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ERTICO is the network of Intelligent Transport Systems and Services stakeholders in Europe.  We connect public authorities, industry players, infrastructure operators, users, national ITS associations and other organisations together.

For our current activities, visit the link below:

http://www.ertico.com/assets/Publications/2012/Activity-book-2012WEB.pdf

The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) (est. 1837) is the oldest and most prestigious academic institute in Greece. Since its establishment, it has been contributing to the progress of the engineering science in Greece, through the education of young engineers and its multi-faceted research and development activities. The Institute of Communications and Computer Systems (ICCS) was founded in 1989 as an independent institution closely associated with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (SECE) of NTUA. Its mission is to host and promote high quality research in all fields relevant with the SECE expertise (i.e., communications, computers, networks, control, multimedia, expert systems, components, biomedical engineering, education and management, etc.). As such, it serves as an umbrella of a large number of R&D laboratories and activities.

The Computer Networks Laboratory (CNL) of ICCS aims to remain ahead of the waves of change in mobile technologies and service engineering by cooperating with industry and academia in ICT related projects. CNL has highly qualified members with expertise in the areas of mobile and personal communications (ICCS is a member of both Wireless World Research Forum and e-Mobility platform), pervasive networking and service engineering. CNL has participated in various R&D activities and can offer technologies and tools with regards to fixed and mobile network infrastructure, location management, network management, context aware service creation over active and ad-hoc networks, cognitive networks, pervasive service platform design and development, security and privacy, ICT in transport and ICT for Green Cars.

In the following paragraphs, a selection of important research activities of CNL on the aforementioned topics is presented in more detail.

ICT in Transport & ICT in Green Cars: CNL initiated, coordinated and successfully carried out the proposal composition for the FP7 ICT-GC project EcoGem (Cooperative Advanced Driver Assistance System for Green Cars) (start-date: Sept. 2010). EcoGem innovates ICT and machine learning techniques, targeted for Electric Vehicles and applied for the purpose of discovering energy efficient routes and effective recharging strategies. The same happened with the FP7 ICT-GC EMERALD (Energy Management and Recharging for efficient electric car driving) (expected start-date: Oct. 2012), in which CNL is also responsible for the technical management of the project. CNL can support all aspects of ICT integration in Electric Vehicles, Green Cars, and the transport infrastructure, as well as R&D activities in the fields of traffic prediction and management, vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-transport interfaces.

Service engineering: In MOTIVE, CNL coordinated the development of a multi-layer open system architecture addressing issues such as enhanced terminal assisted positioning, terminal data local processing, user control (when and how information is revealed), data transfer load, network side processing and storage, and real time vs. off-line information collection. The MOTIVE system exploits information collected at mobile terminals in order to provide enhanced mobile services and applications in B3G wireless environments. MOTIVE also introduces the concept of anonymous mobile community services.

Pervasive networking & Ambient intelligence: In DAIDALOS and DAIDALOS-II projects (Designing Advanced Interfaces for the Delivery and Administration of Location independent Optimised personal Services), CNL participated in WP4 activities concerning the development of components supporting the deployment of Pervasive Systems, i.e. mixed physical-digital environments saturated with computing and communication functionality and seamlessly integrated with human user needs. CNL was also a partner in the IP Amigo (Ambient intelligence for the networked home environment), a research project concerning pervasive systems. Amigo applied the pervasive networking perspective on the home environment, including context awareness and intelligent user services. CNL has been serving as a partner of the STREP PERSIST and the IP SOCIETIES. The vision of PERSIST and SOCIETIES is a Personal Smart Space able to provide pervasiveness to users continuously and everywhere. Personal Smart Spaces are adaptable and capable of self-improvement, while they provide a minimum set of functionalities that can be extended and enhanced as users encounter other smart spaces during their everyday activities.

