I_HeERO Newsletter December 2016

Project update
by Andy Rooke
ERTICO – ITS Europe
Technical Implementing Officer I_HeERO
The I_HeERO project has now been active for nearly two years, and now is an exciting time to review how far the project
has travelled, in fulfilling the contractual obligations over a range of topics which all relate to the delivery of eCall
based on 112.
The newsletter will cover the progress of the Member States as they prepare for 1 October 2017, when the PSAP in
each Member State has to be technically ready to receive eCall. This will also include a conformity assessment.
In formulating the I_HeERO proposal, the consortium sought to advance the technical capabilities of eCall through a
number of well-defined initiatives that reflect the comments made by members of the European Parliament about
eCall. Namely the advancement of eCall towards different vehicle types, including Heavy Goods Vehicles, Long Distance
Coaches and Powered Two Wheeled Vehicles. The progress of each will be described by the activity leaders.
Technically, a great deal of work remains concerning the ability for the emergency services and the PSAP to be able to
move data between agencies successfully. As the eCall technology matures, there is a greater understanding of what
eCall will mean to the emergency services, what it offers and what technical requirements are required to ensure that
eCall data can be used.
The communications industry is by nature a fast evolving scene, with 4G now being placed in vehicles, and the steady
migration to 4G by mobile networks. In response to this I_HeERO is working with the standards agencies to define the
next generation of eCall, and its capabilities.
In bringing together the partners for the I_HeERO project, lessons learned from both the HeERO and HeERO2 project
were included; one of the key areas and a requirement from the European Commission was to make the products
from the projects available to as many entities as possible. In response to this, HeERO2 formed an associate partnership
scheme. This has been continued in I_HeERO, the number of partners, both Member State and commercial, continues
to increase (Now close to 100). The partnership, which is free of charge to all, allows access to I_HeERO activity
groups and I_HeERO milestones and upgrade techniques. For more information please see the I_HeERO website
which can be found here.
I hope that you find this newsletter interesting and informative, if you require more information please contact the
I_HeERO team through the I_HeERO website.
Source: I_HeERO Workshop “Making eCall Happen”, Brussels, 6 September 2016
I_HeERO Newsletter - December 2016
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