The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology will be presenting its most important research and development projects in the field of mobility at TRA 2018.  

Europe’s largest transport research conference will take place this year from 16th to 19th April in Vienna together with TRA (Transport Research Arena). For one week, Vienna will be the European centre of the mobility for the future. The TRA 2018 motto is: “A digital era for transport – solutions for society, economy and environment” and will address the main topics of “digitalisation” and “decarbonisation” of the transport system. The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, as Austria’s largest research and technology organisation, is a top player involved in several infrastructure research topics and will be presenting a variety of its current projects at TRA 2018. These span from the battery of the future and a quick charging system, new materials for vehicle construction, methods and technologies to increase road safety, solutions to design mobility systems and freight transport more efficiently, up to the research, analysis and implementation of energy-efficient, safe, and low-carbon drive components and concepts. About 50 AIT researchers will actively take part in TRA 2018 and will present their current developments to an international audience.

The battery of the future and alternative drive technologies 

AIT scientists follow a holistic research and development approach to improve the essential performance indicators of car batteries and their integration into vehicles. They do not only research the synthesis of innovative battery materials and the production of electrodes and cells, but also develop new battery tests, diagnostic methods and simulations up to post-mortem analysis. Another priority of AIT at TRA 2018 is the field of alternative, energy-efficient, safe, and low-carbon drive components. This includes, among other things, high-performance quick charging infrastructures and concepts for the use of urban electric utility vehicles as well as next-gen e-buses.

Environmentally friendly mobility solutions thanks to innovative materials 

Materials and process technologies of the future are significant research and development areas for AIT. In addition to aluminium that is malleable at low temperatures, fire-resistant magnesium alloys and modified light alloys in wire form, AIT researchers also work on developing innovative materials for efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly mobility solutions that give AIT customers a decisive competitive advantage thanks to special simulation techniques.

Autonomous cars, communication and reliable systems 

To derive as much benefit as possible from autonomous vehicles, it is important to develop very reliable and high-performance communication connections with low reaction times. AIT experts have developed an innovative communication procedure for 5G systems. This will, for example, allow the replacement of wired production environments by wireless systems or for autonomous vehicles to communicate with each other reliably.

Driverless cars make autonomous decisions based on their sensor data and their communication with other vehicles or the infrastructure. This is why it is extremely important that highly networked IoT services and devices function reliably and safely. In the area of dependable systems engineering, AIT experts focus on the development of methods, tools and standards to verify and validate the reliability of software and systems – in the different phases of conception, development, certification, and operation. In addition, AIT will also be presenting many other current projects from mobility research and development at TRA 2018.