InTraDE Newsletter Jul-Dec 2012

Rochdi MERZOUKI, Ecole Polytechnique Universitaire de Lille, Avenue Paul Langevin – 59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq.

+33.(0).3.28.76.74.86, [email protected], www.intrade-nwe.eu

NEWSLETTER JULY-DECEMBER 2012

THE InTraDE PPROJECT IS READY TO LAUNCH ITS INTELLIGENT AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE PROTOTYPE

Following 3 years of hard work and joint collaboration, the InTraDE trans-national partnership has approached the

conclusive development stage of the Intelligent Transportation for Dynamic Environment project. The prototype of an

Intelligent Autonomous Vehicle (IAV) for port freight conveyance is undergoing final testing: trajectory tests; tests of GPS

mast with/without container/cassette; battery management system, twist-lock system and Control Aerial Network tests.

At the beginning of the new year its functioning will be publicly unveiled during open events at the ports of Rouen,

Oostende and Dublin. The ports will provide logistical support to enable the implementation of different scenarios.

THE FIRST PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION OF THE InTraDE RobuTAINeR IAV PROTOTYPE WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE RADICATEL

TERMINAL ON 27 FEBRUARY 2013. If you interested in participating, please contact: [email protected].

IS THE InTraDE IAV GOING TO REVOLUTIONARISE PORT OPERATIONS?

InTraDE is developing not only the IAV prototype, but also an inter-linked

Intelligent Transport System (ITS) which consists of a supervision system to

monitor the IAV operations, and a virtual simulator which reproduces the port

environment for simulations of traffic scenarios.

Prof. Rochdi Merzouki, InTraDE Project Manager (Politech Lille) stated:

”Because of its flexibility, effectiveness and economic/environmental

advantages, we believe that the InTraDE integrated system could appeal to

different types of big and medium-sized ports where diverse types of

commodities are handled. We do not expect that its utilisation will completely

revolutionarise the way port operations are managed. However, what we know

is that it has a huge potential to help optimise freight traffic”.

MEPs BACK "CONNECTING EUROPE

FACILITY" TO INVEST IN TRANS-

EUROPEAN NETWORKS Rules on how in the next Multi-Annual

Financial Framework (2014-20) the

"Connecting Europe Facility" is to fund

infrastructure projects of common

interest for trans-European transport,

energy and telecoms networks were

approved in a joint vote by the

Transport and Industry committees on

18 December 2012 with 81 votes in

favour, 8 against and 5 abstentions.

Three-fifths of future CEF funding is

earmarked to develop modern,

sustainable, safe and high

performance transport networks

(source: EU Parliament).

The question is: are IAVs going to play

a role as potential key elements to

enhance transport flows and optimise

logistics in the future EU funding

Programmes?

The InTraDE IAV - RobuTAINeR prototype loaded with a reach stacker

Radicatel terminal, port of Rouen InTrade tests at the Radicatel terminal InTrade RobuTAINeR construction



What are IAVs?

IAVs are similar but technologically,

economically, environmentally more

efficient than Automated Guided

Vehicles (AGV). IAVs do not need to

follow fixed routes embedded in the

infrastructure to reach their

destination. “The IAV is an individual

unit which can also work in groups

allowing it to form a platoon similar

to a train with locomotives. The unit

capacity of an IAV is one TEU (twenty

foot equivalent unit). Two IAV’s will

be required to transport two TEU or

one FEU (forty foot equivalent unit).

All four wheels have actuators and a

failure in any of the wheels

individually does not stop the vehicle

from operating. The unit is battery

operated and the wheels offer 360

degrees movement allowing the

vehicle to move in any direction

within a confined space. The IAV is a

multi-input, multi-data (MIMD)

system equipped with several sensors

which will enable it to benefit from

Geographical Positioning System

(GPS), allowing it to move unmanned

around port terminals, delivering

containers to and from marshaling

areas. Although the IAV is not exactly

new, what makes it different is that it

does not require a guidance system

such as rails or transponders set into

the ground“.

(“Port technology of the future”, Kay

McGinley and Roisin Murray)

INTRADE SHOWCASED AT THE IFSTTAR PLInfra SEMINAR

6 November, Paris. During the closing seminar of the PLInfra project (2008-

2012), held at Paris La Défense and organised by IFSTTAR - Institut français des

sciences et technologies des transports, de l’aménagement et des réseaux, an

InTraDE delegation showcased the project’s cockpit and presented InTraDE to

a multi-sector audience. The efforts of the partnerships and technology

employed aroused great interest and opportunities were explored to further

share best practices among the various stakeholders.

InTraDE LOOKS FOR SUPPORT TO TEST ITS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERABILITY

The demonstration events at the InTrade partner ports in 2013 will showcase

the advantages that the system offers to small-medium sized ports in general

and confined spaces in particular.

