With its staff of 2750 VTT experts VTT provides high-end technology solutions and innovation services. From its wide knowledge base, VTT can combine different technologies, create new innovations and a substantial range of world class technologies and applied research services. Through its international scientific and technology network, VTT can produce information, upgrade technology knowledge, create business intelligence and value added to its stakeholders. VTT´s technological focus areas are applied materials, bio and chemistry processes, energy, information and communication technologies, industrial systems management, microtechnologies and electronics, and technology in the community. VTT's
turnover is 230 Million €.
Transport and Logistics Systems is one of 50 knowledge centres of VTT. It has ca 50 transport researchers with expertise in following areas of transport research:
- intelligent transport systems (ITS) or transport telematics
- behavioural safety studies and safety effects of countermeasures
- safety evaluation of transport telematics
- transport systems development and analysis
- transport systems management and operation
- transport policy research
- logistics systems research, including industrial production management
- economic, environmental, social and other impacts of transport systems
- transport research methods and transport information and management systems
- new technologies, artificial intelligence, neural networks
However, transport researchers also have at their disposal the expertise of all other VTT research areas, such as information systems engineering, industrial and manufacturing technologies, maritime technology and many other areas of technology.
The main clients of VTT in the area of transport research are ministries, road, rail and aviation authorities, cities, private companies and international organisations. VTT has participated actively in the European Commission’s Framework Programmes as a partner or project coordinator in several transport related projects.
Another knowledge centre participating to ROADIDEA is “Organisations, networks and Innovation Systems”. The research themes in this knowledge centre include (among others) “extended products” and management of manufacturing systems. Extended products are products, which (often in addition to a physical product) include intangible parts like information or services. The management of this type of products have special challenges both in design, delivery and business aspects. The idea in ROADIDEA is to apply the experience of other industrial fields of information services to define business models of transport information services.
Iris Karvonen received the M.Sc. degree in Helsinki University of Technology 1979. She is working as Senior Research Scientist in VTT Industrial Systems in a research team focused on the Enterprise Network Management.. Her main research areas are currently extended products (including services), enterprise network management, information systems and risk management in enterprise networks. She has participated Nordic, European and global research projects and clusters: KRM (NI), COMPASS (EU), COMPRESS (EU), IMSGlobeman 21, IMS-Globemen and Voster (EU). Currently she is participating FP6 ECOLEAD and I3CON projects. In addition she is involved in national projects with Finnish SMEs and other Finnish research institutes and universities.
Ari Sirkiä, born in 1961, is a Senior Research Scientist at VTT. He has M.Sc. (Tech.) (1987) in Transportation Engineering from Helsinki University of Technology. He has 20 year’s experience in freight transportation, passenger traffic and information technology projects and research work. In addition he has been a teacher at Helsinki University of Helsinki. Since 2000 he has worked for VTT. Earlier he has gained experience in a private consulting company for five years and after that ten years at Helsinki University of Technology.
The projects are concentrated to transport models and logistics in house building sector.
Dr. Risto Kulmala works as a Research Professor on ITS at VTT in Finland and as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Lund, Sweden. He has a long experience in operations analysis, road safety and analysis of the benefits, costs and technical performance of ITS. Currently, he is the co-chair of the eSafety Forum’s Implementation Road Maps Working Group, co-ordinator of the Finnish R&D Programme on Real-Time Transport Information AINO (2004-2007), and the Road Monitoring Infrastructure domain leader and member of the Project Management Board of the VIKING action in the TEN-T programme. He is also the chairman of the Euro-Regional Expert Group on Monitoring, and the leader of eSafety task for the Conference of European Directors of Road (CEDR).
Contribution in ROADIDEA:
VTT is the Technical Coordinator of ROADIDEA and takes part in all technical Work Packages, leading WP 4 Utilisation of advanced information for driver and traveller support services, and WP7 Business models.