RAAS aims to create a leading R&D environment to accelerate the development of automated solutions for sea and land transport, aviation and non-road machinery, as well as draw foreign direct investment.
”Co-operation and cross-learning between different domains is very important in the development of autonomous transport,” says Sauli Eloranta from Rolls-Royce.
“Autonomous systems are one of Finland’s national strengths in the digitalisation and innovation activities of the export industry, adds Kalle Kantola, Vice President, Research at VTT. "However, international competition is fierce. The RAAS alliance will introduce synergies among different application and technology areas, which will markedly accelerate development. At the same time, our research teams can develop their expertise as they confront increasingly challenging problems."
The hope is that the alliance will provide companies easy access to world-class scientific knowledge and expertise in the field of autonomous transport and logistics solutions. This is organised around ten research task forces focusing on themes, such as the ethics of autonomous systems, regulations, business, artificial intelligence and operational level.
“The alliance also provides access to research and development services for international networks of experts. We are actively seeking international research teams to join the alliance," explains Gary Marquis, Dean at Aalto University.