Intelligent Transportation Systems is beginning to experience a new lease on life. Once the hot topic for automakers and suppliers, the lack of progress in implementation led to a virtual drought in industry and media coverage over the last 7 or 8 years. Fuel consumption and hybrid technology took over the spotlight in recent years, along with the occasional cameo from a cool piece of safety technology.
The 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems came to New York on 16-20 November 2008, co-hosted by ITS America, ERTICO (ITS Europe), and ITS Japan. A very impressive event, there was a reported attendance of close to 10,000 delegates from all over the world, an extensive series of technical paper presentations, high-level government presentations, and live demonstrations of the technology in action on the streets of New York. A large exhibition area allowed developers to showcase their latest products. The conference theme was: “Saving Time. Saving Lives.”
So, at least for now, ITS is back in the limelight. Local and national news reports showed cars driving around obstacles and stopping at red traffic lights without driver intervention. Inside the convention, multiple booth displays were showing both simulated and real-time displays of traffic flow along with the latest in pedestrian detection and incident data sharing. Keeping traffic flowing has benefits in saving both time and fuel, and many of the safety systems being shown are very near to production ready.
The core of any ITS system is the communication backbone, and it is becoming clear that today’s road management systems are going to be improved incrementally to meet the needs of the advancing technology rather than waiting for massive investments in all-new infrastructure. New funding mechanisms are evolving to support this progress, and suppliers are developing new hardware and software to contribute to the growing efficiency of the technology. We see the term Intelligent Transportation Systems being used to cover an ever-broadening range of technologies, and expect to see many suppliers identifying their products as ITS enablers.
Which is not a bad thing, as the long-term benefits for everyone look to be considerable.
