A ero s pA c e • spA ce • G r ou nd Tr Ans por T • d efence • sec uriTy
“We are currently observing the
beginnings of a new arms race,
to develop a cyber arsenal”
Daniel Ventre of France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
06 SomerSet SubmarineS
Uncovering the secrets of some
of the world’s best sonar systems
16 maritime Piracy
How technology is helping to take
down the pirates on the high seas
22 on the railS
Changing the Danish national
railway from the ground up
A u t u m n 2 01 3
CONTENTS
6
»02 Fighting the
invisible enemy
»20 Taking the
right path
The nature of cybersecurity
has changed in recent years.
It has been elevated to a
political level and that the
security required to combat
these kinds of attacks is more
than firewalls and software.
Big data may be the
next big thing but it
requires smarter and
safer information
systems if it is going
to have real impact.
»06 Submarines
in Somerset
Sonar systems do more than
simply spot the next possible
threat. On a submarine, they
can mean the difference
between life and death.
» 1 0 Chain reaction
How rare earth elements and
other critical materials
promoting new and
innovative thinking in
industries across the EU.
»14Just above
your head
There are currently over
3,000 man-made satellites
orbiting the Earth – who
owns them and what are
they doing up there?
»16 Trouble on
the high seas
While maritime piracy
remains a threat, there are
increasing initiatives to bring
the situation under greater
control, from protected sea
routes to improved methods
for monitoring and controling
transport at sea, especially in
high risk areas.
16
»22 All change:
Denmark
How can a national rail
system become more
productive? In the case of
Denmark, building a unified,
standardised signalling
system was the first step.
»26 Preparing
for take-off
26
How has air traffic
management moved from
manual to digital and what
will the future look like?
»30 Laser power
The Berkeley Lab Laser
Accelerator (BELLA) is
making major waves in
the US and in future tech.
»32 Driving change
32
Technology could make a
difference for road charging,
but what will help to steer
things in the right direction?
»36 Innovation
among apes
and humans
Pascal Picq explains the
concept of “Anthroprise”
where evolution and
management meet.
Editorial director Keith Ryan Creative director Nick Dixon Publishing director Ian Gerrard
Head of production Karen Gardner Founder and editorial director Stuart Rock Finance
director Rachel Stanhope Founder and communications director Matthew Rock
Published by Caspian Media Ltd for Thales. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect
the policies of Thales. Caspian Media Ltd and Thales accept no responsibility for views
expressed by contributors. Caspian M edia Telephone 020 7045 7500
Email [email protected] Web www.caspianmedia.com
36
The world in which we live and
work is changing so quickly that it’s
difficult to keep the pace. Estimates
suggest the world’s population could
reach 8.3 billion by 2030. More than
half of that population (4.9 billion) will
qualify as middle class, bringing with
it raised expectations and demands.
We’re also living with a
proliferation of interconnected,
interdependent systems and devices,
generating a flood of information.
In 2011 it was estimated that 90
per cent of the data circulating around
the world had been generated in the
preceding two years alone. The scale
of that data is estimated to be in the
region of 2.5 quintillion bytes of data
each day and it could grow by as
much as 40 per cent per year with the
spread of mobile devices.
Over 30 per cent of the world
population already has access to the
Internet – it’s anticipated this will
rise to 99 per cent by 2030 and that
computers and handheld devices will
be affordable to all.
All of these changes will only
add to the pressure already being
felt by our existing systems and
resources, as well as introducing
a raft of new and unexpected
security vulnerabilities.
How can we possibly understand
and master such delicate and intricate
complexity? More specifically, how
can we help those making the big
decisions about this world create
01
“Intelligent innovation is our greatest asset and
the successful execution of ideas is our strongest weapon.
We are driven by a desire to improve, whether we’re talking
about technology or better environmental performance,
or even new ways to finance innovation.”
order in such chaotic systems and tap
into the data that flows through them?
The answer lies in intelligent
innovation. Instead of a threat,
intelligent innovation sees opportunity.
This global “internet of things”
becomes a landscape on which
new social and commercial models
can be built.
Unprecedented, unfettered access
to global communication, education
and empowerment, more channels for
commerce and sociopolitical influence,
underpinned by a seamless network of
technology. Imagine what this means
for the world in which we live. It has
the potential to change everything.
Intelligent innovation is our greatest
asset and the successful execution of
ideas is our strongest weapon.
We are driven by a desire to
improve, whether we’re talking about
technology or better environmental
performance, or even new ways to
finance innovation. New applications
are being developed around the
mobile internet, from mHealth
extending the reach of the medical
community to mobile finance
becoming the norm from Japan to
Kenya. Advanced analytics are being
applied to road systems that aim to
make traffic jams – if not accidents –
a thing of the past.
Even the military is tapping into
this new technology to improve
operational speed of deployment
of the command centre in a military
environment. New interfaces
between man and machine are being
developed that are so sophisticated,
they can even take into account the
mental state of the operator. Cloud
computing and service-oriented
software architectures are offering
new ways for both the public and
private sector to turn the flood of data
into opportunities that were hitherto
unimaginable. The list goes on.
In this world of fast-paced change,
intelligence and innovative thinking
may decide who will grow and
evolve, and who will falter and fail.
For Thales, this is a guiding principle
for the business, reflected in the
fact that we invest the equivalent
of 20 per cent of our revenues in
R&D turning innovative concepts
into real-life applications.
From economics to politics
to technology, from the world’s
population to its climate, we are
faced with the challenge of living in
a world that is increasingly in flux.
For businesses and public sector
organisations looking to their future,
it’s time to take action. We must keep
pushing our own boundaries, from the
traditional (air, land, sea) to the new
(space, cyberspace, nanospace and
beyond), from the very depths of the
human brain to the most sophisticated
machines. The time has come to
take on this interconnected and
interdependent world, and to do
so with intelligence.
Marko Erman
Chief technical officer, Thales
Innovation by the numbers
#1
worldwide in telecoms
satellites, air traffic
management and more.
20%
of Thales’ revenues are invested in
R&D to develop innovative concepts
into real-life applications.
50%
of the International Space
Station’s pressurised volume
was developed by Thales.
02
Defence: cybersecuriTy
“The spectrum
of cyber
attackers has
extended...
motivations
have evolved,
with more
structured
organisations
producing
more
sophisticated
attacks”
Vincent Marfaing,
vice-president of IT security
and cybersecurity at Thales
03
The
invisible
enemy
In Brief
1
Cybersecurity
is becoming
an essential
ingredient for
government
planning around
the world.
2
Security for
IT systems
must now cover
both internal and
external threats.
3
The key to
effective
cybersecurity
is to both stay
ahead of the
curve where
possible and,
if that’s not
possible, be
prepared to
react swiftly in
order to shut
down any threat.
some of the most
aggressive and
invasive battles
being fought today
are not taking place
on the ground
in some distant
country but behind
the scenes in the
circuitry of our
iT systems. This
isn’t merely kids in
basements trying
to score points with
their friends – cyber
attacks are now
being launched by
governments across
borders. How can
you defend yourself
when you can’t
even be sure you’re
standing on the
frontlines?
Trefor Moss
T
his is the war of the
invisible enemy,”
explained a former UK
Defence Minister in 2011,
as he attempted to justify
why he was ramping up
cybersecurity spending
even as he was slashing
the national defence budget as a whole.
The minister correctly identified what is a key
challenge for corporations and governments:
making the case to sceptical shareholders and
taxpayers that this intangible threat posed
by faceless enemies and criminals
somewhere in the realm of
cyberspace can have devastating
real-world consequences: bank
records wiped; power grids shut
down; public utilities crippled, if not
physically destroyed; government systems
scrambled; key military systems disabled.
Cyber attacks come in a variety
of forms and can have a range of
objectives. “Most cyber attacks are
designed to steal information – primarily
intellectual property and trade secrets. Data
theft and business disruption are the most
expensive cyber threats,” explains Cynthia
Provin, president of Thales e-Security, Inc.
Corporations may be targeted by
“hacktivists” or by malicious actors whose aim
is to deface or bring down websites; criminals
will attack financial institutions in order to
extract sensitive data, such as credit card
details; and at a more sophisticated level,
corporations may find themselves targeted by
business rivals or foreign governments in a
campaign of industrial espionage. In perhaps
the most serious cyber attack against a
corporation to date, Saudi Arabia’s state oil
company ARAMCO had most of its computer
systems, including critical files, destroyed by
the Shamoon virus in what appeared to be a
politically motivated attack.
04
Defence: cybersecuriTy
“The spectrum of cyber attackers has
suggests Ross Parsell, key account
extended over time,” says Vincent
director, Government and Commercial
Marfaing, vice-president and head of
and cyber specialist for Thales. Some
information technology security at Thales.
businesses spend relatively large sums on
“Their motivations have evolved, with more
cybersecurity, but focus too much of their
structured organisations producing more
budget on preventing hackers from
sophisticated attacks.”
penetrating their systems, says Parsell.
Indeed, cyber threats are targeting ever
“The first thing you should assume is
bigger entities, not just corporations but also
that the bad guys are already in or will be in
governments and militaries. The evolution
very rapidly,” he explains. “Hackers are very
of this threat has gone “from cyber-crime
fast at finding vulnerabilities and sharing
to cyber-espionage to cyber-sabotage
them online, and they work in a very
to cyber-war”, argues Daniel Ventre
dynamic manner.” To counter this agile
of France’s Centre National de
adversary, businesses need to
la Recherche Scientifique.
adopt more comprehensive
“It seems that the cyber
solutions to protect
capabilities of the
their sensitive data.
actors who make up
“In effect, there are
the cyber conflict
four premises,” Parsell
ecosystem are
continues. “There’s the
increasing and that
protection end, high
impacts cyber threats
walls and encryption;
both in terms of
detection, to be proactive
Ross Parsell, Thales
violence and volume.”
and to look at who’s coming,
Most individuals and
having your outer ring of
businesses are aware of the need
defence looking outwards;
to protect their systems from malicious
a response mechanism that asks, when
software, even if the security systems
I find an anomaly, what am I going to
deployed are nothing more complex than
respond with; and then there’s residual risk,
firewalls and virus checkers. And according
which you have to think about because the
to Ventre, most attacks can be forestalled by
bad guys are moving faster than we are.”
using relatively basic forms of security.
Businesses have to accept the notion
“Eighty per cent of incidents could be
that cybersecurity “is not about never being
avoided through the application of simple
attacked”,explains Marfaing. “It’s about how
rules of security: data encryption, not storing
you mitigate the consequences of an attack
sensitive, professional and private data on
on your system.” He describes this approach
the same storage device,” he says. However,
as an active defence posture, as opposed to
businesses must take decisions about the
the static approach of merely erecting
level of protection they feel they require in
firewalls. “You’re in a monitoring posture,
the context of the funds that are available.
with sensors in your network elements
Building a virtual wall to prevent attackers
generating a lot of data and correlating it.
from getting in is only the first line of
That entails significant domain knowledge.
defence and one that is unlikely to keep
You’re leaving generic IT and talking about
sophisticated attackers at bay for long,
professional cyber reaction people.”
