Not only has the "Deployment Enablers" sub-project of CVIS recently submitted two deliverables, but the results of two important workshops organised around the summer are being published.
The DEPN sub-project is researching into the non-technical issues which could create barriers to the safe and successful deployment of CVIS. The topic "Risks and Liability" (title of the first of the two deliverables), within this sub-project, is focusing on identification of the external risks and threats to the deployment of the CVIS project applications and to the CVIS system generally, whilst also providing a liability analysis for the Actors involved in delivering the CVIS applications.
The second deliverable presents a high-level overview of the CVIS project system concept, comprising the cooperative systems vision, the high-level architecture, features of cooperative systems communications and networking, some expected applications and issues for future deployment.
Workshop on Policy Implications
The capability to 'link' vehicles to the roadside and to each other through seamless communications channels creates many opportunities for far-reaching innovations in the way the road network is used. However, the potential complexity of a CVIS environment will require a corresponding change in policy thinking to meet the significant challenges and accommodate any new institutions and mechanisms that will very likely be needed.
In order to mitigate the barriers for any future CVIS deployment strategy, there will need to be co-ordination of policy initiatives across a wide range of stakeholders, including the policy owners responsible for road infrastructure, vehicle manufacturing, system design an telecommunications to name but a few.
In that context, ERTICO – ITS Europe and CVIS partner DfT co-organised a workshop on policy implications on 14 September 2007, which purpose was to inform policy makers on where and how CVIS might impact transport, economic and other policy areas; while technology, product and service developers gained a better understanding of the relationship of their developments to policy at European, national and local levels.
The various sessions of the workshop, which focused on vehicle policy, safety policy, efficiency & environmental policy and driver policy, provided background on headlined perceived challenges and issues such as:
- The concept of 'proper control' is of major interest in legal forums: the driver is currently deemed to be fully responsible for having proper control of the vehicle at all times, but how to manage the risks associated with co-operative systems that seek to reduce the 'burden' on the driver?
- With a rich stream of data available from an increasing population of 'connected vehicles', the possibility for network operators and service providers to better predict and mitigate congestion could be significantly improved. However, there are issues of privacy, as authorities need to determine who should have access to the data, in what form and for what purpose. There may also be commercial reasons why data might not be readily shared.
- As CVIS could significantly improve efficient use of the existing road infrastructure, this could lead to deferral of new road building programmes and consequentially arising environmental benefits.
- It is clear that a CVIS-enabled environment requires significant additional training for the driver about vehicle’s new functionalities. It might be possible to provide incentives to realise the required levels of additional training, perhaps through insurance mechanisms for example. However, the question of who should provide what training and how this should be regulated to ensure that safety isn't compromised, remains a significant challenge. Is there a need for a 'smart electronic' driver license? And what necessary components would that license need to cover?
It was concluded that creating and harmonising at the international level has the longest timescale but needs to be informed by local transport policy areas as well. There has to be coordination between those who have a policy influence in all related areas. The institutions and mechanisms to achieve this have yet to be devised and put in place. This “forum” for exchanging ideas and providing context for the principal issues was the early phase of the dedicated work programme in the CVIS DEPN sub-project, which will continue to develop the output and deliver a final report on this on conclusion of the CVIS project. Read the full meeting note
Workshop on Business Cases for Cooperative Systems
Held 29 June 2007, the main goal of this workshop was to explain the concepts of value engineering, business modeling and how to create business cases for cooperative systems. Technical innovations, no matter how pioneering, are doomed to fail if there is no one willing to pay for them. On the other hand, there are plenty of examples of standard technical developments that have enjoyed market success thanks to a profitable business case. Developments in cooperative systems will not be any different - a successful business case for any CVIS result is instrumental for market success.
In the first part of the workshop, three subjects of interest were elaborated:
- The increased complexity of value engineering as a result of the shift from traditional value chains to value networks
- The need for elaborated business model ontology to describe and validate the more complex business models built around those value networks
- The construction of business cases and a global application of the presented theory in relation to cooperative systems
In the second part, CVIS Partners Thomas Miller, the Flemish Government, Bosch Blaupunkt, Telecom Italia and Siemens AG presented their vision on the commercial aspects of cooperative systems, respectively from insurer's, public institute, infrastructure suppliers' and device manufacturers' perspective. Access all presentations
The decomposition of services into sub-services will form the basis for the creation of the value chains and business models. These activities will finally result in value engineering models that show which sub-services are exchanged between stakeholders and how the money flow could be between the same stakeholders and the economic validation of those models. These results will be published towards the end of 2009.
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