Such public tests will provide the basis upon which a socio-economic impact

study will be subsequently conducted to analyse its benefits but also its

possible future exploitation and applicability. It will, in fact, be vital to assess

how and to which other environments (e.g. airports, rail freight yards, bus

routes, campuses, museums, even farms) and/or means of transport (buses,

cars,etc.) the technology could be transferred.

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN THE InTraDE IAV? WOULD YOU LIKE TO DISCUSS ANY

POTENTIAL APPLICATION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY WITH THE PARTNERSHIP?

CONTACT

[email protected] / [email protected]

THE InTraDE IAV:

° Hybrid drive, battery operated,

plug-in, with a build-in thermal

generator (GPL) to ensure

unconditional autonomy.

° Two degrees of mobility x and y to

steering control.

° Totally operable by a remote

control computing in virtual

environment.

° Ability of pairing/unpairing

enabling a pair of 1-TEU (20-foot

Equivalent Unit) IAVs join and

transport any size between a 1-

TEU and a 1-FFE (40-foot

Equivalent) containers.

° Feed-back to the remote control

by sensors (GPS, lasers, ultrasonic)

° 4 wheels drive, 4 wheels steering

on 360°, integrated suspensions.

INTRADE TESTS SUCCESSFULLY PERFORMED

20 October. The Robutainer prototype was delivered to the port of Rouen

Radicatel, following a set of system tests carried out in Bidard at Robosoft’s

site. Technicians and design engineers were appointed to work on a number of

additional tests in preparation for the first demonstration events.

Platoon with InTraDE RobuTAINeR

Moving freight with better trucks.

Image courtesy of: Bernard Jacob, IFSTTAR

Tests were performed on

the empty IAV (steering &

lateral/forward/backward

drive; linear & curvilinear

trajectories; 360 Volt lead

batteries power unit and

converters) and with an

empty container (loading

and unloading; lateral

motion and braking). A

final test scenario

involved positioning the

Robutainer to pick the

cassette and twist lock it.

PLInfra is a scheme aimed at

improving road safety,

developed by IFSTTAR in

conjunction with the scientific

and technical research

centres of the MEDDE Ministry

(Ministère de l’environnement,

du développement durable et

de l’énergie) and DGITM

(Direction général des

infrastructures, des transports

et de la mer).



Tokyo International Exhibition Centre (Big Sight)

INTRADE PUBLISHES NEW SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

“Port technology of the future” by Kay McGinley and Roisin Murray was

presented at the Irish Transport Research Network (ITRN) Conference 2012,

hosted by the University of Ulster on 29-30th August 2012. The paper

highlighted the main features of IAVs -such as the InTraDE’s RobuTAINeR-

which, according to the authors, “will contribute to improving the traffic

management and space optimization inside confined space by developing a

clean, safe and intelligent transport system”.

“Cooperative behaviors for the self-regulation of Autonomous Vehicles in

space sharing conflicts” by Mohamed Tlig, Olivier Buffet, Olivier Simonin,

Universit´e de Lorraine / INRIA was submitted to the 24th IEEE International

Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence. The event took place on 7-9

November in Athens, Greece.

“Smooth Path Tracking without Swing for Wheeled Robots”, Jano Yazbeck,

Alexis Scheuer and François Charpillet, LORIA / INRIA, MAIA team – Campus

Scientifique was submitted to the 2013 IEEE International Conference on

Robotics and Automation. ICRA 2012 was held in St. Paul, MN, USA on 14-18

May 2012; ICRA 2013 will be held in Karlsruhe, Germany on 6-10 May 2013.

INTRADE ON THE EU PARLIAMENTARY MAGAZINE & REGIONAL REVIEW

INTRADE FEATURED IN THE NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PLATFORM

December 2012. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, National

Instruments provides a graphical system design platform for test, control, and

embedded design applications that is transforming the way engineers and

scientists design, prototype, and deploy systems.

In December the article “La solution CompactRIO reste financièrement très

abordable par rapport à d’autres alternatives envisagées" by Nicolas-Thomas

Bec, Vincent Coelen, Michel Pollart and Rochdi Merzouki, Polytech’ Lille

(InTraDE Lead Partner) was published on its website, thus illustrating a

technical part of the InTraDE work to a very wide audience.

See: http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-15178.

ITS WORLD CONGRESS

The World Congress on ITS is an

international meeting and exhibition

that rotates among three major

geographic regions (Americas, Europe

and Asia Pacific) annually.

The 2012 edition was organised in

Vienna from 22 to 26 October. During

1 week the 19th Congress showcased

the latest developments within the

field of Intelligent Transport Systems.

With more than 10,000 participants

from 90 countries the event set a new

record in the number of visitors.

The 2013 ITS World Congress’s

Opening Ceremony will take place at

the Tokyo International Forum whilst

the Sessions & Exhibition will be held

at the impressive Tokyo Big Sight (14-

18 October). ‘Open’ has been chosen

as the key word for expanding the

potential of ITS: open platforms for

basic concerns, open connectivity,

opportunities and collaboration for

the tree new domains.