“There needs
to be a cultural
shift as to
what you’re
guarding
within your
network”
This is becoming such a
specialised area that many corporations
lack the requisite capacity in-house and
contract cyber reaction teams from
providers like Thales to deliver a
sufficiently robust cyber-defence.
Another service is the provision of
what Marfaing describes as “ethical
attacker teams”.“It’s necessary to be
aware of attack techniques,” he says,
“so we have ethical attacker teams for
penetration testing. We test the
robustness of your system by attacking it.”
Providing an advanced level of
protection is expensive and requires a lot
of manpower: the monitoring process
cannot be automated because it takes
highly trained human analysts to interpret
the tactics and intentions of human
attackers. This forces further choices
about defence strategies, says Parsell,
who advocates an approach whereby
different parts of the network are afforded
different levels of protection.
“There needs to be a cultural shift
as to what you’re guarding within your
network. Some of your information is
critical, some isn’t. What you need to
protect is your next big invention, say,
and its intellectual property.”
For private-sector companies,
investing in cybersecurity can be a
problematic enterprise, however.
“Security doesn’t come for free,”
observes Marfaing, “and there is a
trade-off between security and efficiency.
Security comes often at the expense of
efficiency and speed: it’s not intrinsically a
productivity investment and these days
only mature organisations are able to
gauge this balance.” This trade-off
becomes particularly serious when
private companies run utilities on which
society depends, especially since
05
“We are currently observing the
beginnings of a new arms race,
to develop a cyber arsenal”
Daniel Ventre of France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
attackers can cause major loss of life,
as well as economic damage, by hacking
into the networked infrastructure that
regulates city-wide water or power
systems, for example. Some
governments may come to feel that
legislation is necessary to force utility
companies to protect themselves with
advanced cybersecurity systems, though
government support may be sufficient to
help these companies to counter the
threat on their own initiative.
Most cybersecurity experts agree,
however, that Western governments are
ahead of the private sector in treating
the threat of cyber attacks with the
seriousness that it deserves.
“Cyber crimes are increasing against
governments around the world,” notes
Provin. “Although most government
spending around defence is
declining, investment in
cybersecurity continues to grow. In
the United States, the government
is expected to spend $10.5bn a year on
information security by 2015.”
Some of the possible implications of a
mass attack on government networks were
made abundantly clear in 2007, when Estonia
was subjected to a barrage of cyber attacks.
As well as convincing governments that they
needed to invest in cyber protection to
prevent the kind of shutdown suffered by the
Estonians, militaries also began to appreciate
the importance of improving their cyber
capabilities. Initially, these efforts were
defensive: most modern military systems are
networked and could therefore potentially be
disabled or degraded by hackers.
However, there is an increasing shift
towards acquiring offensive capabilities.
“For military communication infrastructures,
the challenge [of cyber defence] remains
complex, since the impact of cyber attacks
can have lethal consequences,” explains
what constitutes an act of war in cyberspace
Ventre. “This is one of the reasons why
and difficult questions such as when and
governments think about deterrent
where cyber weapons can legally be used.
strategies. The conclusion that a really
These problems will take a long time to work
robust cybersecurity is a non-reachable
through, especially when cyber attacks are
objective justifies the new policies:
so difficult to trace and may not even
offensive strategies are seen as a
originate in the country that instigated them.
deterrent to international cyber violence.”
For some countries – especially those
The US Army only set up its Cyber
that are under fiscal pressure even as they
Command in October 2010, but already
recognise the need to ramp up cyber
cyber is becoming central to US military
security spending – the priority now is to
strategy. The US used the Stuxnet virus
make civil and military cyber defence
against Iran’s nuclear programme and the
systems as complementary as possible,
more advanced Flame virus, which also
and to implement a cross-government
targeted Iran, is believed by some
cybersecurity strategy, rather than a more
analysts to be an American cyber
expensive, piecemeal approach.
weapon. In October 2012, US Defense
“People [in government] are seeing the
Secretary Leon Panetta said that, in his
effect that a cyber attack could have,” says
view, the US was ahead of the field
Parsell, “and they’re trying to build a
in terms of its cyber warfare
co-ordinated approach”. Marfaing agrees that
capabilities, though he identified
“countries are recognising the need to
China, Iran and Russia as the US
integrate government and military critical
military’s closest rivals in the
systems”. Terrorists or foreign states are
cyber domain. This intensifying
likely to target critical infrastructure, he
competition in cyber warfare is
points out, and guarding against that is a
inevitably leading to fears that a virtual arms
matter for civilian and military leaders alike.
race is now underway.
“This is part of the reason we want to
“We are observing the beginnings of a
embed cybersecurity in everything we do
new arms race, to develop a cyber arsenal,”
at Thales. It’s a natural evolution in the way
Ventre believes. “States are competing to
we work,” says Marfaing. “It’s also why we
get the best ‘cyberwarriors’. ” However,
have been involved in the creation of the
Ventre adds that acquiring an
Cyberdefence and Cybersecurity chair with
effective capability in this
the research centre of Ecoles de
new sphere of warfare
Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan and Sogeti.
will be a complex
Such initiatives are a vital part
process. Militaries
of the efforts to combat this
are only now
threat at the highest
beginning to write
possible level.”
their doctrines for
Cyber-attackers may
cyber operations.
remain an invisible enemy,
Internationally,
but for militaries and
countries are still
governments around the
Cynthia Provin,
feeling their way
world, they are very much on
Thales e-Security, Inc
through such issues as
the radar.
“The us...
is expected to
spend $10.5bn
a year on
information
security
by 2015”
06
defence : Sonar
Welcome to Templecombe, the modest
village that houses one of Thales’ five
principal sites around the UK, France and
Australia for the design, development
and manufacture of sonar and associated
systems, a technology at which it is a
global leader.
For more than 50 years, Templecombe
has been at the centre of expertise in
designing and building arrays, the integrated
arrangements of hydrophones that are
mounted on the flanks and bows of
submarines as well as being towed. Over
the course of those five decades, Thales UK
has fitted sonar systems to all of the UK’s
nuclear submarines.
“Templecombe has a deserved
reputation as a centre of excellence for
sonar and it is also an integral part of Thales’
global Under Water Systems business line,
which is the world leader in sonar systems
solutions,” says Kevin Whitfield, director of
the Meta Centre of Competence – Sonar
Hardware Products with Thales. “Spread
across France, the UK and Australia, the
Under Water Systems business offers
integrated, common strategic, technical
and product-based organisation.”
The Sonar domain designs,
manufactures and maintains a wide range
of products and systems for submarines,
surface vessels, mine-countermeasures
vessels and aircraft, including hull-mounted,
variable depth, towed and dipping sonar
systems, sonobuoys and sonobuoy
processing systems, specialist
communication products and antennas
with a worldwide capability to provide
comprehensive sonar support solutions.
During the Second World War, its discreet
setting was an advantage but it was also
situated at a railway junction connecting it to
British naval and research bases in Portland,
Portsmouth, Plymouth and London. Then, in
the 1960s, swathes of Britain’s rail network
were shut down. As well as being low-key
Submarine
hunting in
Somerset
For an undemonstrative part of Britain, the fields of
southern Somerset have their fair share of mysteries.
It’s here that the fabled site of King Arthur’s Camelot
lies and where the Holy Grail is reputedly buried. And
there’s another more recent puzzle: how and why is this
rolling, apple-rich countryside home to some of the
world’s foremost submarine detecting technology?
Stuart rock
Liam Sharp
Sight and sound
Sonar and optronic masts
Thales supplies Sonar 2076,
the search and attack submarine
sonar system, to the UK Royal
Navy’s sixth and seventh Astute
Class submarines, as well as
two non-hull penetrating CM010
optronic masts. Together, these
systems give the submarine its
“eyes and ears”. Thales also
supplies the electronic support
measures system, which has two
multifunction antenna arrays
mounted on the masts and can
identify other platforms equipped
with radar systems operating in
the area.
07
In Brief
1
Sonar and
underwater
systems are
redefining the
frontlines of
naval defence.
2
The challenge
is ensuring
lines of detection
are accurate
and immediate
in order to offer
support in the
critical decisionmaking process.
3
The towed
array sonar
system enables
frigates to
locate the latest
submarines at
considerable
distances
beyond the
range from
which they can
launch an attack.
08
defence : Sonar
“While many navies own
submarines, few can – or wish
to – use them across the full
spectrum of their capabilities”
Steve Ramm, submarine business development, Thales
and unobtrusive, Templecombe became just
a touch more isolated.
And yet the location is totally appropriate
for the work that goes on within: after all, the
stealth of a submarine remains its primary
asset for navies around the world.
The SSBN deterrent nuclear powered
submarines, armed with strategic nuclear
missiles, have to be invulnerable to
detection. The British Vanguard class and the
French Triomphant class submarines are the
principal carriers of each nation’s nuclear
deterrent; the American deterrent is shifting
towards greater use of submarines.
SSNs, the so-called nuclear powered
hunter-killer or attack submarines, meanwhile,
perform a variety of roles. Stealth is central to
all of them. They protect the SSBN deterrent
subs. They counter other submarines and
surface ships; increasingly, they operate in a
surveillance role close to hostile shores.
“Submarines can move in quietly without
raising the stakes,” says Steve Ramm, who
looks after submarine business development
at Thales in the UK. “A submarine doesn’t
need to be supported. It doesn’t need
refuelling or replenishment. It doesn’t require
diplomatic clearance.”
Their flexibility is another prime asset.
They can operate independently or in
concert with other battle groups.
“They can change mission without
having to return to port,” says Ramm.
“When they sail, they are prepared for all
their roles.”
It’s not surprising that more navies are
operating submarines than ever before,
although only six have nuclear submarines.
Conventional or nuclear, though, they are
difficult to build and require substantial
technical and engineering infrastructure to
maintain them through their 30-year life.
“They require a great deal of experience
and training support to operate,” says
Ramm, “so while many navies own
submarines, few can – or wish to – use them
across the full spectrum of their capabilities.”
All navies do use their submarines
to monitor and protect their territorial
waters, which creates an interesting cycle.
Submarines need better sonar systems to
perform their roles. This means that
submarines and surface ships need better
sonar systems to detect other submarines.
This leads to the development of quieter
propulsion systems, so as not to give
away acoustic clues. And so the stealth
race continues.
Sonar is a relatively young science.
In the Second World War, the UK began
using “active sonar” – sending out a signal
and having it ping back from other craft. The
trouble is that active sonar gives away the
presence of the transmitting platform while
the signal quality, having travelled out and
back, erodes. It became clear that it was
much more effective to listen to sounds
coming towards a submarine – it was a
clearer, stronger signal and the submarine
didn’t give its presence away. The race was
on to build the best acoustic sensors.