Context-awareness: CNL has participated in the single IST FP6 project which was dedicated to context awareness, namely CONTEXT (IST-2001-38142, active creation, delivery and management of efficient context-aware services). In this project, CNL was involved in devising a solution for efficient provisioning of context-based services making use of active networks on top of fixed and mobile infrastructure. The model of context-aware services is based on policies and the PEP-PDP model of PCIM is used. The produced services are deployed within the execution environment of DINA active platform, which offers rapid, dynamic, adaptive and decentralized deployment. Active networks are also powerful in context-aware systems for tackling the issues of context distribution and heterogeneity. Gathering and disseminating context using active networks based on the CONTEXT platform is proved to be efficient in terms of reducing traffic and time needed.

Service creation: The CNL has participated in a series of service engineering projects, the most recent of which is the IST Project SMART-EC (IST-1999-10130, Support for mediation and brokering for electronic commerce). The SMART-EC system is able to receive complex service requests, dynamically formulated by users with knowledge provided by means of ontology. CNL has been a VESPER partner. IST project VESPER (IST-1999-10825, Virtual home environment for service personalisation and roaming users) defined and demonstrated a Virtual Home Environment (VHE) architecture providing roaming users with service portability and session mobility across a multi-provider, heterogeneous network and system infrastructure. CNL has also been an ACTS AC325-MONTAGE (MObile INTelligent AGEnts in Accounting, Charging and Personal Mobility Support) and an ACTS AC036-DOLMEN (Service Machine Development for an Open Long-term Mobile and Fixed Network Environment) partner.

Mobility: CNL has a long tradition in mobile communications. In MOEBIUS (IST-1999-11591, Mobile extranet based integrated user services), CNL has contributed to the design of the mobile extranet platform and in the mobile terminal design and implementation of the lower software protocols. In IST project CELLO (IST-2000-25382, Cellular network optimization based on mobile location), CNL designed a patch array antenna (Modular Antenna Array, MAA) allowing a flexible setting of the required antenna pattern. In IST project MONASIDRE (IST-2000-26144, Management of networks and services in a diversified radio environment), CNL developed, in the context of a diversified radio environment, techniques, mechanisms and interfaces (i) for monitoring and analysing the statistical performance and the QoS levels provided by the network elements, (ii) for dynamic network planning, and (iii) for mapping of the IP based network resources to radio resources. In IST project CREDO (IST-2001-33093, Composite radio and enhanced service delivery for the Olympics), CNL conducted field experiments, which were targeted to the delivery of services, relevant to the Athens 2004 Olympics, through the joint utilisation and optimisation of composite radio environments. In DAIDALOS, CNL has been involved in activities related to the Integration of Heterogeneous Network technologies so as to ensure optimal inter-working between different networks, including fixed and mobile, wireline and wireless, symmetric and asymmetric, ad-hoc and infrastructure networks within the same administrative domain. In IST project FITNESS (IST-2000-3016, Fourth-generation Intelligent Transparent Networks Enhanced through Space-time Systems), CNL performed system level simulations and evaluation of Multiple-Transmit/Multiple-Receive (MTMR) techniques. Finally, CNL served as the project manager of project MOTIVE, aiming at producing added value from information collected from communities of mobile terminals.

Service discovery protocols: Significant expertise on service discovery protocols comes mainly from the participation of CNL in the AVPACK project (IST-2001-34447, Adoption and enhancement of open frameworks for converged Audio/Video/TV provision for the home user). The AVPACK trial project has aimed at the adoption and acquisition of technology and expertise in open standards and frameworks for delivery and management of voice and video based services to the end-user. CNL worked on the development and evaluation of service discovery protocols also in the Amigo project.

Cognitive networks: CNL has built solid knowledge on the promising area of Cognitive Networks featuring a number of relevant scientific publications. Relative research focuses on terminal sensing functionality, relevant functional architectures for both the network and the terminal side, communication protocols as well as machine learning techniques and optimization algorithms. 

ISTANBUL-STUTTGART ECONOMY, SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY CENTER is founded in 2012.

Its members are public institutions such municipalities, acedemic insitutions as well as technology driven SMEs. 

