Getting to know the people driving innovation: SHOW project launches podcast on automated mobility

Automated vehicles (AVs) are among the biggest innovations in our sector of the last years. When deployed as part of the public transport network, AVs can play an important role towards more sustainable mobility. Yet, many questions need to be answered before we can see AVs freely roam our cities: What are the operational, legal and ethical limitations of automated mobility? How can we guarantee that users will accept the arrival of AVs? And what are viable business models regarding AVs?

In 2020, the EU-funded project SHOW (SHared automation Operating models for Worldwide adoption) launched to answer these (and many other!) questions. With 70 partners and UITP at the helm, SHOW will see real-life urban demonstrations taking place in 20 cities across Europe, in which – alongside transport – other industries such as telecom and IT will be involved.

To dive deeper into the topic of automated mobility, the SHOW project has kicked off the new podcast series ‘Automated Mobility: The people behind the wheel.’ In the podcast, you will get to know the experts working in the field of automated mobility through a series of interviews. What motivates them to be a part of this enormous change in urban mobility? How do they think AVs can impact our lives?

Hosted by Henriette Cornet, UITP CCAM Senior Manager and coordinator of SHOW, the podcast wants to build the bridge between research and practice, between experts and passengers.

In the first episode, we meet Endre Angelvik, who is Executive Vice President of Radical Innovation at Norwegian operator Ruter, chair of the Combined Mobility Committee at UITP and lastly member of the Advisory Board of the SHOW project. You will learn about Ruter and Endre’s various missions, all being gathered under the humble objective of changing the world.

To set the scene, a short first episode has also been published, introducing those not familiar with automated mobility to the concept. The Host explains the motivation behind the podcast and the SHOW project, and why road safety is on top of the list.

And this is only the beginning… a new episode will be published every month, introducing you to many faces and voices of those driving innovation in our sector.

Listen to the podcast here!

The launch date of the new podcast is no coincidence: it collides with exciting times for SHOW. Early January, the project launched its pre-demo phase, among others in Tampere (Finland). In this demo, two Toyota Proaces, automated by Finnish autonomous technology company Sensible 4 are transporting locals as a last-mile service to the tramline. First insights are already available!

The launch in Tampere is the first one in a series of demos testing AVs in real life, but without other traffic. Soon, other cities will also start their demos, so stay tuned!

Are you looking to learn more about how to initiate shared CCAM (Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility) services in an urban area? SHOW’s Call for Follower Sites is still open! More info here (deadline 31 January).