For info: http://2012.itsworldcongress.com /

http://www.itsworldcongress.jp/

ITS Japan, Ms Haruko Ide, Tel. +81-

(0)3-57771013, [email protected]

ITS America, Ms. Nicole Oliphant, Tel.

+1-202-7214215, [email protected]

ITS Europe, Ms. Pamela Valente , Tel.

+32-2-4000785, [email protected]

October 2012. The InTraDE project gained substantial visibility thanks to the

publication of two articles which appeared in the EU Parliamentary Magazine

(issue 355) and Regional Review (issue 24): • www.theparliament.com/digimag/issue355

• www.theparliament.com/regrdigimag/issue24

The digital version of the magazines have an audience of 50.000 incl. those

listed in the European Public Affairs Directory. Every month more than 4.000 hard copies

of the EU Parliamentary Magazine are

distributed to MEPs, EU agencies, NGOs,

trade associations, other stakeholders.



WHAT IS INTRADE?

InTraDE - Intelligent Transportation for Dynamic Environment (www.intrade-

nwe.eu) is a €7m project 50% co-financed by European Regional Development

Funds under the Interreg IVB trans-national cooperation North West Europe

Programme. Started in 2009 and led by the Polytechnic of Lille, it brings

together seven partners from France, Ireland, Belgium and the UK:

• University of Science and Technology of Lille (USTL-LAGIS)

• Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et Automatique (INRIA-LORIA)

• South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) - abolished in March 2012

• Centre Régional d'Innovation et de Transfert de Technologie - Transport et

Logistique (CRITT TL)

• Port of Oostende (AGHO)

• National Institute for Transport & Logistics, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT)

• Liverpool John Moores University (LOOM)

The project intends to design, test and validate innovative intelligent transport

vehicle prototypes (autonomous and human-driven) to utilise in port areas or

urban-confined spaces. The main objectives are to reduce traffic, improve

operational effectiveness and mitigate adverse environmental effects.

For info: [email protected].

FUTURE InTraDE EVENTS

• 27/02/2013: testing of InTraDE prototype at the Radicatel terminal (port of Rouen)

• April 2013: testing of InTraDE prototype in the port of Dublin

• June 2013: testing of InTraDE prototype in the port of Oostende

• June 2013: InTraDE final conference

OTHER EVENTS

• 16-18/02/2013: 2013 International Conference on Transportation, Bandung

• 10-12/04/2013: IEEE ICNSC 2013, Paris-Evry (www.icnsc2013.org)

• 06-10/05/2013: IEEE ICRA 203, Karlsruhe (www.icra2013.org)

• 04-07/06/2013: Transport logistic, Munich (www.transportlogistic.de)

• 23-26/06/2013: IEEE - Intelligent Vehicles Conference IV'13, Gold Coast

(www.iav2013.org)

• 26-28/06/2013: IFAC Symposium on Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles, Gold Coast

(www.iav2013.org)

• 15-18/07/2013: World Conference on Transport Research 2013, Rio de Janeiro

(http://www2.wctr2013rio.com)

• 07-09/10/2013: IEEE ITSC 2013, The Hague (http://ieee-itsc13.org)

• 09-11/10/2013: GreenPort Congress, Antwerp (www.greenport.com/congress)

• 15-17/10/2013: Transport & Logistics Expo, Antwerp

(www.easyfairs.com/events_216/transport-logistics2013_34691/transport-logistics-antwerp-2013_34699)

• 14-18/10/2013: ITS World Congress, Tokyo (www.its-jp.org/tokyo2013)

IEEE IAV & IFAC IAV SYMPOSIA

The Intelligent Vehicles Symposium

(IV'13) is the premier annual forum

sponsored by the IEEE Intelligent

Transportation Systems Society. The

event will take place at Gold Coast,

Australia, from 23 to 26 June 2013.

On this occasion researchers,

academics, practitioners and students

from universities, industry, and

government agencies are invited to

discuss research and applications for

Intelligent Vehicles and Cooperative

Vehicle Systems.

The 8th IFAC Symposium on

Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles, IAV

2013 will also be held at Gold Coast

from 26 to 28 June 2013. This

Symposium is the eighth of a series of

IFAC-sponsored meetings in the field

of Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles

held on a triennial basis. Researchers

and practitioners from the fields of

land, air and marine robotics &

autonomous systems will be brought

together to discuss common

theoretical and practical problems,

describe scientific and commercial

applications and explore avenues for

future research.

For info: http://www.iav2013.org.

Gold Coast

HAPPY 2013

The InTraDE

partnership would like

to wish you a

successful new year,

full with promising

challenges and

interesting economic

opportunities!

Documents

InTraDE Newsletter Jul-Dec 2012