The Center aims to realize technology transfer in sectors such automotive, electric/electronics, green energy, construction and informatics within smart city concept. 

We look for consortiums aiming to apply for EU FP7 and for the prospective new horizons program with related projects to be implemented in smart cities.

ITI is a Reference Technological Centre specialized in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Research, Development and Innovation, offering to the computer industry the possibility of adding new technologies and capabilities developed in R&D&I projects to their products, processes or businesses. It was established in 1994 by a joint initiative of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), the Institute of Small and Medium Enterprises of Valencia (IMPIVA), and a group of companies in the information technology sector. It has a team of 150 technologists, with extensive experience in the area of interoperability, real time and complex systems, embedded systems, quality and security and reference platforms and has participated in many national and international research projects in this field, in collaboration with companies and institutions.

As a reference technology centre is part of the main structures at regional and national levels in Spain related to the generation and transference of technologies, highlighting in this sense its belonging to the Valencian Network of Technological Institutes (REDIT), composed by 14 sectors, with more than 7000 associated companies. ITI has direct links with all these sectors (Metal-mechanics, Ceramics, Plastics, Optics, Energy, Textile, ...).

Moreover, ITI is also member of national and European structures and associations related to the definition of research strategies or initiatives in different domains. Among these associations and structures can be highlighted the following: INTERVAL (http://interval.interop-vlab.es), INTERPOP-VLab (http://www.interop-vlab.eu/).  INES (http://www.ines.org.es/), NESSI (http://www.nessi-europe.com/), es.Internet (http://www.esinternet.imasdtic.es/), Prometeo (http://www.prometeo-office.org/) and ARTEMIS (http://www.artemis-ju.eu/) or Net!Works (http://www.networks-etp.eu/).

 

ITI is preparing a proposal in Objective ICT-2013.6.4 Optimising Energy Systems in Smart Cities and wants to close the consortium with a new partner acting as an ESCO.

In addition, ITI will launch a proposal in Objective ICT-2013.1.2 Software Engineering, Services and Cloud Computing and is looking for partners.

Finally, we are working on a proposal in Objective ICT-2013.6.6 Integrated personal mobility for smart cities and we are looking for mobility managers in cities and Human Machine Interface experts.

Life Supporting Technologies (LifeSTech) is a research, development and innovation group, belonging to the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and dedicated to design, development and evaluation of services and applications based on ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), in order to create and promote new ideas, methods and technological solutions in every aspect of the value chain of organizations. We develop methods and technological solutions in the areas of:

• e-Health
• e-Inclusion
• e-Learning
• e-Government

The UPM, is one of the largest universities in Europe. UPM conducts leading technological research in multiple fields. We are one of the largest e-Health research centers in Spain and maintain partnerships within the public and private sectors in the areas of research and development. Over the last fifteen years, we have participated in more than thirty European projects funded by several EU Research Programs (AIM, RACE, TIDE, BRITE, Telematics Applications, eTEN, Leonardo, Quality of Life and IST), as well as in many projects funded by the Spanish Research Council and the R&D Program of the Madrid Community. We are also sponsored by a variety of private Spanish and European companies.

The LOOM Research Institute within Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) has 12 academic staff and 25 researchers. LOOM has developed a strong reputation for its safety, security, simulation and optimisation research of maritime system design and operation.

LOOM has completed a number of research projects supported by the UK research councils (eg. EPSRC), HSE, EU and industry. It is equipped with the UK’s only 360 degree ship simulator and a wide range of risk modelling and decision making software. For the last ten years, the Institute has received the funding of multi-million pounds to conduct its high-level research and consequently, over 100 technical papers in relevant areas have been produced. The research applications have also been facilitated by the collaboration between LOOM and many industrial and regulatory organisations including Shell and UK HSE. The institute is the coordinator of one EU Marie Curie project, the workpackage leaders of two ongoing EU projects, and grant holders of many other UK research council projects.