The sensors have to gather signals
through the sea and back through the wall of
the submarine. This data then has to be
processed and displayed in a useful fashion
to the submarine’s commander and sonar
operators. In other words, the eyes and ears
have to detect, transmit, interpret and
communicate to the brain.
To do so, submarines carry huge arrays
on their flanks and bow; the larger the
“window”, the more information the array
can receive. And they also tow arrays –
100m-long hydrophone-packed reinforced
09
A submarine commander needs
a 360-degree view, which requires
sonar operators listening and
discriminating between visual
and aural signatures.
hose tied to even longer cables and
a giant underwater microphone let out
from a fishing reel. These arrays and
their associated telemetry are made
by Thales in Templecombe and at the
sister facility in Brest.
The ability to increase the size of the
arrays is limited. Once fitted, the signal
extraction capability of the sensors in the
arrays – and the submarine’s systems for
processing this information – are the main
ways to enhance performance.
The largest and most capable sonar
sensors are contained in Thales’ 2076
system. Fitted to the Royal Navy’s new
Astute class vessels as well as to the
existing Trafalgar class, and based
on an open architecture system, the
2076 system can be regularly and affordably
upgraded. The old way of expensively ripping
out and rebuilding the entire acoustic
system half-way through the submarine’s
life is now history.
understand their environment and it’s our
job to give them the tools both to interpret
and exploit that.”
Then there is the other side of the
equation – the art of anti-submarine warfare
(ASW). This is an all-arms affair. It requires
The people factor
For all their sophistication, it’s not just
about the systems. The human element
remains crucial.
“You still need intelligent people in
the loop,” Ramm observes. A submarine
commander’s first concern is to have a
360-degree view; unless he knows that
the ship is safe, he can’t use it for tactical
and strategic advantage.
For the commander to have that allround look requires his sonar operators
to be listening and discriminating between
visual and aural signatures.
“It’s one thing to hear a ship,” says
Ramm, “it’s another thing to classify
it and tell what it’s doing.”
This ability to discriminate applies
to conditions just as much as to ships. For
example, there is a lot more noise when
close to the shore.
“Shallow waters can do horrendous
things to noise,” Ramm observes. “It can
be land-based interference or fishing boats
or sea life – dolphins and snapping shrimp
can blank out everything else. A really
good operator helps the commander
surface ships, maritime aircraft, helicopters
and submarines all working together to mark
and deter, to track and attack.
“It’s an expensive game,” says Ramm,
“and the command-and-control and training
skills are hard won. They need to be
exercised continuously to remain viable.”
Here, too, Thales is a world leader. Its
FLASH active dipping sonar (a system that
is dipped into the sea by a helicopter) is the
primary ASW sensor system for installation
on maritime surveillance helicopters. Built in
Brest, close to 150 FLASH units have been
installed on naval helicopters operated by
the French, British, Norwegian, American,
Swedish and UAE navies.
The helicopters work in tandem with
surface ships, giving a naval force the
capability to locate submarines beyond the
range from which they can launch an attack.
Britain’s Royal Navy recently described the
combination of Thales’ sonar systems on
its Type 23 frigate and Merlin helicopter as
“the world’s best.”
It all goes to show the truth of the old
adage: if you want the best gamekeeper,
hire the smartest poacher.
10
ReseaRch: cRitical MateRials
certain critical materials are
essential to industries across
the eU and spurring innovation
along the way.
Chain reaction
John coutts
From advanced radar systems to high-efficiency LED lighting,
wind turbines, hybrid cars and smart phones, many of today’s
innovative technologies depend upon critical materials – elements
and compounds prized for their remarkable electronic, chemical and
mechanical properties.
The European Commission lists more than 30 non-energy raw
materials it considers to be critical. Among these are the rare earth
elements (REEs), a group of 17 chemically similar metallic elements,
such as neodymium, lanthanum and dysprosium. The EC’s critical list
also includes better known metals such as magnesium, tungsten and
platinum. What makes these materials critical is not so much their
geological scarcity – although that is a factor – but a complex array
of geopolitical and macroeconomic constraints. These include the
absence or shortage of substitutes, the political and economic
stability of suppliers and low recycling rates.
Currently, mining and production of critical raw materials is
concentrated in just a handful of locations around the world. China,
for example, accounts for more than 90 per cent of the current
output of REEs. Because critical materials generally occur in very
low concentrations, the cost of recovery is high.
“It’s a very capital intensive industry with long lead times and a lot
of permitting required and financing to put in place,” mining industry
consultant Dr David Humphreys told the BBC World Service recently.
“It can take a long time for new capacity to come into the market.”
Resources under pressure
Industrial consumers of critical materials face two key challenges.
The first and most important of these is availability. The second is
price. Both are determined by a range of economic, regulatory and
technological factors, all of which are interconnected and any one of
which can trigger disruption that cascades through the supply chain.
Risks are compounded by the length and complexity of those
supply chains: typically, participants include mining businesses,
mineral traders, concentrate processors and smelters, specialist
ingot, wafer and crystal producers, semiconductor makers and
end-product manufacturers. Supply chains are only as strong as their
weakest link, so constant monitoring is essential.
“It’s a complex economic system where instability can have
unpredictable consequences,” says Bertrand Demotes-Mainard,
PtAs2
“it’s a very
capital
intensive
industry with
long lead
times and a lot
of permitting
required and
financing to
put in place”
Dr David Humphreys,
mining industry consultant
11
“it’s a complex economic system where
instability can have unpredictable consequences.
the real dangers come when two or three of those
risks combine to create major disruption”
Bertrand Demotes-Mainard, vice-president of Hardware Technologies at Thales
In Brief
1
Scarcity is
not the only
thing that makes
materials critical
– lack of suitable
substitutes
and political
and economic
factors play a
part as well.
2
Availability
and price
are the key
challenges
facing industrial
consumers of
critical materials.
3
An integrated
supply chain
for critical
materials can
help maintain
stability and spur
on innovation.
12
ReseaRch: cRitical MateRials
“to dilute the risk and optimise
the opportunities... thales builds
strategic partnerships that maximise
synergies with other participants”
Bertrand Demotes-Mainard, vice-president of Hardware Technologies at Thales
vice-president of Hardware Technologies at
Thales. “The real dangers come when two
or three of those risks combine to create
major disruption.”
Criticality issues can develop quickly.
For example, exporting states can decide to
reduce or cut off supplies, speculation can lead
to price spikes and technology shifts can result
in rapid market tightening. Because only small
volumes of critical materials are produced, and
because producers are few in number, the
market is vulnerable to rapid distortions.
Critical thinking
The ability of an individual company
to exert significant influence
over long and complex
supply chains on its own
is limited. But closer
integration between
key downstream
stakeholders
promotes stability
and spurs innovation.
“To dilute the risk and
optimise the opportunities
inherent in critical materials,
Thales builds strategic partnerships
that maximise synergies with other
participants not only in aerospace and
defence, but also across academia and
industry as a whole,” says Demotes-Mainard.
“These include joint research and
development activities that pave the way for
the industrialisation of new technologies.”
For example, the III-V Lab is a joint venture
that brings together Thales, Alcatel-Lucent
and the French research and technology
organisation CEA-Leti. Established in 2004,
the III-V Lab underlines how collaborative
approaches are transforming the way
research and development is carried out.
As its name suggests, the role of the lab
is to carry out research and development on
III-V semiconductor components. These are
made from compounds that contain critical
elements found in groups III and V
of the periodic table, such as gallium
arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN)
and indium phosphide (InP).
With a staff of around 130 and
headquarters at Marcoussis 25km south of
Paris, the III-V Lab carries out basic research
and development that builds on the common
ground between the technologies
developed for the various markets served
by Thales and Alcatel-Lucent. These include
defence, security, space and telecoms.
In addition to its research activities, the III-V
Lab produces and sells components such as
modules and epitaxial wafers, which are
used for complex integrated circuit
fabrication. Components are
typically sold in small batches.
This small production run
capability is valuable in
today’s fast moving
market because it allows
partners to get early
access to components
without the time penalty and
costs associated with tooling
up for mass production.
the european
commission
lists more than
30 non-energy
raw materials
it considers
to be critical
Intelligent manufacturing
The ability to industrialise innovation at a
larger scale is equally important. To make
this a reality, Thales worked with EADS
Deutschland GmbH to establish a joint
venture company – United Monolithic
Semiconductors (UMS) – in 1996.
Today, UMS is one of Europe’s leading
providers of gallium arsenide (GaAs) and
gallium nitride (GaN) foundry (semiconductor
manufacturing) services. The company has
production facilities in France and Germany
with sales offices in the US and China.
UMS shipped some eight million products
in 2011 and employs more than 250 people.
As well as providing critical parts for
Thales and EADS – components that
would otherwise have to be sourced from
outside Europe – UMS
manufactures and markets
state-of-the art radio frequency, microwave
and millimetre wave components and
integrated circuits to meet the need of
customers across industry as a whole.
The market segments served by UMS
embrace the entire technology spectrum
and include telecoms, space, defence and
security, automotive and ISM – the
industrial, scientific and medical markets.
The company’s manufacturing portfolio
includes gallium arsenide chips used to
perform digital processing and frequency
management in France’s Rafale fighter
plane. UMS is also a leader in automotive
short range radar (SRR) – the technology that
allows cars to detect obstacles. This
technology is at the heart of collision
avoidance systems and paves the way for
tomorrow’s intelligent transport networks.
Knowledge is power
The risks and complexity surrounding
critical materials can be further reduced –
and new opportunities created – by providing
stakeholders with better information.
Thales does this through its Component
Information System (TCIS). This is a repository
of all the technical and regulatory data relating
to the electronic components used in the
research, design and manufacturing of
products throughout the enterprise. The
database currently contains some 1.5 million
references and includes information
concerning both externally procured and
Thales-built components, as well as lists of
preferred parts and manufacturers.
“The list is constantly reviewed to
evaluate the status of components,” says
Demotes-Mainard. “Even commodity parts
have an end of life, so it is essential that
designers are kept informed well in advance
of any changes.”
TCIS is important because the products
and systems built by Thales contain huge
13
Thales innovations: putting safety first
In the defence arena,
components containing critical
materials such as gallium
are vital in the production
of advanced sensing and
processing technologies that
support the armed forces.
Gallium arsenide (GaAs)
and, increasingly, gallium
nitride (GaN) are used in vital
electronic applications.
Thermal imaging technology
is an example. Critical
materials are integral to
Thales’ high-resolution
cameras which use quantum
well infrared photodetector
(QWIP) technology to provide
enhanced long-distance
surveillance in harsh
environments. These cameras
allow personnel to acquire
images not only in darkness,
but also to “see” through
obscurants such as smoke,
vegetation and camouflage.
