The LIFT Future Aerospace Centre has started its operation in Finland at the beginning of September. LIFT will bring together actors from the private, public and R&D sectors to create new aviation innovations in response to the growing demand.

At this point, the partners joining the innovation cluster with the host organisation Redstone AERO Oy include VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk) and the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute FGI. The cooperation is aimed at strengthening research, development and innovation collaboration (RDI) in future aviation, while supporting the emergence of new business within the field in Finland.

Redstone AERO has built a future aerospace research centre at the Helsinki-East Aerodrome, which will provide the facilities for the RDI needs. This will contribute building a strong innovation ecosystem together with relevant partners.

The innovation cluster for future aviation brings together the industry professionals

The new research centre celebrated its opening on 1 September at the Tech Runway event, which was held in Pyhtää for the third time. The Tech Runway conference and expo brought together altogether 300 aviation professionals. In addition to the LIFT members, this year the other key partners of the event were the Association of Finnish Defence and Aerospace Industries – AFDA and Saab. There were also plenty of people representing the authorities and government, such as the police, the Finnish Defence Forces and the Finnish Border Guard, to discuss the changed security situation in Europe.

“VTT sees the role of unmanned aviation growing rapidly worldwide. Finland must seize these revolutionary opportunities and aim for a pioneering role. At the now established LIFT Research Centre, VTT’s RDI focus areas include urban air mobility, the development of airspace management for unmanned aviation, drone swarms and the increased autonomy of the solutions,” says Hannu Karvonen, Senior Scientist at VTT.

VTT advances the same themes in the EU’s SESAR 3 joint undertaking. The LIFT cluster is planned to function as a home base for bringing together Finnish actors in the industry for EU-level networks and development projects.

Rapid increase in the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS)

This year, unmanned aviation has been in the public eye particularly because such equipment has been used by authorities and for defence purposes. Future developments in the industry will be very interesting in this respect, and LIFT welcomes various actors to join the co-creation efforts.

“The use of UAS in civil solutions and applications for authorities has grown rapidly. However, increasing the use on a large scale will not be possible before the operations of unmanned aviation can be safely integrated with traditional manned aviation. Finland has excellent opportunities and competence to join the development of this future industry,” says Tomi Oravasaari, a professional pilot and pioneer in drone research, who acts as the Director of the RDI unit of NELI (North European Logistics Institute) at Xamk.

“The LIFT Future Aerospace Centre will further strengthen the sector and RDI, as the aerodrome environment is transforming into an excellent testbed, providing an improved framework for the activities,” Oravasaari says. “The LIFT network cooperation and the aerodrome environment provide excellent support for Xamk’s applied research, which develops methods for coordinating current manned aviation and drone flight operations in a safety-oriented manner and creates practical solutions for long-distance drone flights between various airports. This paves the way for the emergence of commercial solutions for drone logistics, among other things,” adds Oravasaari.

The aviation sector is currently undergoing a major transformation. New technologies, the coronavirus epidemic and international sanctions have had an extensive impact on the whole sector in recent years. There are hundreds of organisations involved in aviation in Finland. However, the broad scope of the sector is not generally known.

“One of the key competence areas of the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI) is spatial data research related to drones, which plays a key role in the development of autonomous and low-emission aviation applications of the future. In research, we are developing more efficient, accurate and reliable methods for both localisation and navigation of drones and data analysis than we have today,” says Research Professor Eija Honkavaara from the FGI. The National Land Survey of Finland also carries out significant mapping, aerial photography and laser scanning activities, with both its own equipment and through commissioning the data acquisition from consultants. Each year, a total of ten different aircraft are used for collecting the National Land Survey’s mapping data. “The LIFT Research Centre will now open up unprecedented opportunities for RDI activities in the field,” says Honkavaara.

The role of Helsinki-East Aerodrome is growing

The Helsinki-East Aerodrome area is developing into not only the second airport in Helsinki and the Southern Finland region but also a prototype for efficiently operating a new kind of an aerodrome. “Future air traffic and on-demand transport services will need a much denser airport network than we have today. At LIFT, we are developing a concept that allows airports to be planned, built, licensed and operated more efficiently than before. We call the new model by the name digital airport,” says Esa Korjula, Chairman of the Board of Redstone AERO, the company operating the Helsinki-East Aerodrome.

Article is originally published on VTT news.