Collaboration interests:

 

We are interested in collaborations with research partners in the following areas: (a) security in logistics and supply chains; (b) anti-piracy; (c) optimisation and simulation for restoring security and safety in case of crisis; (d) using virtual reality/gaming/3D simulation technologies for the development of decision support tools for Health services and (e) Improving security systems integration, interconnectivity and interoperability.

LOOM can contribute to the following:

·         First main topic: Topic SEC-2013.2.4-1 Phase II demonstration programme on logistics and supply chain security.

·         Second main topic: Topic SEC-2013.2.4-2 Non-military protection measures for merchant shipping against piracy – Capability Project or Coordination and Support Action (Coordinating Action).

·         Third main topic: SEC-2013.4.1-3 Development of simulation models and tools for optimising the pre-deployment and deployment of resources and the supply chain in external emergency situations

·         Fourth main topic: SEC-2013.4.1-4 2013.4.1-4 - Development of decision support tools for improving preparedness and response of Health Services involved in emergency situations.

·         Workpackage leader/partner. We can write up a WP if assigned by the consortium leader. We can also contribute to project management.

·         Contact point to UK maritime sector. Can also introduce partners (industry or academia) from UK and the Far East to the consortium should it be needed.

·         Can also get access to a database of emergency situations occurred in non-EU regions, based on marine accidents reported by the IMO and Lloyds Registry, etc

Project ideas: 