Thales’ sonar systems also
depend on parts containing
critical raw materials. These
are capable of generating the
wide range of frequencies
needed to detect threats –
such as mines and submarines
– with speed and certainty.
numbers of electronic components.
In addition to technical data, TCIS lists
regulatory, commercial, health and
environmental detail for each component.
As well providing compliance tools, TCIS
assists in the creation of greener products.
Because the system contains data on the
constituents of each component, including
rare earths and other critical materials,
Thales’ designers are able to optimise the
In the air, Thales provides a
complete package of integrated
electronics for France’s Rafale
fighter aircraft, including the
plane’s state-of-the-art RBE2
radar system. This uses active
electronically scanned array
(AESA) technology, improving
effectiveness and eliminating
the need for energy-hungry
moving parts – a solution
made possible by critical
raw materials.
Critical materials are
equally important in space,
where temperature extremes
and high levels of radiation
potential for end-of-life recycling at the
drawing board stage. This is an increasingly
important customer requirement.
And by retaining lifelong data about all
the components in use, TCIS also helps
customers with existing systems to make
more informed judgements about how
materials can be reclaimed as those
systems approach obsolescence. This
ensures a greater proportion of potentially
demand electronic and optical
components with proven
resilience. The Pléiades
earth observation satellites
are a case in point. Orbiting
nearly 700km above the
earth, the two Pléiades
satellites incorporate veryhigh resolution (VHR) imaging
instruments built by Thales
Alenia Space. On board, critical
or near-critical elements are
found in everything from the
high-precision mirrors used in
the optical equipment to the
solar arrays and batteries that
provide power for the satellite.
useful material can be easily identified and
recovered for recycling.
Thales’ collaborative research activities,
manufacturing joint ventures and innovations
such as TCIS underline the ways in which
smarter management boosts resilience in the
downstream supply chain. This reduces risk for
Thales and its partners. But more importantly,
it provides customers with higher levels of
assurance and better products.
14
Space : SatelliteS
Just above
your head
at this point, there are
several thousand man-made
satellites oribiting the earth,
supporting everything from
telecoms to space science,
navigation, meteorology
and military surveillance.
the global satellite
industry continues to grow
at a steady rate of five per cent,
nearly double the worldwide
economic growth rate.
The US leads the way in
new launches, followed by
europe (with 25 per cent of 2011
launch revenues). Russia (19 per
cent) and asia (17 per cent) are
the other main players in the
global launch market.
Russia
1,437
USA
1,099
Who owns what
More than 50 countries
currently operate at least
one satellite (some with
assistance from other
nations or entities).
Japan
127
China
120
France
120
India
45
Canada
32
UK
29
63,023
Satellites:
put into orbit since Sputnik
Satellites:
what are they used for?
Of the 994 currently operational
satellites, the bulk are used for
commercial, civil government
and military communications.
Commercial
communications
381
(38%)
15
Climatology
Oceanography
3,000
according to NaSa,
there are now an
estimated 3,000
satellites currently
orbiting the earth,
though many are
now obsolete.
Thales in space
Thales’ satellites serve specific
functions including meteorological,
telecoms, navigation, scientific
research as well as tracking a wide
range of changes in climate and their
potential impact. thales continues to
set the global standard in each of these
areas through two joint ventures with
Finmeccanica of italy: thales alenia
Space and telespazio.
Agriculture
Out of this world... orbit
as of May 2012,
42% geosynchronous orbit
47% in low orbit
7% in medium orbit
4% in elliptical orbit
Civil government
communications
113
(13%)
Military
communications
86
(9%)
16
Defence: MaritiMe piracy
The tanker MV Smyrni, laden with $130 million worth of crude
oil from Azerbaijan and with 26 crew members, was passing through
the Gulf of Aden on 10 May 2012 when pirates struck, seizing control
of the ship in a hail of machine gun and RPG fire. While it was a routine
that had become familiar in the waters off Somalia, the taking of MV
Smyrni had one important difference – it was the last hijacking to have
been carried out successfully by Somalia’s once-prolific pirate crews.
Today, the tide appears to have turned decisively against the
pirates off Somalia. According to statistics from the EU Naval Force
(EU NAVFOR) at the time of writing, there are only two vessels
currently being held by pirates and they were taken in 2010 and 2012.
Thus far in 2013, there have been two attacks on vessels but both
came through the incidents safely.
However, global piracy is a hydra that is not easily defeated:
whenever the international community concentrates its efforts on
one piracy hotspot, others tend to emerge. So it was that concern
over the Malacca Straits a decade ago shifted gradually to the waters
off Somalia. Now, even before that threat has been eliminated, the
Gulf of Guinea has emerged as piracy’s latest epicentre.
The experience of restoring order to the Malacca Straits and,
increasingly, the seas off Somalia has nonetheless given
governments, militaries and shipping companies valuable insights
into the best ways to reduce the likelihood of pirate attacks and
minimise the pirates’ chances of success when they do strike.
Ultimately, the root causes are political and economic: Somali
pirates won’t disappear entirely until Somalia has a functioning
government and its people have jobs.
“You’ll never eradicate piracy through action at sea,” explains
Chris Trelawny, senior deputy director responsible for maritime
security at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). “It’s
mainly a shore- based law enforcement issue – breaking the piracy
criminal model.”
17
Trouble on the high seas
Piracy on the world’s seas reached a five-year
low in 2012 as the impact of intelligence-led
operations, such as the european Union
Naval Force Somalia – Operation Atalanta
began to be felt. Has time finally run out for
maritime pirates?
trefor Moss
In Brief
1
Maritime
piracy remains
a concern,
particularly in
hotspots like
Somalia.
2
Collaborative
maritime
security
measures
are being
implemented by
governments and
corporations.
3
The key to
reducing
maritime piracy,
if not stopping it
altogether, is in
sharing of realtime information
so that everyone
involved can
make the right
decision at
critical moments.
18
Defence: MaritiMe piracy
Civil war, lack of governmental
controls and economic collapse
have all been key factors in the rise
of maritime piracy, especially in
regions such as the Gulf of Aden
off the Somali coast.
However, until such time as these problems are addressed at
their source on land, there is much that can be done at sea to minimise
the damage. According to Trelawny, this drop in piracy, aside from
governance and law enforcement factors, can be explained by three
main developments.
“First is the development of IMO guidance and shipping industrydeveloped best management practice [BMP] – that’s a range of
self-defence measures,” he explains. These cover basic practices such
as maintaining a good lookout, travelling at high speed through danger
zones, fitting razor wire and high-pressure hoses to ships, and even to
hiring private on-board security teams – an effective, but controversial,
measure. “Pirates essentially come in probing,” he says. “If they see a
vulnerable target, they’ll attack that; if it’s a ship that’s well prepared,
they will look for a different target.”
Previously, one in three piracy attacks succeeded; implementation
of BMP has reduced the success rate to just one in eight.
Secondly, Trelawny cites more effective efforts by navies. Off
Somalia, for example, the presence of naval task forces has facilitated
the establishment of an Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor
(IRTC), which is easier to police than a much wider expanse of ocean.
Three multinational forces – NATO, EU NAVFOR and
Combined Task Force-151 (CTF-151), an international
effort run by the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), itself
a multi-national naval partnership attached to the United
States Naval Forces Central Command – conduct
counter-piracy operations in and around the IRTC, while
other countries, including China and the Russian
Federation, also send warships to escort convoys through
the transit corridor.
“The third factor is that situational awareness is getting
a lot better,” Trelawny continues. With ships of over 300
tonnes now required to carry long- range identification and
tracking equipment, navies can monitor shipping traffic and
pay close attention to unregistered vessels. Information is
shared between countries, militaries and commercial
vessels, with UKMTO Dubai, the NATO Shipping Centre
and EU NAVFOR websites providing real-time threat
information that crews can access.
“This enables them to alter course and get out of the
way” if a pirate vessel is identified, observes Trelawny.
“Ninety-nine percent of it is common sense. Most big
operators are doing the right things now, but there’s a
danger of complacency among some.”
Pirates thrive in an information vacuum, such as the
once poorly monitored seas around Somalia. Setting up a
distribution network of real-time information has therefore
been at least as important in reducing the pirates’ effectiveness as the
deterrent of heavily armed warships.
“The key is situational awareness,” explains Jean-Marie Lhuissier,
maritime safety and security co-ordinator at Thales and a rear admiral
(retired) in the French Navy. “That’s the reason why ships’ masters are
strongly recommended to register and report their position in order to
help those who are running the security operation.”
Lieutenant Commander Jacqueline Sherriff (UK Royal Navy),
spokesperson for EU NAVFOR, explains that registration and tracking
really assist the EU Naval Task Force to do its job. “Our approach is very
much intelligence led. The Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa
[MSCHOA] has a registration system that enables us to track a vessel
on our screen. If a vessel’s course suddenly alters and heads into
Somali waters, this will alert us that a vessel may have been attacked.”
According to Lt Cdr Sherriff, around 70 per cent of ships passing
through Somali waters now register in advance with MSCHOA. With
most ships choosing to register, the real-time information gathered
by MSCHOA can be distributed among the military ships in the area.
This enables the different task forces to co-operate effectively.
“At sea, we have real-time information-sharing and co-operation
19
“If they see a vulnerable target,
they’ll attack that; if it’s a ship
that’s well defended, they will
look for a different target”
Chris Trelawny, International Maritime Organisation
between counter-piracy forces,” Lt Cdr Sherriff explains. “For
example, in January 2012, a NATO warship and EU Naval
Force warship worked together to successfully apprehend
12 armed suspect pirates at sea.”
In September 2012, the command of CTF-151 passed
to Rear Admiral Oguz Karaman of the Turkish Navy. The task
force’s situational awareness is now excellent, according to
Adm Karaman, with much better communication between
all the military and civilian shipping in pirate-affected areas.
“We have a very clear picture of what is going on in and around
the IRTC thanks to the information sharing,” Adm Karaman explains.
“The information is real time and it’s much better than Google maps
or Wikipedia because we have access to people on scene who provide
the information directly to us. On the high seas, when someone sees
something in the region, everyone sees it.”
The problem that Somalia faces, as well as other regions that have
not benefited from Somalia’s international profile, is that multinational
task forces will not always be there to keep the pirates at bay. For this
reason, as well as building up governance, the international community
is working with littoral states in pirate-affected regions to help build up
the kind of knowledge systems that have proven
themselves in areas like the Gulf of Aden.
“The most important thing is to develop a
maritime information system,” argues Lhuissier.
“The question of governance is sometimes seen
as an obstacle, but to me it’s not an issue. The political
issues should be put aside. The goal must be to initiate
capabilities that enable countries to control their own areas.
Thales can contribute to these developments: we cover the whole
range of systems and sensors that are needed to address maritime
awareness at national and regional levels.”
