Link: https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/stevenwarner1962/summary

Welcome to Steven Warner, the new Business Development Manager for innovITS Advance.

Steve has more than 10 years experience in telematics development and has worked recently for Unipart and Iris Technologies.  He is looking forward to building strong relationships with organisations who wish to utilise one of the world's most advanced test facilities in the industry.

Contact Steve on 07730 922810 or email steve.warner@innovits.com.

New European automatic communication system aimed at reducing emergency services response time to accidents involving eCall equipped vehicles – tests at innovITS ADVANCE have demonstrated this UK facility’s capability to evaluate the performance of products incorporating eCall.

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The Engineer magazine has announced that innovITS ADVANCE is one of just three entries shortlisted for ‘Automotive’ category of the prestigious Technology and Innovation awards 2011.

Now in its fifth year, the awards run by The Engineer, the leading magazine and website for technology and innovation, are this year focused on collaboration, whether between technology- led companies and universities, or between businesses with distinct areas of expertise. The citation for innovITS ADVANCE underscores the manner in which this highly innovative UK facility, that will enable significant advances to be made to improve both the safety and sustainability of future road transportation, has come about through the very effective collaboration between innovITS, the UK centre for excellence in intelligent transport systems, together with MIRA and TRL.

Read the full press release

The summer did bring us some sunshine but not much of a boost in terms of the economy. As we power towards the final part of the year businesses and consumers continue to face an uncertain financial future. Whilst we don't welcome this economic climate and look forward to the first signs of full recovery, we shouldn't ignore the fact that it's a time when eco-driving is needed more than ever. Many people are reviewing their finances and cutting costs where possible, if we can offer them a means to do this and do something good for the environment, there's not much they can argue with.

Young Marmalade specialises in car insurance for younger drivers, aged 17 to 22, who are statistically more likely to cause costly damages and therefore have to pay sky high insurance premiums. The company has introduced a system called Intelligent Marmalade to help young drivers prove their responsibility behind the wheel and qualify for lower premiums. It does this using telematics - a 'black box' is fitted to the vehicle which monitors driving behaviour such as braking, acceleration and the time of day the car is being driven. This data is then used to calculate the insurance premium. If the technology indicates that the car is being driven badly, premiums will be subject to £250 and £500 increases. If the bad driving continues then the policy will be cancelled altogether. Aviva and Norwich Union both introduced similar schemes in 2006 but were scrapped early on because the technology was far more expensive and the take-up wasn't high enough; after all back then insurance for young people didn't cost so much, whereas now this is much more of an issue.

The initiative by Young Marmalade is an interesting example of linking smarter, safer, more efficient driving to something as tangible as insurance premiums. The ideal outcome is that the young people will stick to eco-driving to keep their premiums low and the habits will stay for the long-term. Once trained; it's very easy for people to revert back to their old driving habits once the novelty wears off. Cost is certainly a motivating factor and partnerships with other stakeholders e.g. fuel companies and insurance providers to offer cost benefits to eco-drivers are one of the options. However we shouldn't only focus on money as an incentive as some people are more motivated by competition with friends or family.

Perhaps the trend towards 'dynamic' eco-driving will be the answer to this.However, it is clear that for further progress, efficient and effective validation is needed to ensure the co-operation of the technology and the systems. A role for which innovITS ADVANCE has been specifically designed and developed.

innovITS are pleased to support and will be in attendance at the Telematics Valley 2011 Conference and Exhibition on the 6th & 7th September at the Volvo Conference Hall in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The conference will provide a deep insight into the Chinese Vehicle and Telematics Market.

China, with it's openness to adopt new ideas and innovation has already become a strong driving force in the development of Telematics Services. What can be learned from what is happening in China and just as importantly, what are the Opportunities and Challenges?

The conference will also examine the huge challenges for the Telematics Industry.

This will include how to solve the data and information flow between transport operators and travellers when Deregulating the Public Transport Market in a country, while also expecting a huge increase in commuting by public transport? The traveler will expect a convenient, seamless and reliable service from the combined public transport sector consisting of both the incumbent public operator and new commercial operators.

Understand the challenges and listen to experiences from countries where the de-regulation has been implemented.

The conference closes with a discussion focused on the key Telematics Technology Issues that will influence the development of the Telematics Market; providing an understanding of some of the key prerequisites for delivering Telematics Services in the future.

Further information is available by clicking below:

http://www.telematicsvalley.org/events/telematics-valley-events/telematics-valley-international-conference-2011/overview.aspx