On November 29, CLOSER and ReVeAL partener Polis co-organised a Working Session at Gothenburg European Office in Brussels. Within this frame, 13 professionals discussed concrete actions towards the implementation, scaleability and harmonization of Geofencing.
What is GEOFENCING?
Geofencing is a technical solution that can enable:
- The possibility to affect behavior and functions of vehicles within a
geographical zone; - Limit vehicle access to particular zones and restricted areas or infrastructure.
How does it work ?
First of all, the road operator defines a zone and its properties. Then, the defined zone and its characteristics are sent to a connected vehicle. Finally, using GNSS or short range G5 technology , the vehicle perceives the specific characteristics of the zone as it approaches and drives in it.
Sweden leads the way
Kicking off the meeting, Arne Lindeberg, CLOSER, presented the Nordic approach and the C-ITS platfom C-Roads. In 2017, the Swedish government initiated a project to create safer, more
climate-smart cities using Geofencing technology. This brought the two largest cities in Sweden,
OEMs, the Swedish Transport Administration and the Swedish Government to collaborate on digitalisation for smart and safe cities.
Starting in 2019, this collaboration became a four-year program to establish solutions in the matter. This program creates the conditions for the application of Geofencing as a guiding tool for the utilization of
the transport system from safety and sustainability perspectives. The program originated from the #ActionPlan of 2018: the#ActionPlan involved the identification of areas that could go from demo to implementation, such us the one in Stockholm.
Takeaways from Workshop May 29
On May 29, Gothenburg city, Volvo, CLOSER and POLIS organised a workshop in Gothenburg with representatives from European cities & public authorities, industry and research institutes & associations. The meeting in November helped to summarise previous results and channel them into a new dialogue.
The two main takeaways concerned Technology and Policy and Governance.
When it comes to Technology, there are many opportunities related to Geofencing, such enabling automation, increasing demand for hybrid vehicles, pushing intellingent traffic management and transport quality and reducing stress for drivers by improved support and assistance.
However, there are still many obstacles, such as those related to standardization and open data sharing.
When it comes to Policy and Governance, there are as well many opportunities related to Geofencing, such as prompting increased safety, reduced speed and decreased emissions, realising adaptable solution & legislation enforcement, fitting into the H2020 mission and national engagement.
However, there are still many obstacles, such as those related to business models, fleet adjustment, acceptance, harmonization & interoperability across Europa and rules & jurisdictions.
