Highlights of TRA2018’s Interactive Zone

TRA Interactive Zone – a success story

Integrated into the exhibition area, the Interactive Zone has been a unique experience for exhibitors and participants with its more than 40 showcases. In addition to the indoor showcases, the outdoor showcases also benefitted from the perfect weather. The various showcases have been presented in a way that goes beyond conventional methods of research dissemination. Research showcases, not only within the Interactive Zone but the whole exhibition of TRA, are the physical manifestation of the future of mobility. Thus the Interactive Zone enabled participants and exhibitors to quickly dive into deep discussion and exchange on expert level and many new partnerships and project ideas have been found.

Catch a personal point of view about the Interactive Zone of AustriaTech’s Managing Director Martin Russ:

“Mr. Russ, why do the hands-on presentations from the Interactive Zone make a difference?”

“Because we need to become better at communicating new technology and the options that these technologies bring. Especially at a research conference with its many sessions, it is important to break out of the formats and learn things in a playful way. Because we are not talking about finished products and always have to take into account that we could hit a dead end. With tangible exhibits or virtual reality showcases, ideas and concepts can sometimes be communicated much more easily. That’s why showcasing makes a difference.”

“What do you think was the unique selling point of the Interactive Zone?”

“In the mobility sector, it is almost always about the connections and the context that an innovation or technology has with its environment. That was the exciting thing about the Interactive Zone. We not only presented a technology or a prototype, but many different topics in which the exhibits were implemented. For example, in the field of automated driving: Yes, it’s about the vehicle and the vehicle’s abilities. But it is also about the embedding and cooperation and networking of vehicles. And there are simply

many different perspectives. Perhaps the innovative approach does not come from the road sector, but from aviation. To take advantage of such opportunities, we have simply put many different players in one boat in the Interactive Zone.”

“What personally inspired you about the Interactive Zone?”

“The exciting thing for me was: We were able to also inspire others to take an active part in it. We could have just said: Ok, we do this alone. But the consideration of another form of knowledge transfer and the marketing of science and research results has been carried by many different projects. So I will clearly take it with me as a learning tool in the future, if we participate in a  research programme or funded project: To plan exactly such events. That doesn’t always have to be in the same size, but you could sometimes bring different projects together under one topic and. I believe that much more can be achieved in this way.”