EIT Digital is a leading European open innovation organisation set up to foster digital innovation and bringing new ICT solutions and talent to market. Its Health and Wellbeing Action Line’s initiative Fit to Perform showcased for the first time its prototype that has to become the ‘tachograph’ of tomorrow at the POST Expo, Paris, last 30 September.
Fit to Perform has the ambition to deliver the tachograph of tomorrow, making professional driving safer, healthier and more efficient. In other words: spur innovation of the automotive value chain.
Representative partners from the automotive value chain work together in Fit to Perform; from telematics providers to vehicle manufacturers, fleet owners and insurers. Partners are amongst others: Astrata Europe, DFKI, FBK, Fiat, Imperial College London, Philips, Telecom Italia, TrentoRise, Technical University Eindhoven, TNO and University College London.
The partners further develop ICT solutions for risk-prone professionals and individuals based on cardio-respiratory and motion sensing to make professional driving a healthier and safer occupation. Jean Gelissen, EIT Digitals Action Line Leader of Health and Wellbeing, says: "An ounce of prevention is worth at least a pound of cure with respect to increased road safety for the society and improved quality of life for the driver. Expectedly these advantages result in an improved profit margin for the transportation sector."
Changing the automotive industry?
Driving is an everyday activity for millions of people around the world. And for many businesses the most important source of income. However a serious challenge facing drivers today is their physical health. Many professional drivers suffer from back pain, obesity, sleep deprivation and stress. This is bad for the health of the driver, bad for business and bad for effective fleet management. Fit to Perform is tackling this problem by providing professional drivers a smart system with vehicle telematics and unobtrusive wearable technology that provides information, insights and personalised coaching.
Fit to Perform simulator resonates successfully @POST Expo
The showing of the simulator happened in a private workshop, back to back with the POST Expo Conference. Surrounded with audience and accompanied by explanatory presentations of the partners, one could plug in and try the simulator. Mark Warner, Managing Director at Astrata Europe says: “Fit to Perform is an innovative step into the future we are making today. We need to focus on improving the health condition and overall wellbeing of the drivers for safer operation for the enterprise as well as for the society. We recognise this project as the milestone in development for transport and logistics industry, which could remarkably change the way we perceive driver’s occupation and its impact on environment.”
