The network

ITS Niedersachsen, formerly known as "GZVB – Gesamtzentrum für Verkehr Braunschweig" (Traffic, Transport & Telematics Braunschweig), was explicitly commissioned to serve as a neutral representative of the entire state of Niedersachsen for topics centred mainly around intelligent transport systems and services and working in the national and international arenas. The safety-critical applications in particular and the requirements they make on technology, processes and testing distinguish the competence and core know-how of ITS Niedersachsen.

Main activities

As a centre of competence, ITS Niedersachsen e.V. encourages the networking of its members, mediates contacts, and arranges project-related consortia. The efforts focus on maintaining and intensifying scientific know-how transfer, organising symposia and in-house training, supporting the procurement and realisation of national and European funded projects in the region, and managing public relations to promote and position its members on the market. In connection with identified fields of competence, ITS Niedersachsen e.V. organises national and international symposia with more than 1,000 participants each year, and involves its members in topic-related corporate booths at trade fairs. Furthermore, ITS Niedersachsen e.V. publishes conference proceedings and dissertations. Starting in 2008, ITS Niedersachsen e.V. has become a partner of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for the purpose of publishing reference books in the United States. Additionally, ITS Niedersachsen e.V. offers its members and third parties services ranging from the creation of information material and internet homepages up to marketing concepts. Since 2006, ITS Niedersachsen e.V. has been engaged in promoting young scientists through diverse activities for pupils and students.

The technological focus

As a network of competencies, ITS Niedersachsen encourages its members to engage in networking with each other, mediates contacts and arranges project consortia for specific tasks. Emphasis is placed on maintaining and intensifying the exchange of scientific know-how, organising symposia and training courses, supporting the procurement and realisation of national and European-funded projects in the region and strengthening and positioning the region through public relations. ITS Niedersachsen holds national and international conferences in specific fields with over 1,000 participants each year and involves its members in topic-related stands at international trade fairs.

Highlights

The activities of ITS Niedersachsen contribute to increasing safety, efficiency and environmental compatibility in the traffic and transport sector. The network has comprehensive system competence in aviation, rail and road transport. In the area of safety critical systems, the value added services include certification and concession. Current activities focus on driver assistance and automation systems, power train and energy management, vehicle bodies, motion simulation, information systems for mobile applications, intelligent transport systems and applications for global satellite navigation systems such as GPS, GLONASS and Galileo. Under the name of "GAUSS", ITS Niedersachsen nationally and internationally concentrates the competencies of its members in the area of safety-critical applications and their certification. The Niedersachsen business location has been in a leading position for numerous years, a fact imposingly demonstrated by the first GPS-based landing of an airplane the world over. In this context, the GAUSS application centre has the following objectives:

• active participation in the development of European-level standards with the involvement of our members and
• development of a simulation and testing environment, in cooperation with partners, to be ready for use before Galileo becomes fully operational.

Caroline

With the VW Passat Variant "Caroline", a team from the Technische Universität Braunschweig successfully took part in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge in California, USA, where it was one of the eleven finalists out of a total of 89 entries. The test vehicle is able to navigate autonomously in urban traffic, moving into lanes, mastering junctions and overtaking manoeuvres, steering into parking spaces and detecting blocked roads. For this purpose, it was equipped by the TU Braunschweig and industry partners with the necessary hardware and software to detect its position and spatial environment, navigate and plan routes, make decisions and apply adaptive control.