Similarly, in the Gulf of Guinea, governments are seeking new ways
to counter a different form of pirate threat. Whereas Somali pirates
commonly hijack ships in order to demand a ransom, West African
pirates have a different modus operandi: they have closer links to
organised crime and hijack ships in order to steal oil or other cargoes, or
even to steal the ships themselves.
“In West Africa, we’re looking at developing maritime law
enforcement capabilities – piracy is just one issue,” explains
Trelawny. However, countries there are already making progress,
he says, with Nigeria and Benin conducting joint
patrols, and Cameroon having stepped up patrols
in its territorial waters. International frameworks are
also in place to make it easier for developing countries
to build counter-piracy capabilities. The Djibouti Code
of Conduct, which came into effect in 2009 under the
auspices of the IMO, commits signatories to a
universal set of counter-piracy standards.
Meanwhile, CMF has hosted regular Shared
Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) conferences
since 2008, attended by all international counter piracy
forces operating in the Indian Ocean, together with
representatives from the shipping industry and
regional states.
These exchanges, which promote counter-piracy
information-sharing and offer BMP updates, have
been a “tactical success story in helping us to
co-ordinate our efforts”, explains Lt Cdr Sherriff.
While warships are a powerful deterrent, information
technology and situational awareness are the
counter-piracy tools that the pirates fear most of all.
In the end, the people who finance the pirates
regard hijacking as a business opportunity. When task
forces, governments and shipping companies share,
collaborate and exchange information, the pirates and
their backers will find another line of work.
20
SeCurity: Big Data
Big data takes critical information
systems to the next level.
Taking the right path
I
John Coutts
t’s early afternoon at Paray-leMonial in the Burgundy region
of France. The N79 trunk road
that skirts the town should be
humming with traffic, but there
isn't a car or truck in sight. Instead,
a construction team is preparing to
winch a high-tech traffic monitoring
gantry into position. Chains clank
in the autumn sunshine as the
25m-wide structure is coaxed into
place over the four-lane highway.
The traffic sensors that are
being installed at Paray-leMonial – and at more than
170 other checkpoints across
the country – are vital
components in a critical
information system that is
helping to turn the government’s
ranging from air-traffic management to
defence, banking and in-flight entertainment.
“Smarter systems mean better
performance and the ability to transform large
amounts of data – big data – into usable
information,” says Laurent Maury, vicepresident for critical information systems at
Thales. Big data is here to stay: technology
analyst Gartner forecasts that IT organisations
will spend more than ¤170bn on hardware,
software and services relating to big data over
the next five years. According to some
estimates, the world generates
enough data every day to fill a
shelf of DVDs stretching over
5,000km. The ability to make
sense of it all – to gain insights
and then act on these – confers
an advantage to both public- and
private-sector organisations.
“Smarter systems mean better performance
and the ability to transform large amounts
of data – big data – into usable information”
Laurent Maury, vice-president for critical information systems at Thales.
vision for a new "eco-tax" into a reality.
When it goes live in October, 800,000 heavy
goods vehicles will be subject to a distancebased levy on 15,000km of key roads
nationwide. Electronic enforcement
is central to the success of the programme.
Such large and complex projects
depend increasingly on critical information
systems. Built to higher standards than
conventional IT, these are ultra-reliable,
secure and resistant to attack. Critical
systems play a pivotal role in delivering
smarter, safer operations in applications
Capitalising on big data presents a
number of practical challenges – particularly
for organisations with stringent security
requirements. First, there’s the question of
volume. Every enterprise produces data on
a scale that would have been unimaginable
even a decade ago. A single oil rig, for
example, is capable of generating about
1,000GB every day. Second, big data needs
to be delivered and processed at high speed.
In the case of the eco-tax system, data from
roadside sensors – video, laser and radio
detectors – is handled in real time.
Then there’s the question of variety.
Data is everywhere, so the ability to evaluate
sources is becoming ever more important.
In some critical applications – weapon control
systems, for example – only outputs from
dedicated sensor networks are needed.
But, for a growing number of businesses and
government agencies, there’s a need to
integrate unstructured data from a wide
range of sources, including social networks.
Critical information systems help
organisations to get the most out of big data
in a number of ways. Advanced analytics
and stream computing make it possible to
21
The develoment of safer and more reliable
critical information systems is having a major impact
on everything from air traffic management
to automated road tolling.
sift through mountains of raw data to
produce small amounts of actionable,
high-value information. Data fusion
techniques, meanwhile, marry together
different strands of data on the same object,
event or person. This makes it possible to
build a clearer picture and solve complex
problems more easily.
Above all, though, critical information
systems are designed with security front and
centre. “The word ‘critical’ has a number of
implications,” Maury says. “It can mean
robustness, resilience or integrity of software
– but most of all, it’s information security.”
To meet this need, critical systems are
monitored by security operation centres that
work round the clock to detect and counter
cyber threats. Data that’s held by critical
systems is subject to rigorous electronic
and procedural safeguards.
As well as being resilient, it’s essential
that critical systems are easy to use – and
that means embracing innovations from the
consumer market. In-flight entertainment
is one area where this trend is already
apparent: the latest systems apply the
Android operating system used in many
smartphones, with touch-screen technology
to give passengers easy access to a huge
array of entertainment material.
With technology – and users’
expectations – developing at a breakneck
pace, innovations of this sort are quickly
finding their way into professional solutions.
“IT is increasingly driven by consumer
electronics, for example through the growing
use of tablets, smartphones, social networks,
etc,” notes Maury. “So it’s important for us to
have access to these breakthrough
technologies through B2B markets, so as to
be able to inject that innovation into the
systems we manufacture.”
22
GrounD transport: BaneDanmark
It’s not every day that a country gets to start from scratch with its
railway network, but that’s exactly what’s happening in Denmark.
Banedanmark, the Danish railway network operator, is investing
more than €3bn in a ground breaking signalling programme that
will transform the country’s entire rail system.
All change: Denmark
John Couts
Banedanmark is
responsible for the
infrastructure and
maintenance of
most of the Danish
railway network. In
2008, the company
announced that the
signalling across
the entire network
was going to be
upgraded from
the ground up.
23
In Brief
1
Ageing
infrastructure
on the national
Danish railway
system has
prompted an
initiative to
replace all of
its existing
equipment.
2
Such a major
project allows
for the latest
technology to
be introduced,
including ERTMS.
3
Thales is
leading a
consortium
along with
Balfour Beatty
Rail that will
handle the work
being rolled out
on 60 per cent
of the network.
Over the next eight years, the
national Danish railway will replace every
signal, level crossing, point machine,
interlocking and signal box on its main line
and regional network, the Fjernbanen. It is
also replacing all signalling on the S-banen,
Copenhagen’s mass transit system
“Total replacement means total
replacement,” says programme director
Morten Søndergaard of Banedanmark,
the infrastructure owner managing the
country’s rail transformation. “We’re
changing all of the equipment, no matter
how old or what the level of technology.”
Ageing infrastructure on Fjernbanen
will be swept away and replaced by a
suite of advanced rail technologies. These
include ERTMS – the European Rail Traffic
Management System. The solution
chosen by Banedanmark uses cab
signalling (ERTMS Level 2) which
eliminates the need for lineside signals.
The re-signalling includes new
electronic interlocking technology – the
safety-critical “brains” of the railway –
as well as new trackside hardware for
controlling points and level crossings.
The result: improved safety, extra capacity,
more reliability and lower operating costs.
Projects of this magnitude are more
usually associated with the booming
greenfield markets of the Middle East
and China – so it’s no surprise that
Banedanmark’s scheme is attracting
international attention. What prompted
the decision to opt for total replacement?
“The systems we have in Denmark
are generally old and a lot of them
were very near end-of-life,” explains
Søndergaard. “Eighty per cent of our
signalling equipment is technology that
dates back to the 1950s and 60s.”
Conventional wisdom has it that you
only renew a signalling system when it
becomes life expired. The problem is that
different systems accumulate over the
decades and they age at different rates. The
result is that signalling replacements are
always out of sync, with operators trapped
in a never-ending cycle of renewals.
Then there’s the question of managing
legacy systems. Traditional signalling is
based on a mixture of mechanical,
electro-mechanical and relay technologies.
These systems are highly durable. But
maintenance is expensive, with spares
and expertise increasingly scarce.
“The existing signalling is so old in
some places that spare parts are no
longer available,” notes Søndergaard.
“So whenever there’s a problem, we
have to find components from other
old installations – we just have to hope
they work better than the one that has
actually failed.”
Breaking the mould
Patching up old signalling systems and the
piecemeal introduction of new technology
is an expensive and time-consuming
reality for railway operators everywhere.
Most operators shrug and accept this as a
fact of life, but Søndergaard and his team
had other ideas.
“When we started looking at this back
in 2006, somebody came up with a crazy
idea: ‘Why don’t we change everything?’.
The idea was that if you change
everything at the same time, you would
get economies of scale, you would have
the possibility of repeatability and you
would save a fortune on interface costs.”
Nobody had ever tried doing this
before in the signalling business – at
least, not on this scale – whereas
economies of scale are common in other
industries. Could it work? Analysis
revealed that the cost, risk and benefits
24
GrounD transport: BaneDanmark
“When we started looking
at this back in 2006, somebody
came up with a crazy idea:
why don’t we change everything?”
Morten Søndergaard, Banedanmark
of a total replacement would be preferable
to a traditional renewal strategy.
“It was a better business case,” recalls
Søndergaard. “Complete replacement
gives us greater benefits, but it’s actually
cheaper.” The Danish parliament agreed.
In January 2009, it agreed to fund a €3.2bn
programme for a total replacement of
signalling in Denmark.
Big data signalling
The technology being deployed yields
major operational benefits. By using
a single system for the entire
nation, interface costs are nearly
eliminated. And unlike bespoke
national standards, ERTMS
is a globally-supported solution.
That helps to create an open
market and boosts competition.
Data generated by the new system
will improve efficiency and pave the way
for further innovation. Benefits include
conflict resolution – the ability to predict,
prevent and manage disruption – and
energy savings achieved through smarter
real-time scheduling.
“We are also studying the idea of using
automatic train operation on the main line
network,” says Søndergaard.
New modes of operation also offer
improved transparency. “We expect
operating costs will be a lot lower going
forward,” says Søndergaard. “We tendered
out the maintenance for the new system
and we can see that the contracts we’ve
got have lower costs than today’s solution.
In return, a lot more line is signalled, so
that generates more cost.”
Condition monitoring – the ability to
visualise the performance and health of
assets such as point motors – will also keep
a lid on costs.
“Conventional maintenance approaches
mean serviceable assets are often
needlessly replaced,” says Georg Köpfler,
CEO of Thales Denmark and project
manager for the Banedanmark programme.
