Finland pledges to launch autonomous technology research cluster in 2020

Finland plans to launch next year a research cluster which the government hopes will put the country at the forefront of developments in autonomous technology. The RAAS (Research Alliance for Autonomous Systems) ‘innovation ecosystem’ is designed to bring together research organisations and other stakeholders to develop “new, cross-sector solutions”, with an emphasis on those containing a high level of automation. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has put up grant money, with research or
February 4, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
Finland plans to launch next year a research cluster which the government hopes will put the country at the forefront of developments in autonomous technology.


The RAAS (Research Alliance for Autonomous Systems) ‘innovation ecosystem’ is designed to bring together research organisations and other stakeholders to develop “new, cross-sector solutions”, with an emphasis on those containing a high level of automation.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has put up grant money, with research organisations also funding “a portion of the operation’s costs”.

The RAAS launch partners are 814 VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland along with half a dozen academic institutions, including the University of Helsinki and Turku University of Applied Sciences. Five other universities are expected to join after launch. VTT says the cluster element is significant because “up to 96% of innovations are created in ecosystems”.

“There are technical, operational issues and business challenges to overcome in the development of autonomous systems, but we also need to resolve a number of questions related to legislation, regulations and social acceptance,” says RAAS coordinator Hannu Karvonen. “An innovation ecosystem like RAAS will let us tackle broad, systemic challenges.”

VTT co-creation manager Ismo Vessonen says: “The initiative for RAAS came from the industry. The availability of a one-stop-shop innovation ecosystem will help companies find solutions to concrete challenges more efficiently. It also gives companies a great opportunity to influence the direction of research in the field.”

Networking & Communication Systems

Related Content

  • September 6, 2017
    Remote remedies help US authorities identify bridge deficiencies
    Every day 185 million vehicles – cars, trucks, school buses, emergency response units - cross one or more of America’s 55,710 'structurally compromised' steel and concrete road bridges, the highest concentration of which are in Iowa (nearly 5,000), Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. Nearly 2,000 of these crossings are located on interstate highways, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association's recent analysis of the US Department of Transportation's 2016 National Bridge Inventory.
    Read More
  • November 15, 2017
    TM 2.0 boost TMC data feed and driver influence
    TM 2.0 views connected vehicles and V2I as two-way communications channels, benefitting traffic management and drivers, as Alan Dron discovers. As connected vehicles are progressively rolled out there will come a point at which traffic managers and traffic management centres (TMCs) will have to gear up to cope with a rapidly-evolving road scenario. The TM 2.0 Platform (see box) is promoting a concept of new-generation traffic management (which carries the same TM 2.0 title) and is studying how future T
    Read More
  • February 28, 2013
    Driverless vehicles just around the corner?
    umors that self-driving taxis are about to hit the streets of Las Vegas have turned out to be untrue… but the age of the driverless vehicle is only just around the corner, as Pete Goldin finds out. From Herbie the Love Bug to Knight Rider to the cast of the Pixar film Cars, the autono­mous auto has long been a beloved icon in the entertainment industry. But how close is the fiction to fact? The general public might be surprised to find out just how soon autonomous vehicles could be driving on our roadways.
    Read More
  • August 30, 2019
    Utah DoT and Panasonic get connected
    Utah is making smart roadways a priority and has entered a partnership with Panasonic to move things forward. Adam Hill asks Utah DoT to outline where the state is heading Utah Department of Transportation (UDoT) has form when it comes to connectivity. It built the first operational connected vehicle corridor in the US – and has now joined up with Panasonic to extend its operation. “When we work with technology providers, we are working together to get that win-win,” says Carlos Braceras, UDoT executi
    Read More

Highlighted Content