Connect with the IRF at Intertraffic Amsterdam 2024
Intertraffic Amsterdam 2024, set to take place on 16 – 19 April at RAI Amsterdam, is poised to be a pivotal event in the realm of smart mobility, infrastructure, traffic management, road safety, and parking.
Over 900 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, will offer a comprehensive overview of the latest trends and developments. At the same time, the large exhibition is supported by a wide range of activities including conferences, seminars, and other activities.
Among the distinguished attendees, the International Road Federation (IRF) eagerly anticipates welcoming visitors to Booth 03.318, offering a platform for engagement, collaboration, and exploration. Check the floorplan here.
Interested in opportunities at the upcoming IRF World Congress 2024? The IRF team would be delighted to discuss the exhibition and sponsorship opportunities on offer. Learn more here.
Book a Slot
To ensure a personalised experience, we encourage visitors to book a slot with the IRF team in advance here.
IRF Special Sessions
Additionally, the IRF will be engaging with the transport community through a series of exclusive sessions, where industry experts will delve into critical topics shaping the future of road infrastructure:
- Driving Innovation: Road Infrastructure Solutions for Seamless Autonomous Mobility - April 16 | 16:15 - 17:00 | Theatre 3, Hall 7
Register here
- Digitalisation for Effective Road Assets & Resources Management - April 18 | 15:30 - 16:15 | Theatre 1, Hall 7
Register here
Connect with IRF Members at Intertraffic Amsterdam 2024
| Organisation | Country | Booth N. | |
 | ASIMOB | Spain | 03.141 |
 | 3M Deutschland GMBH | Germany | 01.253 |
 | MOVYON by Autostrade per l'Italia | Italy | 01.228 |
 | HAENNI | Switzerland | 01.101 |
 | RoadTrace by Aisin | Belgium | 03.308 |
 | SWARCO | Austria | 02.222, 02.236 |
 | SWISSTRAFFIC Group | Switzerland | 05.114 |
 | TECNOVIA S.A | Argentina | 05.449 |
 | Valerann | United Kingdom | 05.415 |
 | Avery Dennison India Pvt. Ltd. | India | 01.302 |
 | ORAFOL India Pvt Ltd | India | 01.164 |
See you at Intertraffic Amsterdam 2024!
Assessing Road Infrastructure for Connected and Automated Vehicles
Gonzalo Alcaraz, Deputy Director General of the International Road Federation (IRF), recently participated as keynote speaker at the Autonomy Mobility World Expo in Paris, held on 20-21 March. His presentation centred on the Smart Road Infrastructure Classification Index (SRICI), a tool crafted by the IRF as part of the FRONTIER project to assess road networks' readiness for Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs).
SRICI aims to set a standard for assessing road readiness for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), defining specifications for physical infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and connectivity. Relying on over 50 parameters identified through state-of-the art literature review and expert surveys, SRICI is rated on a scale from 1 to 10, ensuring transparent and consistent evaluation of road infrastructure readiness for CAVs.
The SRICI method not only defines parameters for evaluating road suitability for CAV operations but also offers a systematic approach for data collection and processing. By employing diverse sources such as georeferenced imagery and on-site measurements, stakeholders gain comprehensive insights. As part of the FRONTIER project, SRICI’s practical utility has been demonstrated through a real use case scenario on the Attiki Odos freeway in Athens, Greece, highlighting its importance in guiding decisions and prioritizing improvements in an evolving transportation landscape.
As research continues, SRICI plays a vital role in advancing safer, more efficient, and interconnected transportation systems, emphasising the necessity for continuous refinement to keep pace with technological advancements.
By harnessing the potential of SRICI and collaborative projects like FRONTIER, the IRF is paving the way for a future where road infrastructure seamlessly integrates with emerging technologies.
Highlights from the Society of Transport Engineers Nepal (SOTEN) International Seminar
The Society of Transport Engineers Nepal (SOTEN) successfully hosted an international seminar titled 'Transforming Transport for Shared Prosperity' on 24 February 2024. The esteemed event was presided over by Prof. Padma Bahadur Shahi, the President of SOTEN, with Mrs. Pramila Devi Baracharya, Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, gracing the occasion as well. The seminar audience was of over 200 participants.
The opening and closing sessions of the seminar were honored by the presence of distinguished government officials from Nepal and renowned experts in the transportation sector. The inaugural technical session commenced with a comprehensive presentation highlighting the current transportation development landscape of Nepal. It delved into the innovative strategies and modernisation initiatives adopted within the sector, emphasising their alignment with the goal of fostering prosperity through transportation and incorporating global best practices.