Image:  VTT

Further information:

Hannu Karvonen, Senior Scientist, Project Manager and Ecosystem Lead for Autonomous Systems, VTT, +358 400 216 396, firstname.lastname@vtt.fi

Tomi Oravasaari, Director of the RDI Unit, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk), +358 44 702 8289, firstname.lastname@xamk.fi

Eija Honkavaara, Research Professor, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute FGI, + 358 29 531 4716, firstname.lastname@nls.fi

Esa Korjula, Chairman of the Board, Redstone AERO Oy, + 358 40 041 4115, firstname.lastname@redstone.aero

 

JET Charge will supply 42 Kempower C-Stations along the new EV highway in Western Australia. Stretching for more than 5,300 kilometers, the project is one of the world’s longest single EV infrastructure projects. Once the EV highway is completed, drivers will be able to access 98 EV chargers spread across 49 locations, at no more than 200km apart.

The EV highway is part of the McGowan Government’s AU$21 million Electric Vehicle Fund and delivers on the State Electric Vehicle Action Plan for Western Australia. The State Government is delivering the highway through its’ energy utilities Synergy and Horizon Power. Stretching from Kununurra in the north to Albany in the south and Eucla in the east, the project will see a range of EV chargers installed at locations across Western Australia, including metropolitan and regional sites, as well as into the outback.

Read the original news published on kempower.com to learn why JET Charge chose Kempower as their partner.

Finnish smart ticketing forerunner PayiQ and Ukrainian software company Symbol Transport, a leading provider of automated fare collection systems, have signed a partnership agreement in early August 2022.

Collaboration framework will involve the launch of PayiQ’s virtual travel card in Ukraine as a part of a closed loop system. Virtual transport card is a cutting-edge technology product which will fill the market demand for an easy payment method on the go. It is a compelling alternative to plastic transport cards used traditionally in closed loop systems.

Symbol Transport for their part have an open loop EMV solution that allows contactless credit or debit card payments. The companies’ solutions will complement each other, offering both open and closed loop system for any international mass transit project that require bank card payments.

Read the original news from pay.net and learn how the new initiative takes steps towards digitalised and modern public transport.

Finnish self-driving technology pioneer Sensible 4 releases their first autonomous driving software platform product – DAWN™. The technology, enabling autonomous driving in all weather, without the need for lane markings, is underpinned by decades of experience and expertise in the field of outdoor robotics. The company, headquartered in Finland, has also increased its A-round funding. To date, Sensible 4 has raised a total of €16.7M.

DAWN™ is SAE level 4 autonomous driving software platform that provides three solutions in one; it enables last mile transport of goods and people in the form of autonomous industrial transport, delivery vehicles, and shuttle buses. DAWN™ has been developed on the back of extensive expertise and experience in the field to meet automotive safety and quality best practices.

A vehicle with SAE Level 4 automation software and sensor stack is able to drive without human assistance in limited conditions, and it can be remotely operated. The DAWN™ autonomous driving software platform is system agnostic, ensuring its suitability for different vehicle types, with different sensor configurations. One of the key features of DAWN™ is the Remote Operations, enabling a human remote operator to supervise and control the vehicle remotely from the control centre. A single remote operator is able to operate multiple vehicles, thus providing an efficient operation for commercial use.

“DAWN™ is now ready to be used by OEMs as part of their production line planning. This means we can actively start addressing the transport challenges of today, such as driver shortage, whilst providing a sustainable solution that will help the planet in the future,” comments Harri Santamala, CEO of Sensible 4

Currently DAWN™ is being used in Bodø, Norway where Sensible 4 is carrying out the world’s first long-term autonomous driving service North of the Arctic Circle.

Metaplanet VC – New Investment With Remarkable Track Record

Sensible 4 has continued to increase its funding – taking the total to €16.7M. The latest funding, saw the introduction of a new investor Metaplanet VC, was co-led by Japanese NordicNinja VC and further complemented by family offices and employees. Metaplanet VC, owned by Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn, is an early-stage investment firm that provides capital to deep tech startup founders. Metaplanet back mission-driven founders working on positively disruptive deep technologies.

Read the full article and learn more about Sensible 4’s newest developments on sensible4.fi.

The internationally unique “Lyyli Living Lab” environment is being built for the Tampere Tramway system. It will allow various parties to cooperate on the experiment-driven development of urban mobility solutions in a real operating environment.

The purpose of the “Lyyli Living Lab” project is to create a development, experiment, testing and marketing environment and the related services. This will make it possible to develop urban mobility solutions and obtain references in a real operating environment: the Tampere Tramway system, the Tramway Mock-up, and the very first Lyyli tram car.

Tampere Tramway Ltd is the host organisation for the project, which is scheduled to last for 4–6 years.

