Welcome!
We are excited to launch the first newsletter for the SETO (Smart Enforcement of Transport Operations) project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme! In this issue, we will provide an overview of the project, report on the presence of the SETO project within the TRA 2024 Conference, and introduce you to the project coordinator, Dr. Beatriz Martínez-Pastor, School of Civil Engineering, University College Dublin (UCD).
In the next issue, we will dive deeper into the project’s technical work packages and solutions being developed. We will also feature interviews with other key partners. Stay tuned!
SETO Newsletters’ Archive can be found at this link.
Discover the SETO Project
Streamlining Enforcement with Digital Solutions
The current system for enforcing transport directives and regulations is highly inefficient – it’s time-consuming, labour-intensive, applied randomly, and beyond the capability of human enforcers to effectively utilise all relevant data. These shortcomings lead to issues like road congestion, accidents, infrastructure damage, supply chain disruptions, increased emissions, and social impacts.
SETO aims to address the challenges above by developing a digital enforcement Platform that integrates data from diverse sources using cutting-edge technologies like IoT and blockchain. This platform will provide easy access to real-time information related to specific regulations, thus enabling consistent, efficient, and resilient enforcement across modes and borders.
Optimising Resources and Driving Broader Impacts
Through its digital solutions, SETO seeks to optimise the use of human and economic resources in the enforcement process. However, the ambitions of the project go beyond that – SETO wants to strengthen economic growth by reducing supply chain costs, decrease the number of accidents, increase the sustainability of transport operations, accelerate e-government services, and improve working conditions for transport workers.
To realise this vision, SETO is pursuing pioneering solutions across six technical work packages:
WP1: Digital Solution – Developing the core digital enforcement platform integrating data from authorities and incorporating blockchain technology for security.
WP2: Assistive Technologies – Creating protocols to advance weigh-in-motion (WIM) data for overload enforcement and tamper-proof onboard weighing systems.
WP3: Pilot Demonstrations – Validating the solutions in real-life scenarios across trucking, shipping, and last-mile delivery operations.
WP4: Impact Groundwork – Assessing impacts on technology, economics, society, and the environment through KPIs and modelling.
WP5: Outreach & Dissemination – Driving awareness, engagement and future adoption among stakeholders.
WP6: Project Management – Ensuring effective coordination, risk management, and quality implementation.
The project consortium comprises 14 partners from 7 European countries, bringing together diverse expertise from across the transportation value chain.
Showcasing SETO at the Transport Research Arena 2024
In April 2024, SETO took centre stage at the Transport Research Arena (TRA) conference in Dublin, representing a significant milestone for the project. This event, the largest of its kind to date with over 4,000 delegates, served as a prime platform for engaging with a diverse audience that included EU institutions, industry leaders, business partners, innovators, and authorities at various levels, as well as the research community.
SETO was proudly featured at the Irish Transport Research Network (ITRN) stand. Dr. Beatriz Martínez-Pastor, SETO Coordinator from UCD, along with Dr. Rui Teixeira, UCD, and Dr. Miguel Casero Flórez, UCD, prepared a detailed poster that highlighted the key tasks and objectives of the SETO project. The poster aimed to provide the scientific community, industry representatives, and policymakers with an insightful overview of the project’s ambitions and progress.
Keystone and SETO Join Forces at TRA2024
In a bid to foster collaboration and seek out potential synergies, representatives from the sister projects Keystone and SETO recently convened for a strategic meeting. The gathering brought together key players from both projects, including Giulia Renzi from ICOOR, Alex Papacharalampous from AETHON, and Friederike L. Kühl from Etelätär Innovation representing Keystone, alongside Bernard Jacob, David Betaille from UGE, and Beatriz Martínez-Pastor and Miguel Casero Flórez from UCD, representing SETO.
The aim of the meeting was twofold: to identify areas of common interest and to chart a course for future collaboration. Through fruitful discussions and idea exchange, the participants explored avenues for joint initiatives and coordinated efforts in the near future.
Spreading the Word: SETO at the First European PhD and Postdoc Symposium
SETO also made a significant impact at the First European PhD and Postdoc Symposium on delivering the future of infrastructure management, organized by the Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR). Held in Dublin from the 15th to the 17th of April, this symposium ran parallel to the TRA conference, bringing together researchers from various European countries to discuss advancements in infrastructure management.
The primary goal of SETO’s participation was to disseminate information about the project to researchers specializing in infrastructure management. Representatives from UCD provided an insightful overview of the SETO project, detailing its main objectives and activities. The presentation was followed by a lively Q&A session with the audience.
The attendees included researchers from countries like Norway, the UK, and the Netherlands, along with some of their supervisors. This setting offered a unique opportunity for SETO to engage directly with experts and emerging leaders in the field.
Stay tuned for more updates as SETO continues to progress and engage with the research community.
Partner Spotlight: University College Dublin
University College Dublin (UCD) is the coordinator of the SETO project. As one of Europe’s leading research-intensive universities, UCD brings a wealth of expertise in areas like risk and resilience analysis, connected and automated mobility (CCAM), environmental impact assessment, and studying human behaviour in transport systems. UCD will play a key role in WP4, impact groundwork, assessing impacts on technology, economics, society, and specially developing concepts for safer automated driving through optimised energy use, vehicle interaction modelling and multi-criteria impact assessments.
UCD’s Civil Engineering department provides strong technical capabilities and extensive experience in managing EU-funded research projects. As the project coordinator, UCD will ensure effective administration, financial management, risk mitigation, quality control and intellectual property protection throughout SETO’s implementation.
