Thinking Highways presents a guide to what’s on offer at the ITS World Congress in Bordeaux.
The 22nd ITS World Congress will take place in Bordeaux, France on 5-9 October 2015. ERTICO – ITS Europe, a leader in the ITS industry in Europe, is the organiser of the 2015 ITS World Congress and is leading the way ‘Towards Intelligent Mobility – Better Use of Space,’ the theme for this year’s World Congress, in partnership with the European Commission, its international ITS partner organisations, ITS America and ITS Asia-Pacific, and the 2015 ITS World Congress hosts.
This year’s World Congress will be a comprehensive one that will embody the many intricate facets of the ITS industry. With over 250 sessions, 35 demonstrations, 20 associated events, 25,000m² of exhibition space featuring over 350 exhibiting companies, 8 technical visits and a multitude of networking events, the World Congress will cover a wide range of ITS topics, a diverse set of speakers and a plethora of activities representative of all corners of the industry.
From high-level discussions with international policymakers to presentations on the latest technical and scientific research and findings, the 2015 World Congress technical programme will have a session for everyone. In addition, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the Congress will be thematic days. Each day will feature sessions and events related to the day’s theme.
With so many sessions, so many industry experts to learn from and so many activities and events to attend, we help break down the highlights for each session type and event with our programme overview, so you can be sure not to miss the sessions and events most important to you!
Opening Ceremony
On Monday 5 October, the 22nd ITS World Congress will kick off with the Opening Ceremony and Session at 16:30-18:30. Opening Ceremony and Session attendees will enjoy a variety of entertainment and will be officially welcomed to the Congress by local and international high-level representatives. ASFA President Pierre Coppey and PSA Peugeot Citroën Chairman of the Managing Board Carlos Tavares will address the audience with the first keynote speeches of the week. An expert panel of high-level business industry experts will then take the stage to discuss the most recent developments in the ITS industry.
Plenary Sessions
The first Plenary Session will take place from 9:00-10:30 on the morning of Tuesday 6 October, the first full day of the Congress. The session will focus on ‘ITS delivering societal changes,’ and will feature a keynote speech from Continental CEO Seval Oz. A panel will follow with international experts, who will engage in a discussion on how ITS can enhance mobility, reduce the number and severity of traffic accidents and manage energy consumption.
The Congress’s second Plenary Session, ‘Space for intelligent mobility,’ will take place on Wednesday 7 October at 14:00-15:30. This Plenary will be the first plenary session in the history of the World Congress to focus on the role of ITS in space. The plenary will be keynoted by Caisse des Dépôts Director of Local Development and Investment Gabrielle Gauthey. Following the keynote, speakers will take the stage to discuss how Global Navigation Satellite Systems and satellite telecommunications improve the security, efficiency, safety and quality of transport services and the related social, political, business and environmental implications of these technologies.
‘From personal connectivity to connected mobility,’ will be the focus of the third and final Plenary of the week that will take place on Friday 9 October. Paul Zanelli, Catapult’s Chief Technical Officer will begin the session with a keynote address. International experts will discuss the safety advantages and privacy and data challenges that come with the development of connected mobility.
High-Level Technology Summit
The High-Level Technology Summit will host leading technology experts from around the world. Speakers will focus on mobility challenges, solutions and partnerships and connected and automated driving. The Summit is an opportunity for Congress attendees to listen as a range of global experts present the arguments for and against contentious technology questions as well as their views on mobility trends. Both Summit sessions will take place on Tuesday 6 October. The first High-Level Technology Summit session will take place at 11:00-12:30 and will focus on the ‘The plug-and-play city.’ At 13:30-15:00, the second Summit session, focused on ‘Connected and automated driving,’ will feature a keynote address from VEDECOM Chair Guillaume Devauchelle.
General Public Sessions
The General Public Sessions are designed to talk about ITS technologies in a way that a non-tech audience can understand. Public understanding and acceptance are essential to the successful deployment and usage of the most innovative ITS technologies and can be achieved by explaining to the public what the ITS industry is all about and how it can improve their daily lives. Two of the three General Public Sessions will take place on Wednesday 7 October from 12:45-14:15 and 14:30-15:30 and will focus on Autonomous, driverless vehicles: extending car-sharing and mobility as a service and Big Data – the real value of your social media accounts, respectively. The third General Public session, ‘Enhancing mobility and quality of life thanks to ITS,’ will be held on Thursday 8 October at 12:30-1:30.
