Collective projects

Specific Challenge

Ports are a major example of hubs' need for modernisation. Ports are essential for the European economy as a global player and for the internal market. They are a main catalyst for regional development and their optimisation and inclusion in the territory is fundamental to ensure that efficient operations will not affect negatively the surrounding areas. Specific issues (like dredging, emission reductions, and energy transition, incl. electrification, smart grids, and the use of renewables management and emissions) are combined with other challenges common to all multi-modal terminals.

Ports are a major example of hubs' need for modernisation. Ports are essential for the European economy as a global player and for the internal market. They are a main catalyst for regional development and their optimisation and inclusion in the territory is fundamental to ensure that efficient operations will not affect negatively the surrounding areas. Specific issues (like dredging, emission reductions, and energy transition, incl. electrification, smart grids, and the use of renewables management and emissions) are combined with other challenges common to all multi-modal terminals.

Extreme weather conditions, climate change, damages to the infrastructure (caused by natural and man-made hazards) and traffic impediments negatively impact the reliability of mobility solutions. Risk analysis, adaptation measures and strategies need to be developed that enable minimising the impact of both natural and man-made extreme events on seamless transport operation, protect the users of the transport network in case of extreme conditions, as well as provide optimal information to the operators and users of the transport infrastructure.

Ongoing research efforts show that the translation of the working principles of the Digital Internet to the routing of freight, thus creating the Physical Internet (PI), has the potential to be a real game-changer. In the PI world freight travels from hub to hub in an open network rather than from origin to destination directly. Each parcel is routed automatically and at each section it is bundled for efficiency. In the PI network of networks many (if not all) transport and logistics services would be accessible on demand to all users.

There are indications that transport may be entering a period of paradigm shifts due to the introduction of disruptive technologies but also due to changes in individual preferences, behaviours, lifestyles and the emergence of social innovation and new concepts which are likely to impact on the future transport models and management. Some of these changes are already present, as for example, the growing trend towards vehicle sharing practices in many European cities, while others may still be at their very early stages, as for example, changing values of travel time.

Accessibility is a concept used in order to address both travel patterns, attitudes and needs of particular social groups – e.g. gender specific needs, unemployed persons, vulnerable to exclusion citizens such as elderly, children, disabled, etc., as well as the mobility needs and transport use characteristics of people living in different types of areas such as rural, remote or deprived urban areas.

Technological developments, particularly related to the extended and expanding use of ICT in the transport sector, allow the collection of unprecedented volumes of data across all modes and transport systems. These volumes of data, known also as "big data", have generated a strong interest in the transport research community as well as in the relevant industries and among policy makers.

The activity aims at developing and validating radically new ICT based concepts and approaches for empowering and motivating people in need of guidance and care due to age related conditions, in cooperation with their carers where relevant, and to help them improve and maintain their independence, functional capacity, health status as well as preserving their physical, cognitive, mental and social well-being.