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“WE ARE CONSTANTLY ASSESSING THE INTELLIGENT MOBILITY LANDSCAPE AND IDENTIFYING WHAT THE CHALLENGES ARE, AND WHERE THE KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCE GAPS ARE” PRINCIPAL TECHNOLOGIST JOHN MILLEROpposite (top to bottom)Enabling Capabilities assist business in data insights, critical software systems, human-centric design and modelling and visualisationthe transport industry. For example, the TSC’s IM Centre for Human-Centric Design, introduces professions such as behavioural analysts into the equation. As developments such as Artificial Intelligence begin to play a more prominent role in transport and mobility, understanding and predicting human behaviour is now a core feature of the R&D landscape. Driverless cars are a case in point. Miller cites the example of pedestrians at zebra crossings who catch the eye of the driver of the approaching vehicle for reassurance that they have been seen. “How do you replicate that with an autonomous vehicle?” he asks. “Do you put a smiley face on the front of the car and a light that flashes when it detects the pedestrian? And how long will it take people to adapt to that visual cue and grow in confidence?” Access to specialised data is also offered as part of the Enabling Capabilities suite. This is a core area of focus for the TSC as it seeks to help businesses meet the growing need for highly personalised transport and mobility apps and solutions. Datasets in the public domain, suggests Miller, are no longer fit for purpose.It is notoriously difficult to persuade businesses to release their data. The TSC, as a neutral convener, has managed to sign up five leading businesses in the automotive industry, including major motor manufacturers, to share their vehicle data, which has been anonymised to make it untraceable to any one company. This data will be stored on the TSC secure Data Platform. The TSC’s IM Data Platform gives SME and academic partners access to a unique repository of IM-focused vehicle movement patterns, together with detailed roadworks impact data, anonymous mobile telephony data, emissions and detailed mapping grids.”In future, says Miller, users will be able to test systems and run experiments at scale, and on real data that is not accessible elsewhere. Manufacturers in automotive sectors will be able to access highly complex models created from scores of different (and anonymous) driverless car Sensor Systems, enabling them to enhance and finesse their own systems.“By being able to share data, we can create a common control system where vehicles know exactly how the other vehicle will behave in certain situations,” says Miller. “We are breaking down barriers, building confidence in data sharing, and allowing organisations to learn from each other.”Miller adds that the Transport Systems Catapult regards itself as a leader in the Intelligent Mobility industry, with a remit to pass the latest findings on to business and ensure that UK industry has the tools that it needs to keep on innovating.“We are constantly assessing the Intelligent Mobility landscape and identifying what the challenges are, and where the knowledge and resource gaps are,” he says. “Over time, some elements of the UK Enabling Capabilities will become mainstream in industry, and at this point we will see some of the capabilities we offer retire. New gaps and needs in industry will require new building blocks and new capabilities that the TSC will need to build and support.” ENABLING CAPABILITIESIMAGINE33