Executive Sessions
High-level industry executives, senior public officials and leading academics will draw from their experiences to discuss key policies and challenges during the Executive Sessions. These sessions will provide an exciting opportunity to learn about future ITS initiatives. Topics will range from automation to freight to data security and include everything in between!
Don’t miss the Special Interest, Technical/Scientific and Interactive Sessions!
The Special Interest and Technical sessions will offer a more in-depth look into the specific issues attendees are interested in. These sessions will feature a variety of industry experts, who will dive deep into the policy, societal and technical developments and challenges facing the industry. Attend a Special Interest session to hear fresh perspectives and insight on a specific topic or a Technical session to learn about the concrete research driving the innovation that is transforming the industry.
Commercial Paper Sessions and Commercial Sessions
Commercial Papers will specifically describe activities aimed at generating or improving specific products, devices or ideas for the market. Commercial Presentations Sessions will be an opportunity for Exhibitors and Sponsors to provide more information about their commercial products and services.
Closing Ceremony
The Congress will conclude on Friday 9 October with the Congress Conclusion session and Closing Ceremony that will recap the highlights of the week and will provide a look forward to future World Congresses. The winners of the 24 hours of innovation completion, detailed below, will also be announced and awarded prizes at the Closing Ceremony.
Thematic Days
The theme for Tuesday will be Connected and Automated Driving. Related sessions include Executive Session 1 on Challenges on the path towards automation at 11:00-12:30, the previously mentioned High Level Technology Summit 1 on Connected and automated driving at 13:30-15:00, a Stakeholder Workshop on European driverless trials and demonstrators at 15:30-17:00, and SIS15-G on the Tri-lateral Working Group on Automation in road transport at 17:15-18:45.
Wednesday will be all about freight and logistics. Attendees can follow along the thematic day sessions by starting the morning off at Executive Session 4 – From mode-centric to mobility-centric at 9:00 – 10:30, grabbing a refreshment before sitting in on Executive Session 6 – Public Agencies and Innovative Freight Technologies: Step Up or Step Aside at 11:00-12:30, and rounding off the afternoon at SIS00 – Intermodal ITS solutions in and around ports and Stakeholder Workshop – Ports and hinterland traffic from 14:00-17:30.
Urban Mobility will drive Thursday’s sessions. Sessions under this theme will include Executive Session 8 on Safe and Sustainable Urban Transport at 9:00 – 10:30, Executive Session 11 on Developing an ITS city at 11:00 – 12:30, the third General Public Session focused on Enhancing mobility and quality of city life thanks to ITS at 12:30-13:45 and a Stakeholder Workshop on City-Industry collaboration for low-carbon mobility at 14:00-18:30.
Exhibition
The exhibition hall will span over 25,000m² and be home to over 300 international and local companies, showcasing the latest and greatest in ITS technologies, products, services and innovations, throughout the week of the World Congress The hall will feature a French Avenue, designated for French based companies; an Aerospace Area that will demonstrate the wide range of innovative solutions that this sector can bring to ITS; and an Innovation Pavilion that will offer app developers, SME’s, and start-ups the opportunity to reveal their innovative concepts and forward thinking business models to the larger ITS community.
Used as the main meeting place for many attendees, the exhibition area provides a great opportunity for delegates, sponsors, suppliers and other exhibitors to network, build partnerships and learn about new products and services. The Exhibition Area will be open on Monday 5 October with the Welcome Reception following the Opening Ceremony and close on Friday 9 October. ERTICO welcomes all attendees to visit its booth, B95, during the Welcome Reception and throughout the week to meet ERTICO partners, staff and learn about current ERTICO projects!
Demonstrations
This year, 35 demonstrations will take place at the World Congress, showcasing innovative technologies and mobility solutions, in simulated real life conditions. All demonstrations will take place in the immediate vicinity of the Congress Exhibition Hall at the Parc des Expositions de Bordeaux.
