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CTAG signs with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism a collaboration protocol for the future Spanish Network of Laboratories for Autonomous and Connected Vehicles


 Posted on by juan.silva@ctag.com

CTAG and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism (MINCOTUR) sign a collaboration protocol with the aim of formalising the launch of a laboratory network and a testing and research centre to develop technologies related to autonomous and connected vehicles.

Different vehicle and component manufacturing companies will have the opportunity to validate, test and pre-homologate new products and R&D activities before introducing them into the market.

CTAG will be able to share its experience in this field, to which it has been committed since 2005 with a strategic line of R&D&I in development and validation of autonomous and connected vehicles, as well as help to “Position Spain as the European testing and validation reference ground for the connected vehicle, and become a benchmark in the new industrial model associated with the design and manufacture of connected, autonomous and sustainable vehicles, with the attraction of investments and new projects for companies in the sector” as our managing director, Luis Moreno, highlighted yesterday.

Furthermore, Reyes Maroto explained that “Spain wants to play a leading role in the design and development of autonomous and connected vehicles and this protocol is committed to a public-private collaboration model to promote connected, autonomous, sustainable and safe mobility”.

We’re taking the SHUTTLE to Seville to participate in the XXIII Spanish and V Ibero-American ITS Congress


 Posted on by juan.silva@ctag.com

Next 28th, 29th and 30th March, the ITS Congress (Intelligent Transport Systems) will be held in Seville, this year focusing on the “Deployment of ITS for sustainable mobility”.

CTAG will be attending as a speaker with our Electronics and Intelligent Transport Systems Director, Francisco Sánchez Pons, in the context of Cooperative Systems and with the topic “Current global trends in autonomous and connected driving”.

During this exhibition, he will present our 100% electric, connected and autonomous SHUTTLE, a sustainable mobility solution that can cover both short and long distance transfers.

In addition, on the last day of the event, the annual ITS 2023 Sector Awards will be presented to organisations, projects and individuals. Within the latter group, one of the award winners will be our colleague Ana Paul, Director of Technological Innovation at CTAG. Congratulations!
More information about the event on the ITS Spain website.

CTAG will be present at EMOBILITY EXPO & WORLD CONGRESS 2023 VALENCIA


 Posted on by juan.silva@ctag.com

EMobility Expo World Congress 2023 arrives in Valencia on 21 March to host more than 5,000 experts in sustainable, connected and autonomous mobility.

During the 3-day event, CTAG will be present together with more than 170 international and specialised mobility companies. They will showcase their latest innovations and technological solutions to face the challenge of making cities and society more environmentally sustainable.

CTAG will be participating as an exhibitor at the event from stand B224, where we will be showing our latest solutions for the mobility of the future. In addition, we will participate with two speakers during the first two days of the event:

– 21 March – Alberto Tielas, head of the Materials and Interior Systems Department at CTAG, coordinates activities related to the launch of new vehicle models and the integration of innovations for the mobility sector.
– 22 March – Jorge Varela, expert in electric vehicles and batteries at CTAG.

If you are interested in arranging a meeting with our speakers, you can do so by sending an email to : sales@ctag.com

More information about the event at https://www.emobilityworldcongress.com/

SALIENT project kicks off


 Posted on by juan.silva@ctag.com

Reunión proyecto SALIENTCTAG has announced the launch of the EU-funded Research and Innovation Action (RIA) SALIENT (Novel Concepts for Safer, Lighter, Circular and Smarter Vehicle Structure Design for Enhanced Crashworthiness and Higher Compatibility).

This EU-funded initiative seeks to develop novel, lightweight vehicle structures that are safer, circular and lighter. The project contributes to a new generation of front-end structures (FES) which automatically detect & accommodate to different crash scenarios.

SALIENT is led by the Automotive Technology Centre of Galicia (CTAG, Spain) as general coordinator and the University of Northumbria at Newcastle (United Kingdom) as scientific coordinator. The 36-month project will run from September 2022 until August 2025 and focus on proposing and validating light-weight vehicle designs with a safer and more sustainable lifespan and a more adaptive FES design. SALIENT regroups 12 consortium partners across 7 countries (Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Estonia and the United Kingdom).

