Sign in, Hop on, Participate
What will it be like to travel around Hamburg on an autonomously running S-Bahn train? How will we handle new challenges and innovations, such as AI, climate change and dramatic changes in mobility? These are some of the subjects that physicist, science journalist and TV host Ranga Yogeshwar tackled in his keynote lecture Emil’s World, in which he combined environmental with personal issues: his grandson Emil (born 2020) will grow up in a world full of new chances and risks. And what secrets and insights are waiting for astrophysicist Suzanna Randall, who is aspiring to be the first German woman in space?
Residents of both Hamburg and the wider metropolitan region were invited to take part in the ITS Public Day on 14 October 2021 for free. They toured Hamburg's ITS projects with electrically powered buses or ioki shuttles and experience science in a joyful and creative way at the Mobility Science Slam. Aspiring scientists from the Young Mobility Community were also welcome to discover the ITS Public Day: there were awards for the best ITS projects from Hamburg’s schools along with exciting surprise acts!
NDR public broadcast host Yared Dibaba presented the stage programme at the ITS Public Day. The aim of the event was to make the ITS World Congress accessible to everyone. At the ITS Public Day, anyone could experience how new mobility concepts are going to change everyday life on Hamburg's streets, in the port area or even up in the air. Intelligent mobility and transport concepts will be on display and along with the ways in which technological innovations can be turned into reality.
ITS Public Day 2021 Timetable
Stage: Conference Center Hall B4
The morning programme was especially aimed at school and university students who would like to take part in the Young Mobility Community programme. They explored the future of global travel, Hamburg schools’ current projects and how to get involved.
Ranga Yogeshwar's keynote lecture Nächste Ausfahrt Zukunft (‘Next Exit Future’) started the second half of the day. The afternoon programme tackled, amongst other topics, the future of mobility, transport and traffic with discussions, project presentations and a Science Slam. Of course, all items on the timetable were open to everyone.
| 10 a.m. | Welcome by Anjes Tjarks Welcome address and introduction by Anjes Tjarks, Senator for Traffic and Mobility |
| 10:50 a.m. | Mobilität ins All (Mobility in Space Travel) Suzanna Randall on her mission to be the first German woman in space |
| 11:25 a.m. | HipHop and Rap Action 'Apocalypso' dance crew of the Hamburg HipHop Academy gonna show you what they got! They combine vivid dance performances with honest and humorous rap songs. |
| 11:45 a.m. | Award Ceremony: Young Mobility Community ITS school projects in Hamburg – And the winners are… |
| 12:20 p.m. | Emils Welt (Emil’s World) Keynote lecture by Ranga Yogeshwar, physicist, science journalist and TV host |
| 1:30 p.m. | Breakdancing and Beatboxing 4 master class artists of the Hamburg HipHop Academy gonna spin some heads! They combine jaw-dropping breakdance moves with an exciting beatboxing performance. |
| 2 p.m. | Nächste Ausfahrt Zukunft (Next Exit Future) Keynote lecture by Ranga Yogeshwar, physicist, science journalist and TV host |
| 3:15 p.m. | African eBike Actor Bjarne Mädel and Katesi Najiba, director of FABIO, present the EURIST project African eBike |
| 3:50 p.m. | Open Discussion Future mobility in Hamburg, with Anjes Tjarks, Senator for Traffic and Mobility, and others |
| 4:30–6:00 p.m. | Mobility Science Slam Vote for your favourite project and choose the winner |
Space, eBikes in Uganda and the Science Slam
Does the future of mobility include travel into outer space? This and many other topics were discussed at the ITS Public Day 2021. Suzanna Randall is an astrophysicist, TV host and children's book author, and she is also training to be an astronaut. She may even be the first German woman in space. If she boards the ISS, her research will focus on women’s physiology in zero gravity.
TV and film actor Bjarne Mädel, well-known for his quirky characters, joined in presenting the EURIST e-bikes project together with Katesi Najiba, director of FABIO, the First African Bicycle Information Organisation. Mädel is the ambassador of the pilot project, which runs tests of African e-bikes in Uganda. The bikes are tailored to local needs and charged with solar energy to make mobility efficient and sustainable. The e-bikes can be used, for example, to carry water or as an e-bike ambulance for medical emergencies.
For all those who would like to get to know science in a different way, the Mobility Science Slam was just the right thing. Scientists presented their research in joyful and creative ways. It was all about making their findings accessible so the audience could take away as much information and entertainment as possible. At the end, the audience got to decide who won the Science Slam at the ITS Public Day 2021.
ITS Public Day Tours on 14 October 2021
Visitors and participants explored various ITS projects in Hamburg on four tours.
Tour 1: Digitising Urban Traffic – Better Flow | Less Disturbance | More Safety
(11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. and 2–3:30 p.m., from exhibition hall B2)
The tour took the e-bus from the exhibition halls via the city test track for automated and connected driving (TAVF, Teststrecke für automatisiertes und vernetztes Fahren) to HafenCity. Then the tour continued via the HEAT test track past the Elbphilharmonie concert hall back to the exhibition halls.
Tour 2: Logistics Experience – Moving Goods with Modern Digital Services
(9 a.m.–12:30 p.m., from exhibition hall B2)
This tour was just right for anyone who wanted to find out which ITS projects are currently using drones in Hamburg. The bus took participants via the Köhlbrand Brücke bridge to the container terminal in Altenwerder. After stopping at the home:PORT / drone:PORT, where all the drone projects were on display, the tour crossed the Elbe river to the Landungsbrücken by ferry and headed back to the exhibition halls.
Tour 3: Future Rail Experience – Intelligent | Smart | Comfortable
(2–3:30 p.m., from exhibition hall B2)
Starting at the exhibition halls, this tour ran through the Planten un Blomen park to Hamburg Dammtor train station. From there, the digital, automated S-Bahn took participants to Hamburg-Bergedorf. Here the concept of the Letzte Meile (‘last mile’) of more remote parts of the public transport system was tackled by an automated shuttle. The journey back used the Sensors4Rail S-Bahn, which put landmark-based train localisation and sensor-based environment perception on the tracks for the first time.
Tour 4: Hamburg Sets Its Pace – Multimodal | Reliable | Customer-Centered
(3–4:30 p.m., from exhibition hall B2)
The ioki e-shuttle took participants to several stops in the Eimsbüttel district on demand. The focus of this tour was the Kellinghusenstraße mobility station, the Hamburg-Takt (‘Hamburg pulse or rhythm’) and digital cycling topics, such as PrioBike-HH, bicycle boulevards and the Hamburger Radverkehrszählnetz (HaRaZäN, ‘Hamburg Cycling Count Network’).
