CARNET Receives the Innovation in Mobility Prize at the MobiliCat Awards 2023
- CARNET received on the 23rd of March the Innovation in Mobility prize, awarded by the MobiliCat magazine
- The award is a recognition towards the work behind Ona, the autonomous delivery robot CARNET has developed
During the Jornada Catalana de la Mobilitat 2023, the leading event for the mobility and public transport sector in Catalonia, CARNET received the Innovation in Mobility prize, awarded by the MobiliCat magazine. The publication is issued by AMTU (Association of Municipalities for Mobility and Urban Transport in Catalonia), with the collaboration of the Government of Catalonia, the ATM (Barcelona Metropolitan Transport Authority), and FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya). It was Miquel Pueyo, mayor of Lleida, who awarded the prize to CARNET.
The event focused on the topic of free public transport, with lectures and a round table discussion around the matter, with experts sharing their experiences and discussing the challenges and potential impact of implementing free public transport. A real case of Tallinn (Estonia) was included, a city that in 2013 implemented free public transport in its network.
CARNET received the Innovation in Mobility prize for the development of Ona, an autonomous delivery robot aimed at the last-mile distribution of goods. Ona is 100% electric and moves in urban environments, being capable of transporting packages and other goods around the city, automating last-mile logistics.
The project began in 2017 with the study of the problem, where a logistic service based on autonomous robots was conceptualized, the needs of the vehicle were identified, and its potential impact was analysed. The current prototypes started to be designed in 2018, and in the following years, the functional platform was developed. In 2020, the chassis was completed, and in 2021, the delivery service was designed. In 2022 three pilot tests in Esplugues de Llobregat (Spain), Hamburg (Germany), and Debrecen (Hungary) were organised. Right now, there are two Ona functional prototypes, and Vaive Logistics S.L., a startup created in December 2022, is currently working towards the commercialization of the solution and the launch of logistic services.
In addition to the Innovation in Mobility Prize, awards were also given in the following categories: Best Sustainable Mobility Initiative Award, Best Municipal Mobility Initiative Award, and an Honorary Award. The MobiliCat Awards are aimed at recognizing the work that municipalities, organizations, institutions, entrepreneurs, entities, or companies related to public transport, mobility, and their infrastructures, carry out in Catalonia.
AMTU is the Association of Municipalities for Mobility and Urban Transport in Catalonia. The entity aims to represent the joint voice of all Catalan municipalities in the field of mobility and public transport and, therefore, is open to all local entities in Catalonia that decide to be part of it. AMTU was born in 2001 and today it includes over 140 associated entities, with a represented population of 2.5 million inhabitants and a volume of urban travelers transported of nearly 45 million annually.
Through initiatives like these innovation in Catalonia is recognized, highlighting the excellent work developed in the region and the rich ecosystem that allows institutions to keep developing disruptive projects to help improve transport in our cities.
