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ITS industry must 'open up', says Swarco chief

Proprietary tech needs to be made available to others, says Michael Schuch
By Adam Hill November 10, 2020 Read time: 1 min
Swarco's Michael Schuch: 'We need to evolve from traffic management to travel management'

The ITS industry needs to open up if it is to evolve, according to Michael Schuch, COO of Swarco Group.

In a panel discussion on day one of the first Virtual ITS European Congress yesterday, he said that companies would need to relax their grip on some proprietary technologies in order to take advantage of opportunities which will only come through collaboration.

"We need to prepare to open up," he insisted, saying that it was important to embrace the contributions of new players.

For seamless integration along the whole mobility value chain, "the industry needs to make a move towards each other".

"The key is that interoperability and collaboration is happening."

"We need to evolve from traffic management to travel management," he continued.

It would be important in future "to ensure the orchestration of different modes by balancing individual and collective needs".

"Don't look at disruption as a threat but as an opportunity," Schuch concluded.

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