Over 200 experts attended Hypermotion in Frankfurt this week to experience e-scooters for the first time, listen to pitches from exciting start-ups and speak with ministers of transport and CEOs. Once again, communication was the key word over the three days, driving new ideas and partnerships.
“We have to give the right answers in terms of future mobility – and soon,” said Ioana Freise, from WunderMobility, a tech company providing a special analysis tool for cities.
“Cities are in a very strong position because they hold all the cards when it comes to design. We see the same challenges on all continents in which our customers are active. Cities are struggling with congested roads, traffic jams and air pollution, whether it’s Manila, Mumbai or Los Angeles. However, cultural differences also play a role, such as in relation to private car ownership. In the US, people from all socio-economic backgrounds own a car. This made it an obvious place for providers such as Uber or Lyft to start their business.”
Freise added that, in German Germany, car ownership is so deeply rooted in the culture that it will take some time before people are prepared to live without a car completely. But, she says, we are on the right track.
“In cities such as Berlin or Hamburg, you can already see that younger people in particular are increasingly unwilling to own a car,” she says. “Saving time is the luxury of new mobility.”
New technologies make it possible to analyse environmental and traffic data in real time, something that aids the recording, monitoring and optimisation of traffic flows. But the most important issue here is safety. Companies including Siemens Mobility, FLIR, INRIX and PSI Logistics presented innovative ideas and concepts at Hypermotion that could create an intelligent and comprehensive transport system for the future.
Many start ups got involved as well. For example, Swiss firm Dynaroads is trying to reducing traffic jams on roads in Europe through dynamic temporary traffic management. Its fully-automated road management concept for tidal flow systems ensures that traffic flows are optimised.
The safety of road users is also the concern of Israeli company Vayyar Imaging. Its 3D-imaging sensors create a profile of everything in the vicinity in real time. This makes it possible, for example, to monitor the presence, position, behaviour and vital signs of people in the vehicle without a camera. And, because the sensor delivers a 360-degree image, drivers can also use it as a parking aid and blind spot assistant. The chip can even be used in logistics to determine freight capacities when loading trucks and containers and to inspect the condition of freight during transport.
At this year’s German Mobility Congress, the focus was also on mobility in cities. Participants took advantage of the opportunities offered by the exhibition to engage in dialogue with pioneers in the field of logistics and mobility.
“We made the right move when we decided to hold the German Mobility Congress at Hypermotion. It is only by bringing the industry together at a single event that we can create the valuable synergies that benefit everyone involved. As one of Germany’s most important transport hubs, Frankfurt is an outstanding location for these efforts,” says Prof. Knut Ringat, CEO and Spokesperson of the Board of Management of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund.
Many new conferences were held during the week, including the two-day international EXCHAiNGE supply chain summit involving seven sessions and two live pitches. In additional, a panel of experts gave Continental the Supply Chain Management Award, while the Smart Solution Award was given to parcelLab. The finalists included Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services, Magazino, Metrilus, Nokia, Robert Bosch and shipcloud.
Important announcements at Hypermotion included the construction for a new tunnel and a station for high speed trains at Frankfurt Central, one of the biggest railway station in Europe, which will start in the beginning of next year. The platform will be built under the above-ground central station. The reason: Frankfurt Central has no more slots for trains in the near future: a growth of 30% of railway traffic over the next 10 years is expected.
Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt, was extremely satisfied with Hypermotion this year and looks forward to the next event in Dubai.
“The mobility transition is here. Now we have to develop market-ready solutions for the future – and Hypermotion is the ideal platform for these efforts with its central location in the Frankfurt mobility hub,” he says, “For the past three days, countless users and providers have gathered here with a shared goal: to find new business models for tomorrow’s traffic, transport, infrastructure, mobility and logistics.”
Messe Frankfurt will be launching the next Hypermotion event alongside the World Expo 2020. And the story goes on.
To download copyright-free images and videos from Hypermotion, follow the link below.
