Skip to main content

Asia Pacific dignitaries to see connected vehicle showcases at ITS World Congress

ITS Japan will use advances in the country’s ITS capabilities since it last hosted the event in 2004 as the basis of several showcases and sessions the forthcoming World Congress (Tokyo 14 – 18 October), the association’s president Hajime Amano told ITS International.
June 14, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
ITS Japan's president Hajime Amano
%$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 9782 0 oLinkInternal <span class="oLinkInternal"><span class="oLinkInternal">RSS</span></span> Events (Diary) false /rss/events/ true false%>556 ITS Japan will use advances in the country’s ITS capabilities since it last hosted the event in 2004 as the basis of several showcases and sessions the forthcoming World Congress (Tokyo 14 – 18 October), the association’s president Hajime Amano told ITS International.

Two years ago Japan deployed a connected vehicle infrastructure and is in the second phase of testing connected vehicle systems and these will form the basis for a number of showcases and sessions. One idea heading for a trial is differentiated tolling by route rather than simply on distance and will reference the start and end point of the journey and apply a lower charge for drivers selecting a longer but less congested route.

“Simply charging by distance means people will tend to take the shortest route even if it is the most congested,” Amano said.

The country’s drivers are quick to adopt ITS technology and 90% of vehicles travelling on Japan’s toll roads are fitted with electronic tolling while half of all vehicles have satnav with live traffic overlays.

The Congress will cover a range of automated and connected vehicle technologies such as driver assistance systems and include demonstrations and discussions with vehicle manufacturers. “Here in Japan we have major concerns about the mobility of our rapidly ageing population and we are looking for systems tailored to the needs of elderly drivers,” he said, adding that ageing drivers is a world-wide problem.  

Another area that will be explored at length is ‘Big Data’ with a look at the opportunities it offers in terms of personal mobility and policy performance measurement. Presenters from both the public and private sectors are expected.  

A large number of delegates are expected from the wider Asia Pacific region including a number of ministers, vice ministers and high ranking public officials. Traffic problems in these regions are well known both in terms of congestion and road traffic casualties. “These countries are willing to invest in infrastructure so Congress represents a good opportunity for commercial companies,” suggests Amano.  

Speakers and sessions are still being confirmed and regular updates are being posted on %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal www.itsworldcongress.jp www.itsworldcongress.jp false http://www.itsworldcongress.jp/ false false%>

Related Content

  • February 6, 2015
    Netherlands hosts Automotive Week 2015
    Automotive Week 2015, with its theme of Smart mobility on the road, is to be held in Helmond, the Netherlands from 25 March to 1 April and includes a demonstration of truck platooning with two lorries on the N270, as well as an interactive opening symposium which includes the opening of the country’s new traffic management centre. Other conference highlights include the tenth Automotive Congress on Talking Traffic and the Driven Award which will be presented for the best smart solution for clean and safe
  • December 9, 2016
    Deadline looms for papers for Smart Urban Mobility Solutions 2017 conference
    The deadline for submissions for paper s for the inaugural Smart Urban Mobility Solutions (SUMS) conference is looming and closes on 15 December. SUMS is co-located with the renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference - All-Energy 2017 at SECC, Glasgow from 10 to 11 May 2017). The organisers are looking for papers on a wide range of smart mobility subjects, including autonomous vehicles and the necessary infrastructure, connected vehicles, highly and fully automated driving, open data,
  • January 3, 2017
    ITS World Congress 2017 call for demos
    As part of the Montréal World Congress 2017, conference organizers are planning to feature live demonstrations of ITS technologies. The city of Montréal will create a virtual test bed on the streets adjacent to the Convention Centre. This test bed will include an arterial loop circling the Centre and a section of a nearby limited access highway that will be equipped with DSRC roadside units integrated with local signal controllers to support demonstrations of connected vehicle technologies. In order to a
  • July 23, 2013
    Gulf Traffic 2013 – the international meeting place for buyers and sellers
    The Gulf region is forging ahead with plans to improve its transportation infrastructure with US$121.3 billion worth of road and bridge projects already underway or in the planning phase.