Father of the cybercar concept to discuss how new transportation systems shape cities at U of M Center for Transportation Studies event

Who: Michel Parent, scientific adviser, INRIA
What: How New Transportation Systems Shape Cities: The Example of Greater Paris
When: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14
Where: University Hotel Minneapolis, 615 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis

Michel Parent, considered the father of the cybercar concept, will explore how automation in transportation can help improve urban mobility during a presentation at the University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies winter luncheon. The event begins at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, February 14, at the University Hotel Minneapolis, 615 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis.

Parent’s presentation, “How New Transportation Systems Shape Cities: The Example of Greater Paris," will describe how intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies can transform the use of private automobiles and how this might affect the vehicle industry. In particular, Parent will talk about the European CityMobil project.

From antiquity to modern times, cities have adapted to and been shaped by new transportation technologies. Parent will use the example of the greater Paris region to explore how new transportation technologies can help cities meet the challenges of mobility—for people as well as goods—while satisfying the constraints of ecology and quality of life.

Parent is scientific adviser to IMARA (Informatique, Mathématiques et Automatique pour la Route Automatisée), a project team from INRIA, the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control. The team focuses on the research and development of information and communication technologies for road transport, particularly on fully automated vehicles (cybercars). Parent was the creator and director of this team from 1991 to 2010.