MEMORANDUM

2nd Annual QED Conference on

IoT on the Move

Attila BenedekTransport Policy Adviser to MEP István Ujhelyi, European Parliament

Nikolaos IsarisDeputy Head of Unit E4 – Internet of Things, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Irena BednarichDirector Corporate Affairs, Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Prof Mischa DohlerChair Professor, Department of Informatics, King’s College London

MODERATOR

SPEAKERS

Mary CrassHead of Institutional Relations and Summit, ITF – International Transport Forum

This is increasing the need for

dialogue between all parties to

fully understand what the

implications of this innovation

and transformation are for the

sector and to come up with new

governance frameworks that are

fit for purpose.

Ms Crass said that the transport sector has been undergoing profound change over the

last 10-15 years at an increasing speed, with a lot of innovation and new thinking amongst

and between enterprises of all sizes. On the other hand, regulatory, institutional, fiscal and

funding frameworks are often and in general no longer adapted to these new

circumstances. “This is increasing the need for dialogue between all parties to fully

understand what the implications of this innovation and transformation are for the

sector and to come up with new governance frameworks that are fit for purpose.”

She said that legal and regulatory frameworks need to provide the right “scaffolding”,

including rules to ensure open and equitable access to markets, and protection of citizens

while not limiting opportunities for market actors to provide new solutions for evolving

demand. Key issues surround current regulatory and other barriers that are preventing the

development of innovative digital technologies; interoperability issues surrounding

infrastructure, data, services, applications and networks; the availability and optimisation of

data while respecting protection and privacy of data; liability issues pertaining to the use of

ITS applications; and safety and security issues, particularly cybersecurity.

Mary Crass

Head of Institutional Relations and Summit, ITF – International Transport Forum (moderator)

Mr Benedek said that when the draft report on a European strategy on Cooperative

Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) was recently introduced in Parliament, no political

group was against it or raised serious issues with it, and the amendment period has just

come to an end. He said that the Parliament welcomes the Commission Communication

on a European strategy on C-ITS and the intensive work it has done with experts from both

the public and private sectors. He highlighted the potential of digital technologies and

related business models in road transport and recognises that the Commission’s strategy

is an important milestone towards the development of C-ITS and, ultimately, automated

mobility. Mr Benedek remarked that to implement C-ITS throughout Europe using different

technologies is a major challenge, particularly with the differing internet coverage in

Member States, which should be addressed as it is important to make this technology

accessible to all citizens. He pointed out that “it is vital for all industrial sectors to join

forces – the telecommunication, car manufacturing, energy and transport sectors –

so that the results of digital advances can be properly put in place and applied.”

Equally important is the cooperation of the European institutions and involvement of the

Member States. He also stressed the importance of clarity, especially regarding hybrid

communication and technological neutrality, and in the nomenclature used.

Attila Benedek

Transport Policy Adviser to MEP István Ujhelyi, European Parliament

It is vital for all industrial sectors

to join forces – the

telecommunication, car

manufacturing, energy and

transport sectors – so that the

results of digital advances can be

properly put in place and

applied.

There are a number of

challenges for IoT take-up,

mainly security, privacy and trust

in IoT, and the role of

policymakers and regulators in

tackling them.

Nikolaos Isaris

Deputy Head of Unit E4 – Internet of Things, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Mr Isaris said that the Commission has identified IoT as a key growth area and opportunity

for Europe. He presented the three pillars of the IoT Action Plan (a single market for IoT; a

thriving IoT ecosystem; a human-centred IoT) and the Commission’s implementation

strategy. This includes regulatory conditions to facilitate an IoT single market; adapting the

current liability framework; fostering an interoperable environment for IoT; ensuring

sufficient spectrum for IoT; an Alliance for Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI); supporting

international collaboration on IoT; and funding IoT Large Scale Pilots (LSPs). He stressed

the need for funding large-scale IoT pilot implementations and other research & innovation

actions in the area of IoT, notably in the area of Connected and Automated Driving (CAD).

Mr Isaris said that “there are a number of challenges for IoT take-up, mainly security,

privacy and trust in IoT, and the role of policymakers and regulators in tackling them.”

Cybersecurity is a major challenge, hence the actions taken by the European Commission

in this regard, notably the Cybersecurity Act proposal of 13.09, the two data

packages in January and September 2017, and ongoing work such as addressing the

liability question for IoT and other emerging technologies. Mr Isaris spoke about the privacy

element being addressed with a new and very important data protection framework

(GDPR) to strengthen citizens’ fundamental rights in the digital age, to facilitate business

by simplifying and harmonising rules, and to avoid the current fragmentation and costly

administration burden. Finally, he touched on liability issues and whether the current

liability rules are fit for purpose in the context of emerging technologies.

