The Port of Rotterdam will form the background for Experience Week Connected Transport in early October. During this week, 250 test journeys will take place on various routes involving trucks equipped with connected technology driving in convoy. The Rotterdam/Maasvlakte region will be central on 2, 4 and 5 October and a demo will take place at the ECT Delta Terminal gate.
A smart solution such as connected transport can help ensure that logistics processes in the harbour run even more smoothly in the future. In connected transport, multiple trucks drive in a group. They are scheduled as a unit and drive at a good and safe distance from each other. The trucks are equipped with Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), a system that maintains a constant speed and reduces speed automatically if a vehicle in front slows down. Each truck is also equipped with systems that can guide the entire convoy safely across intersections. Smart Traffic Control Systems (TCSs) at intersections detect the convey at an early stage, after which the convoy is shown the green light for longer, or is even given priority above other traffic. This link between traffic management and logistics will be tested for the first time during Experience Week. Smart traffic lights form part of Talking Traffic and are currently being introduced on a national scale. Ultimately, the aim of this driving method is to make the logistics sector more efficient, safe and sustainable.
More cargo
Experience Week Connected Transport is a Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management initiative to work together with the sector to introduce connected transport in logistics practice. The week is a continuation of the previous Truck Platooning Challenge that took place in April 2016. At that time the trucks drove without cargo, but this time the trucks will be carrying eight containers on real routes that cross the Amsterdam-Antwerp and Rotterdam-Ruhr Region corridors. 250 routes will be covered spread over five days from six locations (Helmond, Tilburg, Rotterdam/Maasvlakte, Moerdijk, Roosendaal, Aalsmeer).
Showcase
In the first week of October the truck convoys will call at Rotterdam three times. On 2 October there will be a showcase on Maasvlakte with demos given by the Rotterdam container sector. The demos will, for example, demonstrate communications using new intelligent traffic control systems (TCSs), tyre pressure checks and driving in convoy from the ECT Delta Terminal Gate. A connected transport event will take place on Thursday, 4 October as part of Innovation Expo 2018, which is taking place in Rotterdam that day. On the final day of Experience Week – 5 October – the results obtained from the test week will be presented on Maasvlakte by ECT Euromax.