“One of the key goals of the project is to offer passengers new services and innovations to improve the travel experience and in addition to perform technology trials in a test car that operates in normal traffic. We’re excited to be able to use our Lyyli tram car in such a unique project – the first of its kind once again”, says Ali Huttunen, Head of Rolling Stock at Tampere Tramway Ltd.

“Lyyli Living Lab” has been operating since the beginning of 2022 in small-scale trials, and the first larger trial began at the end of April. Construction of the project environment is already in progress, with Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) taking responsibility for the technology and digital tools.

“We expect this globally unique co-development environment to meet the needs of companies, the city, its residents and research organisations, attract wide-ranging international interest, and create a concrete platform for various forms of cooperation”, states Olli Pihlajamaa, Senior Scientist at VTT.

The project is being implemented in cooperation with the City of Tampere, Business Tampere, Skoda, and the University of Tampere. The first example of experiment-driven development is an environmental observation system developed by Skoda Group and GIM Robotics, which will reduce the life cycle costs of a tram car and improve traffic safety.

“The test platform has been very beneficial for us, because it provides an easy way to test the first prototypes in real traffic. This significantly speeds up development and testing work”, explain Tommi Tikkanen from GIM Robotics and Kai Hermonen from Skoda Group.

“Lyyli Living Lab” supports the City of Tampere’s goal of building a sustainable and smart Tampere region in which housing, living and travel are carbon neutral and services function digitally, smoothly and in a user-oriented manner.

“During recent years, the City of Tampere has invested strongly in smart city development, ecosystems and open development platforms. Co-development plays a very important role in creating new innovations and ensuring the region’s vitality. An attractive city offers its residents quality services, a pleasant environment and a smooth everyday life with convenient transport. This project will accelerate and ensure the achievement of these goals”, explains Markku Niemi, Director of the Smart City programme at Business Tampere.

The project already has nearly 20 committed partners at this time. All interested Finnish and international actors can participate in the project by sending an application to Tampere Tramway Ltd and approving the annual membership fee corresponding to their selected commitment period. More information about the project is available at Lyyli’s webpage.

Article is originally published on Tampere Tramway’s webpage.

Picture: Visit Tampere, photographer Laura Vanzo

With productivity, environmental, and economic pressures mounting, ports around the world are turning to the Internet of Things (IoT), advanced analytics and machine learning to boost operational efficiencies. Working together to mesh edge,AI and 5G technologies, Finnish forerunner of digitalized maritime and port operations Awake.AI and Intel are leading port operations to the computer vision era. The solution uses machine-learning models to detect objects in the port yard using sensors installed in the port area and automatically provide real-time awareness of utilization rates and cargo flows.

Global supply chains and their importance for the world’s economy have been frequently debated in the wake of the Covid pandemic. The organization of the flow of cargo has been a great challenge since ancient times. With the enormous values being shipped daily, there is great potential in improvements that can be made to make the process more efficient. Awake.AI and Intel are now enabling ports around the world to take the next step in digitalization. Potential benefits from using the platform include but are not limited to a better use of existing capacity, reduced port area emissions, accurate real-time prediction of arrivalsand departures, optimized port calls driven by AI and computer-vision insights, real-time information sharing, and time and cost savings.

For example, Lidar sensor data, often combined with other sources of data, can be used tooptimize the arrival and departure of landside traffic. Sensors can detect congestion, enablingre-routing port gate and inner area traffic, says Karno Tenovuo, CEO of Awake.AI.

With a powerful, scalable data-intensive platform capable of processing tens of millions of events per day, integration to port systems, shipping line systems along with APIs, web, and mobile tools that support both automated and manual cargo flow events Awake.AI can deliverfull end-to-end visibility through a cargo flow control center.

Using powerful computer vision technologies from Intel, including intelligent edge and cloud instances powered by Intel® Xeon® processors and optional vision accelerators that can benefit from the use of the Intel® Distribution of OpenVINO™ Toolkit, port operators can receive warnings of disruptions from expected normal operations along the cargo flow.

“Smart Port as a Service and our cooperation with Awake.AI have great potential to revolutionize trade and to make it more sustainable,” said Maurits Tichelman, Intel Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We can help transportation providers turn data into insights to achieve fast, efficient and informed use of transportation resources.”

The collaboration between Awake.AI and Intel has resulted in an AI-driven solution with great potential for the next step in digitalization of global transportation. With Smart Port as a Service™, ports have a well-defined path toward the future, Karno Tenovuo, CEO of Awake.AI concludes.