For more information, please check the press release of the project and the website http://salient-project.eu/

Unión Europea
Funded by the European Union

CTAG leads the first public demonstration of autonomous driving supported by 5G technology on the border between Spain and Portugal


 Posted on by juan.silva@ctag.com

These tests have been carried out within the framework of the 5G-MOBIX European project, focused on 5G technology for advanced Connected and Automated Mobility. The demonstrations carried out reveal the impact of the solutions tested in various scenarios of a dynamic border route characterized by the low latency and the service continuity enabled by the 5G network.

At the Tui-Valença international bridge, with the 100% electric autonomous shuttle developed by CTAG, two main use cases were presented: speed adaptation, where the autonomous shuttle slows down or stops to avoid a pedestrian thanks to the information provided by the infrastructure and the 5G network; and remote driving in a critical situation, where the vehicle relinquishes control to an operator to drive remotely from the control centre.

CTAG’s tracks also hosted live tests within the framework of the 5G-MOBIX project. Specifically, tests were carried out where an autonomous vehicle, in transit alongside non-connected vehicles, receives, through 5G, information on the position of the vehicles in the main lanes (for example, on a motorway), predicts their trajectories and adapts the speed for a safe merging manoeuvre.

Other tests focused on updating maps in real time: when the autonomous vehicle receives information from the traffic management centre about road works; the vehicle onboard unit receives the information, compares it with its own map, and concludes that its internal map is out of date. At that moment, it prompts the driver to take control and begins to record the information captured by the sensors. Once the vehicle has cleared the road works, it continues its way, in autonomous mode, and the on-board unit sends the data recorded by the sensors, via 5G, to the ITS Centre, which processes everything and generates a new map in HD. This new map is sent by the 5G network to nearby vehicles so that they can clear the road works autonomously.

Nearly one hundred technicians and representatives of the different project partners attended the presentation of the results of the 5G-M project and the live tests.

For more information, please check the press release of the event.

CTAG promotes digital innovation in SMEs


 Posted on by juan.silva@ctag.com

I4MSCTAG continues to support SMEs and is now a Contact Point of I4MS (ICT Innovation for Manufacturing SMEs), the initiative promoted by the European Commission to foster digital innovation of manufacturing SMEs in Europe in order to boost their competitiveness in the digital era.

Our aim is to respond to the needs of SMEs in a way that maximises their capabilities and boosts their developments/products/processes/services. CTAG wants to contribute to the adaptation of European SMEs to the current challenges of digital transformation by promoting cooperation, informing about the latest market trends and facilitating access to funding opportunities.

CTAG, through its OPEN PILOT BOOSTER LAB, promotes and validates new projects to reach the market in the shortest possible time, offering technical advice with more than 100 professionals working in the area of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Big data Digital Twin, advanced processes, etc.

logo I4MS

CTAG shows its latest advances in C-V2X technologies together with the key players in the sector


 Posted on by juan.silva@ctag.com

C-V2X PlugtestsThe demonstration took place during the C-V2X Plugtests™, an event organized by the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and the European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI) in Germany.

This event, held from March 28th to April 1st, brought together organisations, institutions and key companies in the C-V2X ecosystem for the certification and development of these technologies in the automotive industry.

The C-V2X Plugtests™ also included a workshop to discuss the future of C-V2X systems in the automotive sector, as an introduction to the demonstrations carried out by CTAG, Vodafone, Commsignia and Allbesmart.

CTAG’s demonstration highlighted its latest advances in the field of interoperability with 5G technology, a crucial technology for the development of intelligent transport systems. For the development of the scenarios, CTAG installed its communications unit (HMCU) both in the infrastructure (RSU) and in the vehicle (OBU). The use cases shown included Traffic Jams Warning, Road Works Warning, Hazard On The Road Warning, Time To Green and In-Vehicle Signage.

The objective of these tests has been to assess the level of interoperability and validate the understanding of the standards, concluding with a high success rate shown by a very positive level of interoperability between the many providers.

More information about C-V2X Plugtests™ at  https://5gaa.org/news/5gaa-partnered-with-etsi-and-dekra-to-showcase-c-v2x-interoperability-and-discuss-deployment-during-the-plugtests-at-the-dekra-automobil-test-center-in-klettwitz-germany/

CTAG performs autonomous driving tests on the International Bridge that connects Spain with Portugal


 Posted on by juan.silva@ctag.com

Autonomous driving tests have begun on the A55 International Bridge that connects Spain with Portugal, which also belongs to the SISCOGA4CCAM corridor. This Spain-Portugal cross-border corridor connects the cities of Vigo and Porto and covers the entire value chain, including car manufacturers, telecommunications companies, public administrations and research institutions.