Following this, the second technical session centred around exploring innovative financing mechanisms for transport infrastructure, particularly focusing on the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM). A panel discussion ensued, featuring representatives from key entities such as the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MOPIT), Investment Board Nepal (IBN), and stakeholders from the construction industry and commercial banks. The discussion critically examined the suitability and effectiveness of the HAM model in the context of Nepal's transport infrastructure development.
Overall, the seminar provided a platform for insightful discussions, knowledge sharing, and collaborative dialogue aimed at advancing the transportation sector towards shared prosperity and sustainable growth.
BANF Smart Tire Collaborates with CampX by Volvo Group
Collaboration Redefining Intelligent Tire Technology Efficacy
BANF, a leader in smart tire technology, collaborates with CampX by Volvo Group in a Proof of Value (PoV) project, co-creating on intelligent tire safety and fuel efficiency optimisation for commercial vehicles. The PoV project will run until Q2 2024.
- Innovating Tire Technology: BANF integrates advanced sensors and AI to revolutionise conventional tire monitoring systems, ensuring safety and performance for commercial vehicle operators.
- Collaborative Co-Creation with CampX by Volvo Group: The collaboration underscores a joint commitment to driving transport and infrastructure innovation.
- Real-Time Tire Safety and Efficiency Solutions: The PoV project focuses on enhancing real-time tire safety and fuel efficiency. BANF's technology provides comprehensive monitoring capabilities, empowering fleet managers to proactively address maintenance issues and maximise operational efficiency.
- Advancing Industry Standards: Participation in the PoV project reaffirms BANF's dedication to setting new industry benchmarks, focusing on safety, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness.
Learn more about BANF.
Valerann Among the Finalists of National Highways Innovation Competition
The finalists in a National Highways innovation competition to find new ways to help protect road users by better managing hazards on motorways and major A roads have been revealed – and IRF Member and winner of the IRF Start-up Label, Valerann, is among them.
Nine innovative new ideas which could help manage hazards on motorways and major A roads have been selected by National Highways to receive up to £90,000 funding to develop their concepts and improve safety.
It follows the launch of a competition by National Highways to find new ways to help protect road users by better managing hazards.
The winning ideas include using 3D radar technology to predict weather-related road hazards, AI road monitoring technology that can be used by traffic control centres, traffic officers or in inspector vehicles and virtual reality training courses for drivers.
National Highways is working with Connected Places Catapult on the Hazard Protection on Roads Accelerator. The shortlisted organisations will now get funding of £15,000 to £30,000 to design their trials. The projects will then be whittled down to five and those projects awarded up to £60,000 to deliver their trials.
National Highways’ Technology Programme Portfolio Manager, James Gibson, said:
“We reached out to find new and innovative ways to help improve the safety of people who use or work on our roads – and we weren’t disappointed. We had some fantastic submissions and it wasn’t easy whittling the list down to nine.
“But we are very optimistic that these schemes will be able to improve safety and help prevent people coming to harm on our roads. I look forward to seeing these ideas develop.”
Hazards might include potholes and subsidence, flooding and extreme weather, obstructions, unsafe driving behaviour and incidents on the road network.
The nine projects being taken forward are:
- Esitu Solutions (based in Nottingham): Esitu Solutions will be developing a virtual reality training course as a downloadable app for the Meta Quest headset to promote safer and more considerate driving.
- VESOS, (Devon): VESOS developed TeCall to harvest eCall data automatically sent after collisions. TeCall fuses other hazard alerts, adds vehicle make and model, propulsion and can identify if vulnerable drivers are on board.
- PRAM (Dublin): An integrated solution that predicts weather-related and surface condition hazards on the network and is based on 3D radar technology widely used in the automotive industry.
- VivaCity (London): VivaCity’s sensors provide data on interactions between road users, enabling a proactive response to an increased rate of near misses
- Roadside Technologies (Chesterfield): Roadside Technologies is developing an automated hazardous object detection solution using the latest in sensing technology, to improve road user safety and enable smoother journeys through temporary work zones on roads.
- CrossTech (Wiltshire): CrossTech has developed a stopped vehicle detection verification system. The platform builds on the automated computer vision inspection platform from the rail industry, called Hubble.
- Route Reports (London): A video analytics-based road monitoring device that can be fitted to any National Highways vehicle in order to automatically detect hazards.
- TransPix, (Hull): TransPix uses video analytics and computer vision technology to improve road and workplace safety by detecting complex behaviours and hazards.
- Valerann, (London): Valerann’s AI real-time road data analytics platform fuses data from a broad range of data sources to deliver road traffic situation insights and accidents risk modelling, improving road traffic authorities’ situational awareness and empowering them to take accurate, actionable and timely decisions.
The competition particularly targeted small or medium enterprises that may not have worked with National Highways before and could have, as yet undiscovered, innovation gems to share around dealing with hazards.
All nine finalists will be guided through a bespoke programme tailored to their requirements offering coaching and mentoring, business development opportunities and technical and procurement support.
