Last call: The IC-IC consortium wishes farewell,
but the ICS initiative does not end here
 

As this research project is coming to an end, the IC-IC consortium, which is soon to disband, would like to express gratitude to all of you who had expressed their interest, posed questions, contributed to research, gave feedback, granted access to facilities, and much more. Without your support, the InfoConnectivity System (ICS) would not have reached its current level of development.

In the beginning of the project, we took on the challenge of creating a (foreign) traveller friendly information system, to give guidance along the way, where no other system could do so. That outset remained relevant through the course of the project, yet rapid development of technology in the past years imposed efforts of constant rethinking along the way, but never losing the aim out of focus.

Making plans for the ICS

The ICS, a service to set a future standard for the quality for information to be provided to travellers has received very positive responses from you, which have fostered our intentions to take up the challenge for an implementation of the system. In the months to come, discussions both inside and outside the IC-IC consortium will commence, examining possibilities to keep up our endeavours. This might include the submission for another project in the EC's new research framework programme "Horizon 2020", the collaboration with a Stakeholder for regional implementation, the cooperation with an umbrella organisation of air travel related Stakeholders to drive forward a more international, top-down approach, or other.

Keeping in touch

Keeping up our efforts also means that we keep an open ear to you, our Stakeholder. New newsletters will be sent out in case of relevant tidings related to the ICS, but beside this, we are pleased to receive your inquiries and remarks on the ICS now and in the future. Star Engineering GmbH, Coordinator, and IIID, the originator of this project are looking forward to communicate with you via:
IIID: info@iiid.net
STAR: Carolin.Stickel@Star-Cooperation.com
Please be sure to put "IC-IC" as the subject of your e-mail.

The website will remain online, providing you with all information on the ICS and IC-IC, and all the documentation on the Stakeholders Conference. Furthermore, the Twitter accounts @iiidtweet and @icicfp7 remain active to deliver news whenever appropriate. On Facebook, the page www.facebook.com/ICICfp7 will continue to give updates and invite you to "like" and share.

In addition, for your convenience, the direct link to the ICS Handbook download is again found right below.

Thank you very much for your continuous interest,
all the best,

Stefan Egger, IIID
IC-IC Dissemination

 
Stakeholders Conference documentation:
A film, an animation, presentations and the ICS Handbook
 

Introduction was provided by a teaser animation to explain the InfoConnectivity System (ICS), followed by the story of handing in the project, exemplifying its significance and expectations of the European Commission.

Next, an update was provided on the current global air travel situation by Valeria Croce of the European Travel Commission (ETC), underlining the need for initiatives such as the ICS.

Thereafter, the ICS was exemplified by showing its possible implementation and functions in a travellers (customers) journey. Then, IT topics relating to ICS implementation were raised, followed by a presentation of the concepts underlying the ICS that make it successful.

After the break, a panel discussion was initiated by a presentation of possible forms of collaboration of Stakeholders required to implement the ICS. This lead to a lively exchange on the preferences of stakeholders. Finally, questionnaires were handed to Stakeholders for feedback on implementation issues.

Concluding the event, Stakeholders were provided a link to download the ICS Handbook, a valuable document describing implementation possibilities, which provides links to further relevant information.

Stakeholders conference documentation

Please feel invited to go through all presentations, see the event documented on film, and watch the ICS teaser animation online by following this link: Conference

 
Stakeholders Conference registration, feedback on the ICS,
and ICS mobile app function presentation
 

The uniqueness of the InfoConnectivity System (ICS), and Stakeholder events update
 

The ICS app back-end system and Stakeholder events update
 

Continued ICS development and Stakeholder events

Suspension of the Project and continuation

This fourth Newsletter of the IC-IC project explains the effects of a now concluded project suspension. An exchange of project partners took place, the project's duration and schedule were modified. Please take note of the new dates for the Stakeholders Forum (November 2013) and Stakeholders Conference (May 2014).