============Project Idea 1: Logistics and supply chain security ============ Description Logistics and supply chain security: LOOM has had about 10 years research experiences in logistics and supply chain security assessment, evidenced by three completed PhD research projects (“Risk analysis and decision making of container supply chains”, “the development of safety and security assessment techniques and their application to port operations”, and “enabling security and risk-based operation of container line supply chains under high uncertainties” ).Many security modelling and decision making models have been developed, including the following: ·         A container security score model addressing 10+2 elements. ·         A port security level model. ·         A seafarers reliability model. ·         Formal safety/security assessment of container supply chains. ·         Threat based assessment of container supply chains. ·         Terrorism modelling of container supply chains (e.g. Figure 1). ·         Multiple criteria modelling for security based decision making in container supply chain operations. ·         Quality assurance of port operations using 6-sigma. ·         Optimal operations of maritime/logistic systems in dynamic environments ·         Realistic 3D simulations of complex maritime and logistics systems The above may be used to contribute to: ·         propose, towards end-to-end supply-chain security, a mechanism for transparent multi-hazard risk assessment. ·         increase the overall security of the supply chains. ·         possible solutions to new risks and threats required to secure supply chains in the future. ·         identify suspicious cargo (people), as early as possible, through the provision of reliable and sufficient data including “who” is shipping “what” to “whom”, “when” and “by which means”. ·         improve supply chain resilience using risk management principles, contingency planning and enhanced real-time reaction capabilities. ·         deliver collateral benefits, especially higher cost effectiveness for transportation and supply chain systems to stakeholders (incl. SME) as an important factor for ensuring broad acceptance. ·         predict possible under-attack scenarios and predict the behaviours of the supply chain when being under attack. ·         provide optimal solutions to deal with broken links in supply chains.     ============Project Idea 2: Non-military protection measures for merchant shipping against piracy ============   Description LOOM has an on-going doctoral research project on maritime piracy modelling in collaboration with the IMO. The research has been conducted since Nov. 2009 and is expected to be completed soon. The project has developed a technical model for investigating how parameters such as ship size, season of the year, ship type, location of the ship, time of the day, visibility, freeboard, speed, good practices, etc. would influence the likelihood of a ship being attacked by pirates (e.g. see Figure 2 of the attached document). The model is also capable of looking at how naval support and available guards would influence the likelihood of the ship being hijacked. The above work can be used for studying piracy root causes and piracy protection measures, helping protect EU merchant fleets and maritime supply lines from criminal abduction and harassment. Relevant civil stakeholders / end-users should be provided with an exhaustive practical guide on active and passive contemporary optimal measures to counter pirate threats and their legal, economic and societal implications. Advantages and disadvantages of these measures can be highlighted and realistic improvements proposed. Simulation can be used to validate the proposed measures under different realistic scenarios. In particularly, LOOM research can be used to answer the following questions: ·         Given available data of a specific maritime area and a particular ship, what is the likelihood of the ship being attacked? ·         What would be the best level of support for ships? ·         What to do when being attacked? ·         What to do after being attacked? Best escape route? Best coordination strategy?     ============Project Idea 3: Simulation/optimisation for resources and supply chains in emergency/crisis situations ============   Description Simulation/optimisation for resources/supply chains in external emergency situations: LOOM has a strong research expertise in optimisation, simulation and security/safety for supply chains. The institution is the work-package leader in two major work-packages of optimisation/simulation in a recent €7m EU project, the work-package leader in another recent €9m EU project on logistics supply chain, and the grant holder of various EPSRC projects on security/safety of supply chains and maritime business processes. LOOM’s research in these areas has been published in top journals in Computer Science such as IEEE Transactions, European Journal of Operational Research and International Journal of Neural systems, etc. The institution also has the UK-only 360-degree ship simulator (see http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/lairdsidemaritimecentre/). Optimisation, simulation and security/safety for supply chain research in LOOM have always been focused on real-world freight supply chain applications. Recent examples are: Optimisation: The optimal scheduling  in many EU ports (e.g., see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVpOWEYTeNQ andhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXEMT39wItg). The optimal fleet sizing, routingfor  equipments/vehicles in the above organisations. 3D virtual simulation models of: business processes in the above ports. LOOM also combined the optimisation and simulation into an integrated framework (e.g., see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVpOWEYTeNQ ).   sea-to-land/ rail-to-road and road freight transport processes (e.g. seehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzwU1ykk3fM). Below are our research ideas: Supporting freight supply chains to deal with unexpected changes and external emergency situations is an important challenge. Real-time responses may include rescheduling productions/ managements /purchases etc; changing the transport modes; re-allocating resources and rerouting the process flows. Crisis/emergency situations can also be prevented by understanding EU’s external interoperability logistics, anticipating the risks, implementing safety procedures, providing backup plans, and designing robust schedules /plans for the chains. Such responses and anticipations are especially important in multimodal logistics hubs, where goods are collected and distributed. LOOM research ideas involve providing the above solutions to effectively help (a) anticipate crisis/emergency situations and (b) response to crisis/emergency situations. We focus on container supply chains, especially those connecting multimodal logistics hubs due to that 90% of world goods are containerized. We believe these go in line with the requirements from the EC. 3D simulations of the supply chains and emergency situations will be provided; robust solutions (schedules of activities; layout of facilities and allocation of resources) in anticipation of emergencies will be suggested, and dynamic optimisation solutions (rescheduling, replanning, rerouting, reallocating) in responses to emergencies will be offered. ============Project Idea 4: Using simulation/optimisation for the development of decision support tools for improving preparedness and response of Health services involved in emergency situations ============ Description LOOM has extensive expertise in developing virtual reality scenarios and 3D simulation of business processes, flows/arrivals/departures of goods/people/vehicles, all in combination with mathematical modelling and optimisation, as shown in our previous and current EU/EPSRC projects. For this call, we can use virtual reality and 3D gaming technologies to simulate sudden emergency situations, such as disease outbreaks/pandemic/epidemic scenarios or terrorist attacks or war, and their impacts on the health care systems. For example, we can create the followings in virtual environment: - the spread of the outbreaks - the increase of patients - patient flows and changes in patient flows according to the development of the outbreaks - impacts on healthcare facilities, staffs, medicine stocks etc From these scenarios, we can identify the possible bottle necks and weak links in the current health care system, and from that using optimisation tools to suggest: - Optimal schedule - Facility layout, - Stocking plan etc. LOOM can do the implementation of the software, and provide the optimisation tools. For example, here is the 3D virtual simulation of a small emergency clinic in an outbreak situation:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuuwWh6NH6A . We will need input from potential partners from the healthcare sectors.