Erika Lewis, Chief Executive at Connected Places Catapult, said:
“We’re very pleased to be working alongside National Highways to support these small businesses to develop proposals to trial their technologies. By bridging the gap between small businesses and large infrastructure clients we’re able to support the development of fresh ideas and support the commercialisation of new technologies.”
IRF to Support the Alliance for Road Decarbonisation as it Unveils its Plans
With 62 members, the Alliance for Road Decarbonisation held a press conference yesterday in Paris to present its plans and aspirations. The Alliance will benefit from the support of the International Road Federation (IRF) as it moves its first steps with the objective to shape the debate and action around the green transition.
François Gemenne, HEC Professor, IPCC co-author, Patrice Geoffron, University of Paris-Dauphine Economics Professor, and Géraud Guibert, President of La Fabrique Écologique, unveiled the goals of the Alliance for Road Decarbonisation at an event hosted in Paris yesterday at the presence of the press and many of the members of the Alliance. The objective is to work in partnership with public authorities to develop and implement - by addressing both technologies and usage - effective solutions for a decarbonisation that is also socially viable.
The Alliance includes academics, experts, local authorities, associations, mobility operators and infrastructure managers, automotive manufacturers, carriers, professional federations, unions, engineering groups, insurers, and startups.
“It’s an incredibly rich eco-system the one that the Alliance has been able to pull together in such a short period of time” commented Susanna Zammataro, IRF Director General. “As IRF we are pleased to join this effort and bring in our international expertise and network. We look forward to seeing the first results of this collaborative work presented at the Ministerial Meeting which will be hosted during our World Congress in Istanbul in October 2024” she added.
The Alliance articulates its ambitions around four priority areas of work for the year 2024:
- Just and acceptable mobility transition: accompanying economic actors and citizens in this transformation, ensuring social inclusion and territorial equity.
- Decarbonisation of logistics: promoting the use of more sustainable freight transport solutions, reducing CO2 emissions related to logistics, and collaborating with supply chain actors.
- The road at the heart of a mobility system in sparsely populated and rural areas: ensuring access to decarbonised mobility for all, adapting to the specific needs of rural areas.
- Road resilience in the face of climate risk: developing infrastructure and transport solutions more resilient to extreme weather events.
ORIS Empowers Holcim Germany to Measure its Aggregates CO2 Footprint
ORIS Materials Intelligence is proud to work with Holcim Germany, a leading player in the construction materials industry, in using a scientific approach to measure the CO2 footprint of its aggregate products. Holcim Germany used the ORIS CO2 calculator, developed following the recommendations of CIRAIG, a world leading research center in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and in partnership with MIRO, the German Federal Association for Mineral Raw Materials.
Taking the initiative to measure the precise carbon footprint of products is the first step in identifying effective levers for reducing this footprint, contributing significantly to global efforts in addressing the climate crisis. In response to the rising demand for transparent and accurate information on the environmental impact of materials in the construction sector, the EU regulation is expected to make it mandatory to report on the global warming potential of construction products. Furthermore, certain industry players are introducing a "shadow price" for CO2 emissions in tenders to incentivise low-carbon products.
"We are grateful that Holcim Germany chose the ORIS CO2 calculator for aggregates to calculate the carbon footprint of their products portfolio on a systematic basis. With this innovative solution, the construction industry is accelerating its digital and sustainability shift, recognising construction materials at their right impact level. The ORIS digital solution offers effortless access to calculating aggregate carbon footprints, marking a significant step toward empowering all stakeholders to create low-impact infrastructure,” explained Nicolas Miravalls, CEO of ORIS.
The methodology employed in calculating the CO2 footprint involves a systematic evaluation and processing of data, integrating specific operational information. This adheres to the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, following DIN EN 15804+A2 and ISO 21930 norms. The comprehensive analysis examines a product's global warming potential across its lifecycle stages, encompassing extraction, transportation, processing of raw materials, and end-of-life considerations.
Compared to the usual market approach of using EPDs, with the ORIS CO2 calculator you get your results much faster - one week instead of half a year - and you can save up to 75% of the costs. Users received a certificate with the GWP of their product in a scientifically proven way.
This comprehensive evaluation was conducted for 10 of Holcim Germany's plants and calculated for the products manufactured therein. The rest of the sites will be evaluated shortly to ensure that the company’s entire portfolio is assessed under a systematic and scientific approach. The achieved results will serve as a starting point for determining and implementing optimisations to further reduce emissions in the future.
Discussing Innovation in Road Infrastructure at the IRF India-Chapter National Conference
With engines of innovation roaring and ideas paving the way forward, the International Road Federation India-Chapter National Conference took centre stage on 29 February – 1 March in New Delhi.
