C2A

Project Goals

The transport and logistics sector in the border region between the Champagne-Ardenne and Wallonia, although highly developed, faces tough international competition implying major investments and resulting in very narrow profit margins. In order to improve their profitability and optimize their processes, companies are increasingly adopting Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Hence, various embedded communicating equipments are becoming more and more numerous inside transport vehicles. Apart from mandatory devices such as the digital tachograph, different other equipments are available such as radio communication systems (GSM / GPRS), localisation devices (GPS), and a variety of miscellaneous tools and equipments for specific needs (data loggers, PC tablet, cameras, mobile phones, On-board computers, etc.).

However, in practice there is a sub optimal and reduced exploitation of theses technologies due to selective and closed hardware and software interfaces. Usually equipments have very limited communication and resource sharing with each others. This results in features redundancy, services duplication, and sub-utilization of deployed hardware and software resources.

To address this problem and allowing rationalization and optimization of investments, C2A project aims to develop a generic technology for interoperability ("intelligent communicating bus") allowing communication and resource sharing between embedded devices in the vehicle.

C2A concept

The project is structured around two main actions:

• A Research and Development action (R & D) with a technical objective consisting of design, development and implementation of a prototype for an innovative embedded system (hardware and software) allowing connection and automatic recognition of a wide range of embedded peripheral devices. In this way, any device wishing to communicate and/or exchange data will use this communication bus almost seamlessly.
• A dissemination and communication action which objective is to implement a structured and interactive platform involving both ICT services companies as well as transport and logistics operators. This platform aims to allow better needs addressing, and to offer effective services and relevant information about the concerned technologies.

CETIC’s role

CETIC is mainly involved in the R&D action of the project. It addresses the development of an advanced embedded system in transport vehicles having a flexible architecture that allow efficient data handling from a wide range of devices, sensors and communication interfaces. The work includes:

• A State of the Art on available technologies and research projects related to C2A
• Establishment of functional and non-functional specifications
• Definition of relevant implementation scenarios
• Definition and design of a flexible, open and upgradable architecture
• Prototype development and validation

This action is being implemented jointly with the partner CReSTIC. CETIC already has good experience in developing embedded systems for transport applications that it will improve and develop through this project. Besides, CETIC will build its efforts on its expertise of rapid embedded systems prototyping and implementation of wireless communications.

Added Value for Companies

The added value of the project includes the establishment and development of a platform for technological innovation in ICT offering enhanced services to companies active in the field of transport and the logistics in the border region. Indeed, the platform will significantly increase the collaboration between research teams and these companies around the France-Wallonia border. The technology transfer from research centres would be implemented by the specialized ICT services companies, some of which are already partners of the project.

In addition, the R&D action output of the project is a technological innovation which will enable optimized use of existing resources. This enables streamlining investments in equipments, reducing costs and improving competitiveness for companies deploying the solution. The ICT companies can develop new features and services based on C2A system through access and cross-processing of an extended data set. Companies and operators of transport and logistics field can deploy these new services and benefit from their added value.

Project Partners

Factsheet