“Using an integrated maintenance
management system means we will be able
to focus maintenance resources based on
need rather than guesswork.”
Smarter signalling is a vital part of
Banedanmark’s strategy to build a network
that is not only more efficient, but more
attractive too. Railways are already popular in
Denmark: at a shade under 10 per cent, the
proportion of passenger kilometres travelled
by rail compared to other means of
transport (the modal share) is the
second highest in Europe and
nearly twice the EU average.
New signalling will help
to build on that success with
significant punctuality
improvements. Today, around
50 per cent of infrastructure-related
train delays are caused by signal problems,
resulting in delays to some 39,000 trains
every year. New technology is expected
to reduce signalling-related delays by
80 per cent on the main line network.
The signalling upgrade will also allow
speeds to be increased on selected lines, so
journeys should be quicker. And passengers
will be better informed: big data generated by
new signalling makes it possible to provide
comprehensive passenger information.
Interoperable signalling has important
strategic benefits too, including easier
cross-border operations. Historically, the
existence of different national signalling and
train control systems hampered international
rail operations: locomotive and crew changes
were needed for trains to cross frontiers.
But with ERTMS, signalling incompatibility
will no longer be a barrier. The potential for
easier cross-border operations has important
implications for Denmark, which already has
rail links with neighbouring Germany and
with Sweden via the 16km Øresund link
which opened in 2000.
Plans for a new rail link with Germany – via
the proposed Fehmarn belt crossing – would
reduce the journey time between Denmark’s
capital Copenhagen and Hamburg in Germany
by one-and-a-half hours. Better signalling
holds the key to cost-effective international
operations and will help to strengthen
Denmark’s position as a Baltic transport hub.
Building a smarter railway
Implementation of the new signalling is
proceeding to a meticulously-planned
timetable, with an emphasis on planning and
testing: a three-year design phase (work on
this commenced at the beginning of 2012)
will be followed by three years of rigorous
testing. To minimise disruption, the actual
implementation will be carried out to a fairly
25
By using
ERTMS, signalling
incompatibility is no
longer an issue and
opens the door for
easier cross-border
operations, which is
vital for Denmark
and its commercial
links in Europe.
“using an asset management system means
we will be able to focus maintenance resources
based on need rather than guesswork”
Georg Köpfler, Thales
aggressive schedule, with final roll-out
taking place between 2018 and 2021.
Delivery is divided by region. A Thales-led
consortium with Balfour Beatty Rail is handling
re-signalling across Jutland in the west of the
country, with competitors Alstom responsible
for signalling in the east. Thales’ portion
represents around 60 per cent of the network.
Thales has already deployed ERTMS
across Algeria, Austria, Bulgaria, Germany,
Hungary, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Saudi
Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and
Turkey, among others. Thales is involved in
all the major ongoing projects worldwide,
including Saudi Arabia’s 2,400km North
South Railway, the world’s longest rail line
to be equipped with ETCS Level 2.
To iron out snags and ensure final roll out
is smooth, new signalling in Denmark will
first be implemented on the so-called “early
deployment” line. The railway from
Langå to Frederikshavn in the north
of Jutland is scheduled for
re-signalling in 2016. This line
is currently controlled by some
of Banedanmark’s oldest
interlockings systems which are
based on century-old technology.
Minimising the impact on normal
passenger and freight operations is a primary
consideration. “First of all, we want to have
as few possessions – engineering takeovers
– as possible,” says Köpfler. “So we have to
be able to test everything. To do this, we use
our interoperability lab in Switzerland as our
local lab here in Denmark. We also have
a joint test lab together with Banedanmark
and Alstom near Copenhagen.”
Teamwork is critical on a scheme
of this size. To this end, an entire floor of
Banedanmark’s HQ in Copenhagen has
been devoted to the signalling programme.
“We sit at one table,” says Köpfler. “On
Mondays and Fridays, we work out of our
own premises. But for the rest of the week,
we all work together at the customer’s building
– not only Thales, but also the customer,
competitors and consultants. This is a very
new co-operation model and of course we are
talking to our competitors to find good ways
for both parties to find win-win situations.”
Projects on the scale of the Banedanmark
signalling programme are new to Europe. But
the trend towards harmonised nationwide
signalling is clear, with Luxembourg leading
the way back in 2008 with the first countrywide scheme. The technology is proven, the
know-how is there. What’s needed are new
ways of thinking.
“The trouble with railways is that
everybody thinks like an engineer: if a piece
of equipment can be made to last another
five years, then you build the new system
around it,” says Søndergaard, himself an
engineer. “But you need to think like an
economist instead and look at it from
a total cost and benefit perspective.
Yes, there is a short-term cost
attached to getting rid of things
that might have useful service
life left in them. In the long run,
though, you get lower costs
and better results if you
replace everything.”
26
aerospace: air traffic MaNaGeMeNt
Preparing for
take-off
With air traffic forecast to double by 2030,
pilots and air traffic controllers need new ways
to automate and streamline what they do or else
we face growing delays and rising costs.
Matthew Stibbe
“N147GT climb flight level 120, turn
right heading 110 and contact London
on 118.575.” It’s a typical set of
instructions for an aircraft climbing out
of a London airport heading east
towards the continent. Each climb,
descent, hold, heading change and
handover to a new controller requires
a similar radio call which the pilot must
repeat back to the air traffic controller.
Flying from London to Holland,
a pilot might receive 40 or 50 such
calls and talk to eight or more different
controllers as the airplane travels
through different geographical sectors
over the course of an hour-long flight.
It’s the same for the 28,000 flights that
take place in Europe every day. Just
getting from the ramp to the runway at a
big airport like Schiphol involves a dozen
calls and two different controllers.
Only one person at a time can talk on a
given radio frequency, so, in a busy sector
at a busy time, the flow of instructions is
almost constant. Controllers are often
working at maximum capacity directing
dozens of aircraft at once.
To understand the changes in air
traffic management over the last two
decades and the changes that are in the
pipeline for the next decade, you need
to tune your imagination into these
channels of constant radio instructions.
The evolution of air traffic control
In the early days of European aviation,
pilots flew using primitive charts and
“dead reckoning” (judging their current
position by using a known earlier
position and their estimated speeds
over time).
The run up to the Second World War
saw the birth of radio navigation (using
radio beacons to find your way), blind
flying in clouds (using electromechanical
instruments such as the artificial
horizon), radar and transponders (so
controllers on the ground knew where
you were) and radio control (so they
could tell you where to go). After the
war, this technology became
commonplace in commercial aviation.
During the 1960s and 70s, air traffic
management evolved and became
increasingly (but not completely)
automated. Controllers moved from
hand-written flight progress strips to
computer-printed ones. Transponders
became more advanced so controllers
could see data blocks alongside aircraft
radar returns that showed information
such as altitude and call sign.
In Brief
1
Air traffic
“control” is
now focused
on air traffic
“management”.
2
Increases
in air traffic
around the world
are necessitating
a paradigm
shift in the way
air traffic is
managed overall.
3
Decision
making
in air traffic
management
requires both
better systems
as well as
streamlined
technology in
order to keep
the pace.
27
A new ATC system for France
A new air traffic management system being introduced in France integrates
advanced flight data processing systems with sophisticated controller displays
and management software. The system, being implemented by Thales,
will replace traditional hand-written flight strips completely with a new
electronic system. By using data links and other new technology, it will reduce
controllers’ workloads and deliver a future-proof SESAR-compliant system.
“Flying from London to Holland, a pilot might
receive 40 or 50 such calls and talk to eight or
more different controllers as the airplane
travels through different geographical sectors
over the course of an hour-long flight.”
28
aerospace: air traffic MaNaGeMeNt
Satellite navigation became
common in the 1980s and
1990s, and supplemented
ground-based beacons and
inertial navigation systems.
In the 1980s and into the 1990s,
automation increased as did navigational
accuracy. Satellite navigation became
common and supplemented ground-based
beacons and inertial navigation systems.
Centralised air traffic management, typified
by Eurocontrol, ensured that aircraft didn’t
take off unless en-route controllers had the
capacity to manage them – if you’ve ever sat
on the ground in a plane and heard the word
“slot” or “air traffic control delays”, this is
Eurocontrol’s flow control at work. Avionics
systems in the cockpit have also evolved to
add terrain avoidance and collision avoidance
tools that don’t rely on ground controllers.
New problems, new technology
As the number of flights has grown, air
traffic management has (more or less)
kept pace, making flights more predictable,
safer and efficient. But this evolution has
taken place with the constraints of a system
that hasn’t changed on a fundamental level
for decades.
For example, a visit to the UK’s London
Air Traffic Control Centre (LATCC) in the
early 1990s showed both the state of the
art of the time as well as the limitations of
the status quo. It was the home of some
of the busiest air traffic controllers in the
world, handling all the flights to and from
London’s main airports.
Despite this heavy responsibility, they
were using vintage PDP-11 computers and
the site had the feel of a Connery-era Bond
film – in fact, the main hall could have passed
for a villain’s lair.
There was no doubting the supreme
professionalism of the controllers but the
technology they used was distinctly retro.
Their move to new premises in Swanwick in
the late 1990s anticipated big changes in the
world of air traffic management.
Today, air traffic is expected to double and
then triple in Europe and the US. Other parts
of the world are growing much more rapidly
Thales innovations: putting safety first.
Precision 4D trajectories:
Automatic airborne separation:
Imagine a plane that can fly a complex
flight path and arrive at a given waypoint
at a given altitude within 10 seconds
of a pre-determined schedule. In 2012,
Thales ran flight trials for its I4D concept
to demonstrate this level of accuracy
using an Airbus flying from Toulouse to
Malmo. It’s one of 100 SESAR projects
under development by Thales and this new
capability will eventually allow aircraft
to fly more efficiently while reducing the
workload of controllers and pilots alike.
Using ADS-B technology, Thales has
demonstrated the ability for two
aircraft to merge their trajectories
while keeping a safe distance from
one another without intervention from
a ground-based air traffic controller.
Normally, controllers are responsible
for separation in the air. But if new
avionics systems can do the same job,
especially in remote areas without
radar coverage, then flight safety
improves, along with efficiency.
and in two decades parts of Asia may have
higher traffic densities than congested
Europe – China alone is planning 70 new
airports by 2015.
Existing systems can’t cope with the
predicted expansion of traffic. Controllers
can’t manage more aircraft than they already
do in busy sectors and sectors can’t shrink
without increasing radio traffic due to
handovers to and from other sectors.
Something has to give.
It’s not just the number of flights that
presents challenges. Airlines and customers
alike want to pay less for air traffic control
services, which are an additional operating
cost on each flight. Environmental pressure
also plays a role – airlines want to reduce fuel
costs by using more direct, fuel-efficient
routes, which would reduce CO2 emissions
and could reduce aircraft noise at airports.