Under the theme of "Revolutionising Road Infrastructure with Modern Equipment, Technologies, Sustainable Materials, and Policy Guidelines," the conference featured insightful presentations by industry experts alongside an engaging exhibition showcasing the latest technologies, offering a platform for industry pioneers to navigate the complexities and chart a course towards a more resilient and efficient road network.
At the Inaugural Session of the Conference, IRF President, Anouar Benazzouz, joined the dignitaries on stage to share insights on the challenges the sector is facing, stressing the importance of embracing technology to overcome them. “The introduction of digital tools and artificial intelligence into a sector like the road infrastructure sector has been a complete game changer for our industry, allowing us to instill efficiency and generate savings in terms of costs, emissions, natural resources and to a point where we can reinvest savings to support other fundamental work like repurposing infrastructure to serve other modes of transport or increase the resilience of our transport networks.”
“Hence, we welcome the efforts from authorities at all levels to create the policy and regulatory frameworks that are much needed to truly support the adoption of new technologies and innovations, including Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and digital solutions” he added.
The extensive agenda of this two-day conference encompassed a wide array of topics crucial to road infrastructure, including innovative technologies, sustainable and cost-effective construction materials, road safety, and a dedicated session for start-ups to showcase their innovative ideas.
In summing up the closing technical session of the event, IRF Director General, Susanna Zammataro, quoted some of the key points raised by stating: “Every road authority should know what is the state of the network they are responsible for”. “Data-led asset management is key in delivering the level of service that users today require and expect” she added. “These tools help us manage the complexity of the issues we are called to solve” she said “but they can only deliver their value so far as we are able to put in place adequate processes and trained professionals” she concluded.
The event garnered participation from a diverse array of stakeholders, including policymakers, engineers, researchers, industry professionals, and start-up entrepreneurs, facilitating valuable discussions, collaborations, and networking opportunities vital for propelling the sector forward.
More information about the conference can be found here.
IRF, EASST, and iRAP Join Forces with UNESCAP to Update Road Design Standards in Central Asia
Improved road design standards across the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) countries is the goal of a new United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) project being implemented by iRAP, EASST, and the International Road Federation (IRF).
Funded by the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF), the project focuses on three pilot countries – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – from within the CAREC region. Over the course of the next 18 months, the project will take a collaborative approach to meticulously review, update, and improve local road design standards.
Project activities will officially kick off this month with the team travelling to each of the pilot countries to meet with local partners and relevant government agencies to introduce the project and explore local needs in terms of road design and mobility.
This week, the project team has been in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, meeting with the respective Ministries of Transport and Traffic Police.
On introducing the project in Uzbekistan Mr Ilkhomjon Abdugafarov, Deputy Minister of Transport said:
"We are very pleased to take part and contribute to this important initiative. Road safety for us is a national priority and we are ready to work with international partners and provide all the information needed.”
Earlier in the month, the project team also visited Kyrgyzstan to meet with Ulan Sultanov, Deputy Director of the Kyrgyz Road Transport Project under the Ministry of Transport and Communication, who said:
"We welcome this project with great enthusiasm. At the moment, we use both old and new standards on road design in our work. We need to review and refine these standards, while also preparing new standard documents that address all issues, including safety and inclusivity for vulnerable road users."
IRF Senior Programme Manager & Head of Statistics, Julia Funk commented
“Enhancing road safety is not just about better roads; it is about creating environments where everyone, especially those most vulnerable, can travel with confidence. Through our collaborative efforts and adherence to global best practices, this project is dedicated to raising the bar on road standards in Central Asia. By prioritising inclusivity and safety for all road users, we’re not just building roads; we are building pathways to safer, more sustainable journeys for everyone in the region”.
Data from the recent Global Status Report on Road Safety underscores a persistent concern: while the incidence of road fatalities is generally declining across the 11 CAREC countries, it is still 10% higher than the global average, and double the average for the European Region.
Building safer and more inclusive roads are key to achieving global targets to reduce road casualties by 50% by 2030. Safe road infrastructure is an essential component of the Safe System approach and improving design standards are highlighted as a priority by both the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety (2021-2030) and the CAREC Regional Road Safety Strategy (2017-2030).
Working in partnership with multilateral development banks and the relevant government entities of each pilot country, the project will review the national (GOST-SNiP) design standards and recommend updates that include aspects of safe road design within the national standards – working towards the development of a new regional standard that aligns with the Global Road Safety Targets and international best practices for safe road design.
By including a focus on pedestrians, bicyclists and other vulnerable road users, the enhanced design standards created in this project will also support several complementary development objectives, including improved accessibility and inclusivity, promoting sustainable cities, low-carbon transport solutions, and good health and well-being. The project will also aim to build capacity of the road designers across the three countries towards safer road design.