The demonstrations are representative of the 7 TOPICS of the congress:
TOPIC 1 – Space technologies and services for ITS
TOPIC 2 – Cooperative ITS deployment challenges
TOPIC 3 – Multimodal transport for people and goods
TOPIC 4 – Urban trends driving ITS changes
TOPIC 5 – Solutions for sustainable mobility
TOPIC 6 – Automated Roads, Automated Management, Automated Driving
TOPIC 7 – Are Big Data and Open Data transport’s “silver bullets”?
To find view a full listing of demonstrations and find out how to register, please visit http://itsworldcongress.com/demonstration-showcase/.
Technical Visits
The World Congress will offer a variety of technical visits throughout the week for attendees. These technical visits will provide attendees the opportunity to experience and see deployed ITS technologies, systems and operations, first-hand. With eight different tours and multiple tour times for each, attendees will have multiple opportunities to get partake in the technical visits. Tours will include visits to the Bordeaux Harbourmaster’s office, the Bordeaux Traffic Management Centre, the Chaban-Delmas Vertical Lift Bridge and more! Read more on the technical visits here http://itsworldcongress.com/technical-visits/.
ITS Hackathon
The ITS Hackathon will commence on Tuesday and continue until Thursday 8 October. The Hackathon will feature academics, start-ups, app developers and service providers who will work to come up with new ideas and apps for mobility services using the different components of the MOBiNET e-marketplace, the mobility services developed in MOBiNET and traffic and transport data from Bordeaux and Glasgow. Teams will have two days to design their services and applications. On the morning of Thursday 8 October, participants will present their prototyped services, applications or solutions to a jury of top ITS managers that will be followed by an award ceremony at the Stakeholder Workshop on City-Industry collaboration for low-carbon mobility at 14.00-18.00.
24 hours of innovation student competition
The 24 hours of innovation competition will start at 10:00 on Thursday morning. ITS students will begin working together to develop creative and innovative ITS solutions, products and services, new usages, creative marketing or communication plans, non-stop over the next 24 hours. On the morning of Friday 9 October, after 24 hours of teamwork and development, the teams will each present their results to a jury of ITS professionals. The jury will decide the winning teams which will be awarded prizes at the World Congress Closing Ceremony that will take place on Friday 9 October.
Social Events
A ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the Exhibition Hall will take place immediately after the Opening Ceremony and Session on Monday 5 October. Attendees and their accompanying person(s) are invited to the Exhibition Hall for the Welcome Reception, following the ribbon cutting ceremony. This is a great opportunity for attendees to explore the Exhibition for the first time while making note of all the great exhibit booths they want to visit throughout the week, to reconnect with international colleagues and to begin making new connections that will surely be strengthened throughout the week!
Tuesday 6 October will end with the Exhibitor’s Reception in the Exhibition Hall where ERTICO – ITS Europe, ITS America and ITS Asia-Pacific will host their cocktails at 17:00, 17:30 and 18:00 respectively. This will be another wonderful networking opportunity for World Congress delegates.
After the Exhibitor’s Reception at 18:45 on Tuesday, will be the much awaited Bordeaux Wine Feria, where attendees will be able to enjoy Bordeaux’s rich wine-making history and the many culinary flavours of Bordeaux. The evening will be a unique social event, complete with music, fun and surprises!
Finally, the Gala Dinner will take place at the elegant Château Lafitte on Wednesday 7 October. Gala attendees will enjoy a fine French dinner accompanied by a selection of house Bordeaux wines. The annual Gala Dinner is always one of the most popular World Congress social events!
Associated Events
In addition to the many sessions taking place during the week, the World Congress will also include over 20 associated events and meetings. These events will include workshops, training sessions, tutorials and symposium on safety, sustainability, Big Data, cooperative systems, standardisation, GNSS and more! See our associated events page here http://itsworldcongress.com/associated-events/ for a full listing of associated events!
The 2015 ITS World Congress is on track to be one of the most successful World Congresses yet. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to be involved in the largest international ITS event of the year, to network with ITS leaders from across the globe and the get a first-hand look at the latest innovations and advancements taking place in the ITS industry. We look forward to seeing you on 5 -9 October 2015 in Bordeaux!
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