In relation to the completion of work package three and the midterm review, the project was granted a suspension by the EU in order to consolidate. Three new partners entered the project: Fuenfwerken Design AG (Germany) and ESPI Designers bv (The Netherlands), took over responsibilities for the airport regions of Frankfurt am Main and Amsterdam, and Fluidtime Data Services GmbH (Austria) engages as new technological developer for the ICS. We warmly welcome them on board and wish the withdrawn partners farewell, thanking them for their support. Along with the consolidation comes a change in coordination: this responsibility is put in the trusted hands of Star Engineering GmbH (Germany), Ms Nuray Kous-Giousouf.

The suspension delayed the project for 5 months, implying several scheduled items to be shifted, including the end of the project, now October 2014.

The Stakeholders Forum, an event to involve selected Key Stakeholders into the project's development, is planned to take place during November 2013. A separate invitation will be issued in due time.

This event is planned to take place in May 2014. It is set to provide - five months before the project's official end - details on the to be developed InfoConnectivity System (ICS) to an interested wider audience. An invitation for this event will be issued via one of the next newsletters. In the meantime, you may utter your interest for participation here: Stakeholders

Work package five is to commence with the development of ICS model applications, closely collaborating with work package four, in which elaborated exemplary content for the ICS is put into digital format. Together, advanced information presentation and exemplifying content will form the first draft of the ICS.

Does transport information meet the traveller’s needs?

Having concluded on-site studies at public transport hubs ¹) connected to European airports of Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and Vienna, the results provide insights on the availability of information expected by travellers to be provided to them on their way to- in- and from an airport. This allows a comparison of information available on site with expectations of transport provider representatives on where information for travellers would be needed ²).

The outcome makes clear that in some defined areas (so-called "stages") along the route of a traveller, where specific information is requested by travellers, the perception of public transport providers on the need for such information partially deviate. The following graphic shows the 6 defined stages with their results below.

 
Information demand / information provision comparison per “stage”

Left to right:

For stage "At home/hotel", public transport stakeholders indicated the second largest need of information.

Stakeholders judged stages "At stop or station" and "On public transport” to be most important for information provision, the on-site studies indicate for "At stop or station" the second largest sample of information found available (51%), relatively well matching estimated demand for available information.

"On public transport" fell short: only 25% of needed information is provided, while stakeholders claim this stage to be one of the two most important ones.

"At stop or station" at the airport is considered by stakeholders to be in 3rd place of being important to provide traveller information, none the less, it was found that 51% of information requested by travellers was available.

"In airport", was assigned to be of lowest importance for traveller information, while on-site studies indicate the highest rate of traveller information (60%) available.

Information "On plane", as "In airport" was judged by stakeholders to be of lowest interest for travellers.

Focus of the InfoConnectivity system

According to this comparison the ICS (InfoConnectivity System) developed in this project is most needed to provide traveller information where there is a low density of information found, and where the judged demand for it is considered high by stakeholders. At this point, stage "on public transport" has to be considered to be in the centre of focus of the ICS development.

An explanation of the ICS can be found here: Projectgoal

Gendered innovation workshop

Save the date - IC-IC Stakeholders Conference

Key-Stakeholders Forum

IC-IC enhances interconnectivity of transport modes by providing Information-Connectivity to travellers

 
Project goals

-  Identification of current practice in passenger focused information in interconnections between
   short- and long-distance transport networks (airports and connecting ground and air transport)
-  Suggestions of innovative passenger focused information supply
-  Suggestions of mobility enhancing concepts of interaction between transport network and their
   passengers in zones of intertwined information
-  Model applications to show how intertwined information, ”designed for all“ in a multitude of
   languages, could work
-  InfoConnectivity guidelines for optimization of existing interfaces between transport networks
   and passenger target groups addressing design, planning and deployment aspects.

Current progress and results

Next steps

Potential of the ICS (InfoConnectivity System)

Save the date - IC-IC Stakeholders Conference

Key-Stakeholders Forum

Better informed travellers make passenger handling more effective

Providing such information at the right time will help to:

- increase speed of change between transport modes
- reduce time required for standard processes
- decrease the need of personal advice while proceeding to boarding a plane/train/bus, etc.
- decrease number of missed flights and need for rebooking
- improve baggage handling and security efforts for abandoned baggage
- create more extra-time for shopping and spending time at facilities at the airport/train station, etc.
- make travelling a more enjoyable experience

Intermediary Results

Next: Field Research – Discovering information gaps/shortfalls

Save the date - Your contribution to the project