Read the original article and download entire brief on Awake.AI’s web page.

Japanese automotive industry gets a new operator as the Finnish self-driving company opens an office in Tokyo. Sensible 4’s autonomous driving technology is known for its ability to work in challenging weather conditions. Also, Sensible 4’s autonomous shuttle bus designed by MUJI does piloting in Chiba, Japan.

As part of the internalisation strategy, Finnish autonomous driving technology company Sensible 4 has expanded to Japan. The company is known for its self-driving software that enables driving in challenging weather conditions, like snowfall or fog. The company sees that autonomous driving technology can bring a solution for Japan’s prevalent challenges of an ageing population and driver shortage. Japan is a forerunner in adopting new technology and it’s also one of the first countries in the world to have regulations in place for self-driving vehicles, which makes it a very attractive new market for the company.

“We see Japan as a strategic market where we can help with our autonomous software in not only public transport, but logistics and industrial sites. We also are already working with multiple Japanese customers, so it is important that we have the team ready to support when needed“, explains Harri Santamala, CEO of Sensible 4. He continues: “Also, the self-driving software is developed and tested in Finland in comparable weather conditions as Japan.”

Sensible 4 has secured financing of 17 million euros, of which a major part is from Japanese investors. Japan has been an important market for Sensible 4 since the beginning and a representative has been working in Tokyo for years – starting a business there is a natural next step.

“We also have an exciting ongoing partnership with a Japanese OEM, that unfortunately we cannot disclose now, but there will be a public announcement later this year”, Santamala comments on the future plans.

Read the original article on Sensible 4’s page to learn more about the pilots with MUJI Designed Self-Driving Shuttle Bus.

The role of drones is growing rapidly in various industries, including inspection, surveillance and time-critical transport. Fast, long-flying and cost-effective drones can cope with challenging environments. Technological developments and active research open up new avenues for them.

Automatic drones are rapidly becoming part of transport systems in various industries. They have great potential, for example, in construction and aerial surveillance or as part of industry site security solutions. Drones also play an increasing role in critical deliveries, such as the transport of blood and laboratory samples and even that of organs.

– These solutions are utilised, for example, in Ghana and Rwanda, where road infrastructure is deficient. There, drones can facilitate transportation to remote areas. For example, coronary vaccines have been delivered in packages dropped by parachutes. Even in Finland, medicine and defibrillator transports have been tried. Urgently needed spare parts are an example of activities carried outside medicine, says Hannu Karvonen, Senior Scientist at VTT.

Read an article published by VTT, and learn how the leading Finnish research institution develops a roadmap for their futuristic vision for 2026.

Interested to learn more about Finnish drone development and players? Read the blog post published on Future Mobility Finland about Hottest Finnish Drone Startups and check the companies out!

Thirteen Finnish companies had the opportunity to get to know the industrial centers of northern Italy in Turin and Milan during Team Finland’s trade mission trip in May. The trip was organized parallelly with the Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Ville Skinnari’s, visit to Italy.

Finland has gained top notch expertise in the fields of green transition and intelligent transportation, as well as in the digital sector, including 5G / 6G technologies and cyber security. Northern Italy, on the other hand, is known for its automotive industry, and the mission gave Finnish companies the opportunity to present their know-how to important European companies.

“We had noticed that investments of tens of billions of euros are underway in Italy related to the electrification of transportation and the use of artificial intelligence in mobility. We wanted to meet this demand by inviting companies that were experts in these fields. The process of internationalization of these companies was also at the stage where they were potentially ready to enter the Italian market. In northern Italy, and especially in Turin, there is a strong interest in investing in solutions of intelligent transportation and digitalization both on the private and public sector,” says Hanna Laurén, a Senior Specialist in Foreign Trade at the Finnish Embassy in Rome.

Altogether 13 companies from the Finnish mobility industry participated in the trade mission: Aalto University, Akkurate, Basemark, Elisa IndustrIQ, Fortum, JOT Automation, Nanoksi Finland Oy, Solita, Stora Enso, TactoTEK, Ultra Design & Strategy, Vaisala, and WithSecure.

Safe and efficient solutions for future mobility

According to the experts, in the future assisted and autonomous driving will require new safety solutions. This requires modern software services as well as new capabilities for shuffling data, AI, and machine learning – in all of which Finnish know-how is top of the world.

In the publication of Embassy of Finland, Rome, Finnish mobility technology forerunners Vaisala, Solita, Basemark and Nanoksi Finland tell their stories about enabling safer and smoother mobility through data and automation. Go check them out!