Last, as the number of flights increases,
airlines (and their passengers) want to see
continuous improvements to safety: three
times the air traffic simply can’t mean three
times as many accidents.
LATCC’s new facilities in Swanwick are
as forward-looking as its old facilities were
retro. Controllers sit at state of the art
terminals with advanced high-resolution
radar displays and sophisticated software
to help spot potential problems in advance.
It looks as you would expect one of the
world’s busiest air traffic control facilities
to look – modern and efficient. The new
facilities are representative of the kind of
progress that has to take place across the
whole system to keep up with traffic growth.
SESAR and NextGen
SESAR (the Single European Sky ATM
Research Programme) in Europe and
NextGen in the US are designed to
transform air traffic management and
achieve on a continental scale the same
technology-driven efficiencies achieved
on a local scale at LATCC.
SESAR is expected to cut air-traffic
management costs to airlines by 50 per cent
and environmental impact by 10 per cent
while maintaining the same absolute safety
29
In two decades, parts of Asia may have higher
traffic densities than congested Europe – China
alone is planning 70 new airports by 2015
Digital taxi guidance:
On the ground, Thales is implementing
a function called Digital Taxi. This gives
pilots a clear idea of where they are on
the airport and provides taxi instructions
from the ramp to the runway (or vice
versa), just like the satnav in a car.
This is a high-risk phase of any flight
with a danger of collisions, wrong turns
and runway incursions. Replacing radio
instructions and paper charts with
digital maps and error-free instructions
can only improve safety.
levels (ie no more accidents even if traffic
itself doubles or trebles).
Three technological innovations are
central to achieving these ambitious goals.
First, a new type of transponder technology
called ADS-B (Automatic Dependent
Surveillance – Broadcast) allows aircraft
to transmit their position and trajectory
to the ground and other aircraft, even
outside conventional radar coverage.
In Australia, ADS-B is already providing
controllers more options for routing aircraft
coming in from Asia because planes don’t
need to follow rigid airways from one radio
beacon to another. In the US, a thousand
ADS-B base stations will provide continentwide surveillance. It also lets aircraft
communicate their position to one another,
allowing for automatic separation in areas
where air traffic controllers can’t normally
see planes, eg in mid-ocean.
The second innovation – improved data
links between ground controllers and pilots
– will be essential too. Instead of timeconsuming, error-prone radio exchanges
about frequency changes, routings and
so on, controllers and pilots will be able
to exchange clearances using CPDLC
(Controller Pilot Data Link Communications).
The cockpit itself is host to the third
group of changes. Satellite navigation
lets planes fly with ever-greater precision.
For example, at some airports, planes fly
down approach corridors, to avoid
mountains or reduce noise pollution, that
are just 0.1 miles wide. In conjunction with
advanced autopilots and flight management
systems, planes can also fly sophisticated
4D profiles with great accuracy – meaning
that they can fly a specific path in three
dimensions and arrive over waypoints at
specific times.
From the hushed consoles in centres
around the world, air traffic controllers will
issue fewer radio instructions. Today’s
stream of routine instructions will be
replaced by planning conversations and
data links.
Taken together, extended surveillance
cover, streamlined communications and
advanced navigation will give controllers
more time for planning and enable them to
handle more aircraft. Air traffic management
will increasingly move from a control model
to an optimisation model.
Better for passengers
All these changes will make life better for the
travelling public. Flying will become safer,
cheaper and more efficient even as the
number of flights increases. Planes will be
more likely to arrive on time and less likely to
be held on the ground or stuck in a holding
pattern. More efficient routing and accurate
flight paths will cut flight time, reduce cost
and cut pollution.
In any other industry, meeting a threefold
increase in demand with a dramatic
reduction in cost and a significant increase in
safety would be considered a huge triumph.
Aviation has already made major progress
and the next 20 years will see even more.
The sandwiches may be soggy and the
coffee tepid but the unsung technology
that keeps planes moving is leading edge.
30
Big PicTUrE: ThE BELLA LASEr
The BELLA laser system: a new dawn in
high energy particle physics research.
Laser power
François Lureau, project manager in the Laser Solution Unit of Thales
P
article accelerators are used
for fundamental research in
laboratories around the world,
from the Large Hadron Collider
at CERN to the Stanford Linear
Accelerator Center at Stanford, as well as
for medical applications, such as proton
therapy for cancer treatment. However
facilities that are capable of delivering huge
amounts of energy using conventional
acceleration have become prohibitive due
to their size and cost.
As a result, several laboratories and
research teams have been looking for other
ways to generate high energy particles.
Laser Plasma Acceleration offers real
promise as a new concept for compact
particle accelerators based on a laser
system providing high peak power in a
very short time measured in femtoseconds
(10-15 seconds).
The BELLA (BErkeley Laboratory Laser
Accelerator) project is one such initiative.
Installed at the prestigious Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in
California, BELLA is a giant 1.3 PetaWatt
(1015 watts) laser with a repetition rate of
1Hz, designed and built by Thales.
After fewer than three years of
development and integration, the BELLA
laser system is now fully operational at
LBNL and is capable of producing pulses
at a higher power rate than was ever thought
possible: 1.3 x 1015 watts per pulse every
second. LBNL hopes to construct a miniature
particle accelerator comparable to
conventional particles accelerators.
Through this project, Thales has
demonstrated its capability to provide
scientists with a full “turn-key” laser system
developed by an industry player with a real
understanding of all of the elements from
end-to-end. This new way of sharing
responsibilities between industry and
laboratories will allow research teams to
focus on integrating the system supplied by
industry into the experimentation chain and
to concentrate on scientific applications.
31
“in addition to its outstanding performance and
results, this project was a world premiere in terms
of the relationship between laboratory and industry”
François Lureau, project manager in the Laser Solution Unit of Thales
32
GROUND TRaNspORT: ECO-Tax
In brief
1
The French
Parliament
approved the
eco-tax law
for heavy goods
vehicles on
16 October 2008.
The German
route: LKW-Maut
Germany operates a scheme called
LKW-Maut, charging for autobahn
use based on number of axles, the
emissions category of the vehicle
and the distance it travels. This
was the first scheme to use GPS
technology. It was introduced in
January 2005 for all trucks with
gross weights of over 12 tonnes,
because of growing demands on
the road network: estimates
suggest that one in three trucks
on the autobahn is foreign.
The collection of tolls is done
by Toll Collect on behalf of the
Federal Republic of Germany.
There are two systems: automatic
and manual. The automatic
system works with on-board
diagnostics that use the GSM
cellular network and GPS to
calculate the distance travelled
by a lorry and requires no input
from the driver after installation.
The manual system uses 3,500 toll
stations located near motorway
access ramps. More than 90 per
cent of lorries in Germany use the
automated system.
LKW-Maut (“truck toll” in
English) is enforced by 300
gantries using a combination
of an infra-red detection system
and high-resolution cameras.
There are also about 300 mobile
enforcement vehicles operating.
It’s estimated that the collection
costs account for 20 per cent of
the gross revenue.
The results of the scheme
since its introduction have
generally been positive. Observers
note that hauliers are choosing
lower-emission vehicles and
there’s been both a decrease in
empty runs and a shift from road
to rail freight. One negative has
been a shift from trucks using the
autobahn to more local connecting
roads – and that’s something that
the Ecomouv' scheme has been
specifically designed to counter.
2
The objective
of the
government is,
in part, to
rebalance
demand between
tolled and
untolled roads.
3
The annual
revenue from
the eco-tax is
forecast to be
about ¤1.2bn.
33
Getting on board: Ecomouv'
France’s Ecomouv'
scheme is based on a
GPS-enabled on-board
device that’s designed
to measure a vehicle’s
location and the
distance it has travelled.
The device calculates
all the data required
before transmitting it
via SFR’s cellular
network to a central
system for charge
calculation and invoicing.
Partners in the scheme
include Thales, state
railway SNCF and IT
services company Steria.
The scheme covers
15,000km of non-toll
French autoroute and
national roads, with
lorries weighing over
3.5 tons paying on
average ¤0.12 per km.
When it launches, it will
become the world’s most
advanced automated
road charging system,
and 800,000 French
and foreign trucks will
be taking it on board.
It’s expected to raise
about ¤1.2bn a year.
Ecomouv' differs from
other systems because
it incorporates 5,000km
of non-motorway local
roads, calculating tolls
via GPS, with gantries
monitoring enforcement.
The government is
confident that its system,
with 173 fixed and 500
mobile checkpoints, will
be effective.
The key to the
system is its automation.
Whenever a driver uses a
toll road, the mandatory
on-board device
automatically calculates
a charge. When they turn
off, it stops calculating.
No user input is required
and there are no gates or
tollbooths – which means
no delays.
Driving
change
Road charging has been
around for almost as
long as roads themselves.
although toll routes are used
throughout Europe, methods
of payment and collection
remain old-fashioned,
intrusive and not at all
standardised. Technology
could make a difference,
but what will help to steer
things in the right direction?
Richard aucock
Road tolls remain a challenge for agencies
around Europe. Toll gates can disrupt the flow of
traffic, with payment collected by operators using
methods that are open to error and inefficiency.
With the ongoing need to balance vehicle use and
control congestion while keeping roads open to
all, a better option is needed.
Electronic toll collection offers an intelligent
solution. Vehicles equipped with an on-board tag
can pass through gates without stopping, with
various methods, including GPS and short-range
data transfer, used to collect tolls automatically.
The Telepeage system, for example, is a form of
electronic collection used on French autoroutes.
The same booths are used as in traditional
systems, but without the need for motorists to
stop – the dedicated short-range communication
(DSRC) network is so fast that slowing down for
the booth is technically unnecessary.
Over the past decade several more advanced
systems of electronic toll collection have been
34
GROUND TRaNspORT: ECO-Tax
“It’s the first time that a tax has been collected by a
Antoine Caput, director of the road tolling sector in the Revenue Collection Systems domain at Thales.
Electronic tolls: a history
introduced in France with a focus on
The first country to introduce
HGVs. The intent has been to reduce
electronic tolls was Norway in
congestion and encourage freight to
1986. By 1991, traditional toll
use other means, such as rail transport.
booths had, under the AutoPass
Until now, these schemes have been
initiative, been replaced by fullspeed electronic tolling.
restricted to the highly regulated routes
Portugal hinted at interoperability
nationales network, which in some
with its 1995 Via Verde system. This
cases has caused displaced traffic to
not only applied to all tolls in the
clog up local roads. As the network
country; it could also be used in car
must remain open to all, there have
parks and filling stations.
The US also has a history of
been limited ways to control its use.
electronic toll interoperability.
