freight transport in Europe, with intelligent loading units capable of interacting with the environment and making autonomous decisions based on the context.
• Broad approach to the rail network technology system. Rollout of new technologies to efficiently increase the capacity of the European rail network in order to respond to the growing demand in freight traffic.

According to the coordinator of the project, Xavier Leal, from the Autonomous University of Barcelona's Aeronautical Management Technology Innovation Cluster, "T-TRANS will help to promote and accelerate the market rollout of innovative products and services in ITS and transport, and also to establish the basis for a European network of innovation in ITS." Three pilot nodes (G-local Communities of Interest to Market CIMs) will be put in place in the regions of Central Macedonia (Greece), Galicia (Spain) and Latvia, which will be the basis for the future European network of e-innovation in ITS.

Atos, as a specialist in ITS, will be tasked with carrying out a technology mapping, leading one of the work packages (package 3). It is also responsible for conducting a market analysis and an analysis of the macroeconomic impact of the project.

For its part, Sernauto will coordinate the activities in the Galician region and will be responsible for distributing the project results.

In addition to the Spanish partners, the following companies and organisations are also part of the T-TRANS Consortium: LGI Consulting (France), Kema International B.V. (Netherlands), Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V. (Germany), Trieste University (Italy), IntelSpace Innovation Technologies (Greece), and the Transport and Telecommunication Institute (Latvia).

For more information on the project, visit www.ttransnetwork.eu

Atos is an international information technology services company with annual pro forma revenue of 8.5 billion euros in 2011 and 74,000 employees in 48 countries. Serving a global client base, it delivers hi-tech transactional services, consulting and technology services, systems integration and managed services. With its deep technology expertise and industry knowledge, it works with clients across the following market sectors: Manufacturing, Retail & Services; Public Sector, Health & Transport; Financial Services; Telecoms, Media & Technology; Energy & Utilities.
Atos is a specialist in business technology that powers progress and helps organisations to create their firm of the future. Atos is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting & Technology Services, Atos Worldline and Atos Worldgrid.

The Autonomous University of Barcelona is a public university founded in 1968 and is currently considered the best university in the QS University Ranking of Spanish universities.
UAB offers 77 undergraduate courses and a total of 87 doctoral and postgraduate programmes, covering a wide range of fields of knowledge from Health Sciences, Experimental Sciences, Engineering and Biomedical Sciences to Social Sciences and Humanities. UAB has more than 40,000 students on campus and almost 3,000 researchers generating a solid and multidisciplinary scientific output, set up mainly around its 228 research units, making the transfer and commercialisation of technology a key activity.
On a European level, UAB has been a pioneering institution in the field of Aeronautical Management. There are currently 7 departments involved in research and demonstration projects related to the aeronautical sector on various levels, from Applied Engineering to Transport Economics. The Logistics and Aeronautics Unit, which falls under the Telecommunications Department and to which the researchers and personnel involved in the T-TRANS project belong, has been the unifying force of this activity.www.uab.cat

The Spanish Association of Automotive Equipment and Components Manufacturers (SERNAUTO) was founded in 1967 to represent the interests of its members and the sector to the government and to public and private institutions. SERNAUTO is the reference and consulting organisation for national and European governments for the debate on matters that affect the sector, and for defining industrial policy strategies. As a meeting point for companies in the sector, it provides information to its associates, the general public and the government on topics that affect the sector, and promotes the sector both within and outside Spain.

SERNAUTO also carries out various activities to promote and encourage the participation of companies from the sector in national and European research, development and innovation projects. It does this as coordinator of the Spanish Automotive and Mobility Technology Platform "Move to Future M2F", the Committee for Monitoring the Transport Sector, the Spanish ERTRAC forum and the Spanish Green Cars support action, and as Manager of the International Automotive Innovation Unit.www.sernauto.es