autoregion international - Edition 1/2020

12 Digital mobility in Luxembourg: creating success By Anthony Auert, Cluster Manager – AutoMobility, and Joost Ortjens, Head of International Business Development – Automotive, Luxinnovation Digital mobility is high on Luxembourg’s agenda. Benefiting from its outstanding digital capacities and its dynamic automotive and mobility sector, the country is implementing a range of initiatives fostering the success of mobility innovation. Themobility sector is undergoing profound transformation due to rapidly progress- ing digitalisation. Many different digital solutions have already entered the global automotive markets. These range from electronic stabilisation systems (ESP), lane keeping assist systems and adaptive cruise control to software updates over the mobile network and online vehicle con- figuration and sales, to mention just a few examples of innovations stemming from global automotive industry players. The concept of shared mobility is, per- haps, even more disruptive, as it radically changes consumers’ attitudes towards owning their own car. Digitalisation has made it easy and efficient to localise, book and pay for shared vehicles or book taxi- like services offered by individuals using their private vehicle. While this creates abundant new business opportunities for innovative companies, it is a threat for the traditional, volume-driven automotive in- dustry. Setting the scene for the digital mobility revolution However, every threat creates new op- portunities. As mobility evolves, so do the preferences and wishes of consumers. People are increasingly demanding effec- tivemobility solutions that reduce the time they lose in transportation. Consumers are also willing to pay more for on-board comfort and safety as well as for improved connectivity and infotainment offers, in particular in autonomously driven vehicles. Data collection, analytics and protection is essential for responding to this demand with new, disruptive services. With the firm intention of establishing itself as a leading data economy and finding new mobility solutions for its own citizens and cross-border workers, Luxembourg is wel- coming this evolution. Over the past years, the country has worked systematically to create a favourable environment for mo- bility innovation in terms of available skills, technical infrastructure and various dedi- cated initiatives. Qualified personnel is one of the corner- stones of an innovative economy. The University of Luxembourg trains qualified engineers and scientists in computer sci- ence. The university’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) conducts internationally competitive research in information and communica- tion technology, with autonomous driving as one of its research fields. Much of its re- Image: ©metamorworks/shutterstock.com S H A R E