September 13, 2021
Welcome to Hamburg – the ITS World Congress Returns
In less than a month, the 2021 ITS World Congress will showcase the global importance and impact ofITS: innovative solutions, industry networking opportunities for stakeholders, patrons, and influencers; vital discussions of new ideas and initiatives, contact and business promotion, and more – all through a range of activities, demonstrations, and educational content in the beautiful city of Hamburg, Germany.
2021 marks a return to Germany for the World Congress for the first time in 24 years. In 1997, the Berlin program theme, “Mobility for Everyone,” featured a program that “reflected the role of transport telematics in ensuring mobility for all citizens.” This year’s theme, “Experience Future Mobility Now,” captures a similar essence. The program features six overall themes: Automated & Connected Driving; Mobility on Demand, Mobility as a Service; Goods Journey from Ports to Customers; Intelligent Infrastructure; New Services from New Technologies; and Solutions for Cities and Citizens. These topics provide an excellent platform for featured high-level speakers, including but not limited to ITS America members AECOM’s Shailen Bhatt, SVP for Global Transportation Innovation; Beth Kigel, Director of Smart and Connected Solutions at HNTB; Iteris SVP and General Manager Ramin Massoumi; Washington State Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar; and Monali Shah, Strategic Business Executive at Google.
Despite the challenges associated with the COVID pandemic, ITS America leaders, staff, and member companies will be in attendance, both virtually and in person. The 2021 ITS World Congress organizing team is applying for a 2G format, which means all attendees need to either be fully vaccinated with one of the four EU recognized vaccinations (Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen/Johnson&Johnson, and Oxford/AstraZeneca) or to have proof of recovery from COVID 19 (presentation of an EU-accepted vaccination certificate and/or proof of COVID-19 recovery). Organizers should know this week if they are approved for 2G status. For the most up to date information, please check here.
If you are planning to be in Hamburg, please visit the ITS America Pavilion! Located at #B5400 on the exhibit floor, it will feature news and information about ITS America, our 2021 Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC, and the 2022 ITS World Congress in Los Angeles, including booth reservations, sponsorships, and more. Stop by to learn more about the September 2022 Congress – “Transformation by Transportation.” In addition, more than a dozen ITS America member companies will offer their solutions on the show floor, including Alcatel-Lucent Enterprises, Argo AI, Commsignia, Cubic, ESRI, GEWI, Google, INRIX, IRD. Kapsch TrafficCom, Ouster, Panasonic, Toyota, and Traffic Technology Services.
As usual, the technical tour line up looks terrific: attendees can see the Hamburg University of Technology demonstrate a passenger shuttle and delivery robot operating together in a challenging urban environment and participate in NORDSYS GmbH live V2X safety demonstrations. There are many more technical visits, all of which are available here.
We are excited to experience all that the ITS World Congress and the city have to offer and gather with our colleagues. We hope to see you in Hamburg, Charlotte, or Los Angeles!!
