This summer, a Japanese delegation led by Prof ISHIDA Haruo, visited Delft to discuss international collaboration in the context of XCARCITY. As a follow up, a Dutch Delegation traveled to Japan to continue the collaboration and exchange of experience and knowledge in conjunction with the Mobility Innovation Week Japan, that took place 11-14 November 2024 in Nagoya. The delegation was led by Prof Bart van Arem and complemented by Dr Yan Feng (both TU Delft) and Tom Alkim (MAPtm).
The visit kicked off on November 8th in Tokyo with the “Workshop on Human Oriented Urban Surface Streets Management” and was hosted by the Advanced Mobility Research Center (ITS Center), Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo. The director of the ITS Center, Prof. OGUCHI Takashi welcomed the Dutch delegation and another invited international guest, the project leader of the EU funded FAME project, Dr. Stephane Dreher of Ertico. Before discussion took place, presentations were given about “Toward sustainable urban mobility using digital twins” and “XCARCITY and CCAM” by respectively Bart and Tom, followed by an introduction to the Strategic Innovation Program (SIP) Smart Mobility Platform in general and the Urban Street Management project in particular by both Prof. OGUCHI Takashi and Dr. Azusa TORIUMI.
The first two days of the Mobility Innovation Week Japan consisted of the so-called Mobility Innovation Breakout Camp with orientation, open discussion and several demo rides with automated vehicles in the vicinity of Nagoya. On November 11th at the Vison resort in Taki town where Auvetech shuttles are driving and on November 12th at Gifu where Navya shuttles are used for the Gifu Heart Bus initiative. Both deployments are operated by BOLDLY, a Softbank subsidiary.
The plenary sessions and breakout workshops took place on 13 and 14 November at the premises of the University of Nagoya. On the first day Tom was a panelist in the concluding session “Shaping the Future with Mobility Innovation” and Bart presented about “towards automated driving in shared space” the second day at the Breakout Workshop 1 “Cooperative Level 4 Automated Mobility Services”.
The fruitful and inspiring visit was concluded on November 15th with the first meeting of the International Advisory Board (IAB) for Development of Smart Mobility Platform under the SIP, of which Bart is a member and Tom was welcomed as an observer.
Group picture “Workshop on Human Oriented Urban Surface Streets Management”
Site visit Gifu Heart Bus
Presenting XCARCITY at Innovation Mobility Week Japan
Group picture IAB for Development of Smart Mobility Platform under the SIP
Group picture of the visit to Vison