The tests will be carried out within the framework of the 5GMOBIX project during the months of March, April and May. The main objective of 5G-MOBIX is to lay the foundation for the deployment of 5G CCAM services and applications and to give a big boost in both countries towards the development of opportunities around 5G in the ITS sector. Furthermore, this cross-border corridor will explore the challenges of seamless interoperability between different countries and between different types of operators (public and private). The aim of this project is to develop a global 5G architecture that offers highly robust and low latency connectivity services for safety applications, provide high precision 5G positioning solutions, demonstrate and validate the concepts developed, and quantify the benefits of this technology in terms of driving.

These tests are carried out with the support of the competent traffic management authorities, such as the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), Infraestructuras de Portugal, S.A., the Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes, and the Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana, who authorize and facilitate the management of road closures necessary for the execution of tests with 5G technology in the safest possible way.

The tests being performed include various autonomous driving use cases in urban and interurban environments. Among these use cases the Overtaking, Lane Merge and HD Maps manoeuvres stand out, carried out with autonomous and connected vehicles capable of integrating 5G technology to increase the response capacity in manoeuvres.

For more information and a complete list of the partners that make up the consortium within the 5GMOBIX initiative, please visit the website: https://5g-mobix.com/consortium.

CTAG participates in AUTOPESCA, a research project for the automation of fishing processes


 Posted on by juan.silva@ctag.com

CTAG + ORPAGUCTAG, together with the Organización de Palangreros Guardeses (OR.PA.GU), has received funding from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for the development of the AUTOPESCA project.

The big challenge in the primary sector, to which fishing belongs, is that complete automation requires uniformity in the product. As no two fish are the same, it is very difficult to fully automate, so in the end the human factor has to be involved, which limits access to these jobs to people with certain physical conditions, capable of making great physical efforts.

The solution proposed by this project includes, among other technological advances, the evaluation by CTAG of the use of exoskeletons for the activities carried out on board fishing vessels, with the aim of reducing the physical burden on workers and avoiding musculoskeletal injuries.

The AUTOPESCA project is a project subsidised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food within the framework of Royal Decree 685/2021, of 3 August, which establishes the regulatory bases for subsidies to groups of entities that carry out investment and reform projects in research for technological development, innovation and the balance of the marketing chain in the fisheries and aquaculture sector within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, opened for 2021.

 

Funding:

ORPAGU: 313.255,26 €

CTAG: 239.577,77 €

CTAG will become part of SHYNE, the largest consortium to promote renewable hydrogen in Spain


 Posted on by juan.silva@ctag.com

The SHYNE (Spanish Hydrogen Network) project is the largest multisectoral consortium in Spain, created to promote the decarbonization of the economy through renewable hydrogen. It will deploy projects in ten autonomous communities and it have a total investment of €3.23 billion euros that will serve to develop more competitive technologies and evolve both the Spanish industry and its infrastructure towards decarbonization, generating more than 13,000 jobs.

For CTAG, this initiative reaffirms its development, research and technological innovation strategy around new environmentally sustainable propulsion systems, while consolidating the  collaborative approach of the Centre with a new alliance with world renowned organisations.

Repsol leads the consortium, while six other companies, each a benchmark in its sector – Alsa, Bosch, Celsa, Enagás, Scania, and Talgo – act as promoters of the initiative. The remaining 26 partners, including CTAG, are associations, public and private companies, technology centres, and universities which will assume the role of project collaborators.

Among the objectives of the consortium, the ambition to reach an installed capacity of 500 MW in 2025 and 2 GW in 2030 stands out, which represents half of the target set in the Hydrogen Roadmap published by the Spanish Government. In addition, projects will be promoted throughout the value chain, including installing renewable generation and stimulating the different industrial uses of hydrogen through a strong sectoral integration. The use of hydrogen in all transportation segments will also be promoted through the production of synthetic fuels and the creation of an infrastructure with at least 12 hydrogen filling stations by 2025.

SHYNE aspires to be a benchmark project in Europe, structuring new opportunities throughout the value chain, through collaboration between companies that pursue a common goal,  decarbonizing their activity, and join efforts and investments to achieve it.