Ms Bednarich is pleased that the Commission picked autonomous driving as an IoT

vertical as it represents a massive growth opportunity for the region. There is a string

parallel between intelligent transport and Industry 4.0 in the EU. In both areas, Europe has

a very strong manufacturing base that needs to go digital to be really competitive. “Unless

the European car industry gets digital at the outset and digital as default, it will be

wiped out of the automotive ecosystem quite rapidly.” She said the opportunity is

huge, with demand for connected vehicles estimated to increase four times by 2020. This

will in turn change consumer expectations for cars. She also mentioned that global

revenues from digital content connected to cars will go up by 300% by 2021; the business

is estimated to be worth $138 billion. However, she gave two areas in which she

questioned whether enough is being done to grasp the opportunities so that Europe can

fully benefit from connectiveness in cars. Firstly, while Ms Bednarich believes the

Irena Bednarich

Director Corporate Affairs, Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa,Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Unless the European

car industry gets digital

at the outset and digital

as default, it will be

wiped out of the

automotive ecosystem

quite rapidly.

Commission has done a very good job in tackling a lot of different issues from different

perspectives, she would welcome a greater focus on the missing connectivity infrastructure

on roads. Second, she would like to see a much broader view in terms of an ecosystem

and how Europe can benefit from vehicles as digital hubs. Her recommendation would be

to look at connected cars from a Smart City perspective. This means thinking of a data

management platform that will get all the data (car, weather, parking, etc.) to enable the

next stage services to be offered and triggered.

Prof Mischa Dohler

Chair Professor, Department of Informatics, King’s College London

Prof Dohler described four major propositions to unlock the potential of the IoT. First is to

work much more strongly on policies for the cross-utilisation of digital assets, because

there are huge numbers of parallel internets not talking to each other (e.g. mobile internets

from different providers, fibre infrastructures of rail and road networks). Much of this

extensive fibre infrastructure is not fully utilised throughout the day. A policy is needed to

introduce deregulatory frameworks across different silos. Second, he said that while a lot

of data is being collected, unless it’s used, it’s useless. “A much bolder transformation is

therefore needed to convert Big Data into Big Action.” So, whenever a project is dealing

with big data, there should be a component urging for action. Third, in regard to

automation, AI and autonomy: “When self-driving cars arrive, no-one is going to use

them. Planes have been flying on auto pilot for 20 years, but if there’s no pilot in the

cabin, no-one will board that plane.” He said that humans trust humans, so bolder and

When self-driving cars arrive,

no-one is going to use them.

Planes have been flying on auto

pilot for 20 years, but if there’s

no pilot in the cabin, no-one will

board that plane.

cleverer policies are needed that put the human back into the loop: “It should not be

Industry 4.0 but Human 4.0. We have to use the capabilities that we have to empower

people, not machines.” Prof Dohler added that the self-driving car will work, but only if

there is a human who can take over when needed (possibly remotely using 5G). Fourth,

privacy by design doesn’t work, it should be privacy by engineering design. Privacy is

based on best practice and trust. Systems need to be built – and can be – in which privacy

is hot engineered in the same way as cryptography is built into routers.

Ms Crass asked what legal and other barriers are hindering the development of digital

technologies, for example to reduce the gap between artificial and human intelligence: Ms

Bednarich suggested that one could be the approach of the public to these technologies.

Autonomous driving for example comes with a fear of driverless cars crashing; automation

of industry is coupled to a fear of losing jobs. The answer lies in embracing technologies

and governing them. Prof Dohler said that with the IoT, a lot of data is being produced, but

there is a barrier in its use, due to a lack of knowledge as what to do with it. Mr Isaris

believes that public-private partnerships (3Ps) need to become 4Ps – people-public-private

partnerships – where citizens participate, although this requires a certain shift of mentality

and education. He also pointed out that the Commission has identified certain asymmetries

in the market, with citizens not at the same level of information and knowledge as

manufacturers or service providers. In Mr Benedek’s opinion, a new vision and narrative is

required, to show the way forward clearly, particularly when it comes to Smart Cities, while

not forgetting people living in rural areas.

Ms Crass asked about post-pilot funding and whether it is sufficient. Prof Dohler suggested

that cities could take a stronger role, because almost none of the smart technologies make it

into cities, and suggested that the city of Brussels would make a great playing field for IoT.

Open discussion

A delegate asked for clarity around voluntary or mandatory insurance schemes for

autonomous driving. Mr Isaris remarked that this is an ongoing discussion, looking at

whether a risk-based or risk management approach would solve part of the equation. He is

aware this is a thorny problem, probably requiring a number of combinations to develop

insurance schemes between all the actors in the value chain to cover certain parts of the

liability.

Turning to interoperability, Ms Crass wondered about the extent to which it remains a

problem. Ms Bednarich said that interoperability is both technical and regulatory, and

thinks the latter is where work still needs to be done, for example to make different data

work well together. She gave the example of a major city that is very digital that developed

new services by the crossing of different databases: parking, buses, metros, traffic

analytics etc. Mr Benedek remarked that projects are clearly happening throughout

Europe, and best practices are being developed, but the Parliament does not always get

the results, far less the citizens. This kind of information is vital to develop a strong vision

going forward.