TIMON (“Enhanced real time services for an optimised multimodal mobility relying on cooperative networks and open data”) is a new EU research project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme, which was launched in June 2015. It will last for three and a half years, until the end of 2018.
The TIMON project brings together 11 organisations from around Europe, all of which have experience in different fields of transport and are able to approach the project from different perspectives. This has helped to create a strong consortium, where the knowledge of each organisation compliments the experience of the others. The partners in the TIMON project are:
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Universidad de Deusto (Coordinator; Spain)
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Fraunhofer-ESK (Germany)
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Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya – CTTC (Spain)
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Intecs (Italy)
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The Sensible Code Company (United Kingdom)
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Geox (Hungary)
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XLAB (Slovenia)
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ISKRA Sistemi (Slovenia)
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JP LPT (Slovenia)
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CORTE (Belgium)
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TASS International Mobility Center (Netherlands)
A large majority of European citizens live in urban environments. They live their daily lives in the same space, and for their mobility share the same infrastructure. The increasing world vehicle pool has made cities the principal source of CO2 emissions. This is despite the recent measures to tackle congestion by promoting car-sharing practices and the use of public transport. The European Union has also acknowledged this challenge and has been actively working to reduce road casualties and fatalities, as well as the level of greenhouse gas emissions from transport activities.
The TIMON project partners believe that the persisting problems related to congestion, traffic safety and environmental challenges could be solved, if people, vehicles, infrastructure and businesses were connected into a cooperative ecosystem. The creation of such an ecosystem is one of the key objectives of the TIMON project. This ecosystem will rely on cooperative networks and open data, and will help increase the overall safety, sustainability, flexibility and efficiency of road transport systems.
TIMON aims to deliver a framework of services to all users of the transport ecosystem – drivers, vulnerable road users, and businesses. The TIMON services will be structured in five key areas:
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Driver assistance services
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Services for vulnerable road users
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Multimodal dynamic commuter service
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Enhanced real time traffic API
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TIMON collaborative ecosystem
The TIMON project will start by identifying and analysing user needs and requirements. Subsequently, relevant data sources will be defined and a system for data harmonisation will be designed. With this knowledge, TIMON project partners will seek to develop the technology necessary for the deployment of the TIMON services. Finally, an open platform will be designed and the TIMON services will be implemented.
The project also foresees two practical test pilots in real environments, one to be carried out in a testbed site in Helmond (the Netherlands), focused on validating the technical performance of the system. The second pilot will take place in the city of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and will aim to test the TIMON services with real end-users.