The Ecomouv’ initiative, backed by
The E-ZPass was created in 1991
a consortium consisting of Autostrade,
by the seven New York, New Jersey
Thales, Steria, SFR and SNCF, aims to
and Pennsylvania tolling agencies.
solve this problem. Due to launch in
This was introduced gradually
across the length of the Thruway
October 2013, Ecomouv’ will monitor
corridor. In 1998 a US patent for a
non-toll motorway and national roads
transponder-based “automated toll
in continental France to collect taxes
collection system” was issued.
for road use per kilometre. In the
In Europe there are three general
process it will become the world’s
methods for collecting road taxes,
based on time or distance. Distancemost ambitious electronic toll
based solutions provide the most
programme to date.
detailed information and necessitate
“It is unique in France,” explains
some form of on-board electronic toll
Antoine Caput, director of the road
device for greatest effect and
tolling sector in the Revenue Collection
accuracy. Manual tolling is a more
restrictive and costly form of
Systems domain at Thales. “It’s the first
distance-based toll to operate.
time that a tax will be collected by
Time-based solutions, which feature
private operators since the revolution.
windscreen stickers called vignettes,
The enforcement system itself is not
also tend to be less sophisticated.
only operated by the Ecomouv'
consortium or Thales; it’s a functional
and legal system, duly certified and
homologated, and also operated by the
state. Any service company can thus
develop an agreement with Ecomouv’ to be allowed to collect the
resultant pollution providing an additional ecological imperative.”
tax. It is a new, open market – a completely new business model.”
Ecomouv’, he explains, is the first fully open scheme in Europe to
The initiative began several years ago when the government
comply with EU standards. The German system is not fully compliant
proposed to tax HGVs using the free public routes nationales. This
and is not open to other operators to collect. This interoperability may
wasn’t a popular proposal with hauliers and truck unions, so several
be Ecomouv’s most significant achievement.
concessions had to be made, but the “huge need for new
It is built around a mandatory GPS-enabled on-board device,
infrastructure – not necessarily roads – made the case for collecting
which measures a vehicle’s location and the distance it has travelled
such a toll”, according to Caput. The toll could be used to finance new
(see panel, previous page). The fact that it’s mandatory means that an
high-speed rail links, airports – even the new Seine-Nord Europe Canal.
extensive distribution network needs to be in place to support it.
“Strong arguments in favour of the change were presented during
“In the contract there is an obligation to build a dense distribution
the discussions,” Caput says. “The fact that trucks were avoiding
network, so that foreign trucks can find and install the on-board device
Germany and rat-running through France was a factor, with the
easily and without spending too much time,” Caput says.
35
private concession in France since the revolution”
transportable units, a pioneering solution in terms of flexibility and
cost efficiency. There is a mobile system that can be mounted on the
roof of a police car or other customised vehicle, allowing officers to
carry out enforcement while on the move. There is also a hand-held
system that works in real time: police can simply stand in front of a
parked truck and check it. No other system in Europe offers such a
complete portfolio of enforcement solutions”
Caput stresses the importance of the system’s real-time operation,
with no manual alternatives available. “In Germany there’s a choice of
having an on-board device or paying up front for a ticket. In France any
truck over 3.5 tons must have a device, even foreign trucks. If they
don’t yet have one, they must go to a distribution office to register and
pay a deposit for the device. Installation is simple: plug it into the
cigarette lighter and set a few parameters.”
So far, Ecomouv' has been a triumph of multi-partner project
management and architectural control, producing a technical and
business model for electronic road toll interoperability. As its launch
approaches, many governments are certain to be watching it closely
– it could herald a new beginning for electronic road charging.
Pan-European interoperability
The scheme is designed to be future-proof. To accommodate any
extension of the toll network, there is no ground-based tax system
– all routes are followed by GPS. Installing a new route is therefore a
matter of updating software and databases and installing the new
map via an update to the on-board devices. And, because the
complete map is not stored on a device, this can all be done at a
system level without the need to change a unit or reinstall software.
Enforcement has been considered carefully. “There are a number
of measures and solutions that take advantage of the fact that the
system is working in real time,” Caput says. “Enforcement officers
have access to a fully automated and easily manageable system.
There are automatic free-flow fixed gantries plus automatic
The European Commission has
long stressed the need for
interoperability in electronic
toll collection schemes.
Schemes must work across
national boundaries such that
users needn’t worry about
different charging procedures
and equipment. It’s particularly
important for HGVs, which
tend cross borders the most.
The system doesn’t have to sit
with a single service provider,
but charges between different
operators should be seamless.
Directive 2004/52/EC
defines conditions for the
interoperability of electronic
road toll systems, stating that
they should use technologies
including GPS, GSM mobile
communications and DSRC
microwave technology.
Microwave free-flow systems
have long been in place,
Germany’s LKW-Maut was
the first to use GPS and GSM,
while the Ecomouv' scheme
is the first to combine the
three technologies allowed
under the directive.
The European Electronic
Toll Service (EETS) went a step
further, stating that users
should only need to subscribe
to one provider in order to pay
charges related to any scheme
that requires an on-board
device. A later EC decision laid
down the key requirements
applying to the EETS for all
member states. This came into
force in 2009, requiring that
lorries be allowed through all
EU countries with one
on-board device and one
contract from October 2012.
The EC has even suggested
a business model. This takes
the existing two-party
collection system – which
involves a toll charger and
associated subcontractors –
and adds a third EETS
provider. The provider supplies
users with one on-board
device and one contract,
applicable across the EU.
36
IntellIgence
Innovation
among
apes and
humans
Pascal Picq
tim Flach
Human societies have been continuously
innovating for over two million years, but we
have only recently discovered that the same is
true of great ape societies. These innovations
happen as a result of new behaviours that
spread, are shared and become part of the
culture within a group. The question is less
one of the ability of individuals to invent and
find solutions but rather one of how the group
adopts and develops these ideas. These are
the three stages of Darwinian innovation:
variation, selection and development.
The South American capuchin monkey is
one of the most intelligent apes, with an
encephalisation quotient (ratio of brain to body
size) comparable to that of humans. Capuchin
monkeys are very inventive when it comes to
using tools and carrying out complex tasks like
hunting. This type of individual intelligence is
present in social groups that have a large
number of individuals with strong social
interactions, but the monkeys are less gifted
when it comes to sharing their experiences
and achievements. So even though individual
intelligence is above all correlated to the
strength of social relations, that does not mean
that individual innovations will
necessarily spread to the
benefit of the group.
The quality of social
relations and the way in which
heirarchical relationships are
expressed have a direct impact on the adoption
and spread of innovations. In the 1950s,
Japanese ethologists observed a female
macaque from the island of Koshima who had
the idea of taking sweet potatoes and washing
them first in the river and then in sea water,
giving them a salty taste. Fifty years later, all of
the other macaques now do the same thing.
There was a dynamic of innovation, sharing,
tradition and culture. However, the process
took several generations, due to extremely
rigid heirarchical relationships in which
individuals of a higher social status look down
on those of a lower status. Innovations are
passed on through the children, who are less
aware of notions of status.
Therefore, in the innovation
process, a distinction should be
made between the conditions that
lead individuals to find new ideas or
solutions and those that lead the
group to adopt and benefit from them
– which is what constitutes an innovation in the
strictest sense of the term.
Our culture embraces the cult of the
individual genius – an engineer or researcher
– who is seen as driving innovation all alone.
Such men and women do exist, but they never
work in isolation. The primary sources of
innovation are products of both individual and
collective intelligence.
Chimpanzees use dozens of tools and
related behaviors. However, certain groups
appear to be more innovative than others
thanks to their ability to work together and
delegate tasks. This is the case of the great
apes in the Tai Forest in Côte d’Ivoire. The
females use rocks as hammers and anvils to
break open nuts; certain males lead the hunt,
while others are more familiar with food
sources or certain medicinal herbs, etc. When a
male wants a nut, he asks a female. During the
hunt, the male who is recognised as the most
skilled hunter becomes the leader, and even
37
“chimpanzees
use dozens of
tools and related
behaviors.
However, certain
groups appear to
be more innovative
than others thanks
to their ability to
work together and
delegate tasks”
individuals with a higher social status than him
follow his lead. Depending on the type of
activity, chimpanzees know how to change the
group’s organisation and leadership.
But let us get back to the mechanisms of
innovation. From a Darwinian point of view, it is
not because a trait or behavior exists in a group
that it has the status of an innovation. If it
contributes to a variation but has no adaptive
purpose, it is not an innovation. From the point
of view of evolution, an innovation provides an
adaptive advantage to a population in its
environment; similarly, according to Joseph
Schumpeter, an innovation only becomes one
when it allows a company to win market share.
Among chimpanzees, hunting is not
essential, because meat is only a small part of
their diet. It is above all a leisure and social
activity and a source of stimulation for the
group. Now, however, with their environment
deteriorating due to deforestation, there are
fewer plant food sources during the dry
season. Chimpanzees have therefore been
forced to do more hunting, which has gone
from being a leisure activity to an adaptation.
Not all groups are as successful as
chimpanzees in making such a transition. Why?
Because they fail to recognise the diversity of
skills within the group. If, as is the case in other
groups, the hunting leader does not share the
rewards of the hunt or is overtaken by a more
dominant individual, there is little chance that
the hunting and sharing behaviors will become
an adaptation. The quality of relationships
among individuals is an essential condition for
innovation in a group with diverse skills, as is its
ability to change leaders.
There is no one path to innovation any more
than there is one path to evolution; there are
mechanisms. Innovation management
involves making the right choices during the
three stages mentioned above: variation,
selection and development. This same pattern
is found, for example, in the study of complex
adaptive systems1 and in robotics, with the
notion of new artificial intelligence, which,
instead of building one highly intelligent
machine, brings together more basic machines
through a process of trial and error2. The
evolutionary anthropologist brings up an often
neglected yet crucial element: the organization
itself – in other words, the quality of
relationships between individuals.
Encouraging variation requires a different
type of management in project mode or in the
development phase of a programme. The
same people may still be involved but
organised differently, or other people may be
brought in. But the key point to remember
here is the importance of diversity. The urge to
recruit employees from the same schools or
educational backgrounds, combined with a
disregard for other sources of innovation –
employees from other parts of the company,
other companies, societies or regions, and
new perceptions of what happens in nature –
are obstacles to innovation in these first two
stages, while probably less of a constraint on
incremental innovation. Innovation is above all
a question of openness, culture and evolution.
1. Robert Axelrod and Michael Cohen. Réussir dans
un monde complexe. Odile Jacob, 2001.
2. Pascal Picq. Un Paléoanthropologue dans
l’Entreprise. Eyrolles, 2011.
Pascal Picq has brought anthropology into
the enterprise as a paleoanthropologist at
the Collège de France. His concept of the
“anthroprise” is based on research into
human evolution and its impact on innovation
processes and management practices in
industry today, and combines multiple
perspectives – palaeoanthropology, prehistory
and ethology. A physicist, archaeologist and
author of numerous books (including Un
paléoanthropologue dans l’entreprise), he also
contributes to projects that protect the great
apes and safeguard human cultural diversity.
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