The Midlands Intelligent Mobility Conference 2016, which runs from November 30 to December 1, will bring together more than 300 people, including experts in areas such as safety, technology and the future growth of the sector.

Hosted at Loughborough’s event and exhibition venue Holywell Park Conference Centre, the two-day symposium will feature key speakers delivering talks on current transport issues such as improving safety for road users and developing urban transport – including driverless cars and robotic vehicles.

The event, held at a different location each year, also aims to bring together industry leaders, government and academics to allow them to discuss future strategies and current issues.

Loughborough’s Professor Pete Thomas, who specialises in Safe and Smart Mobility at the University’s Design School, is part of the conference’s organising committee.

He said: “This conference is the opportunity for everyone involved in industry, government or academia to see what is going on in the world of Intelligent Mobility in the UK and wider.

“Delegates will also be able to see some of the state of the art equipment in the exhibition including an autonomous pod from the Transport Systems Catapult, a robotic development vehicle from Loughborough University and a virtual reality driving simulator.”

As well as lectures, the event includes workshops such as exploring cyber security and opportunities in new mobility.

An Ideas Forum will also allow PhD students to take part in an elevator pitch session which could them secure support from the industry.

The conference is organised by IMPART, the Intelligent Mobility Partnership, which comprises Loughborough, De Montfort, Coventry and Nottingham Trent Universities, IMPETUS, a partnership of Nottingham and Leicester Universities and the Transport Systems Catapult. The IMPART and IMPETUS partnerships specialise in intelligent transport and transport infrastructure solutions, working with industry and local authorities.

Prof Thomas is a specialist in the area of accident and injury causation and has made many contributions to vehicle and road safety.                                                                                                             

He has published over 150 research papers on a broad range of vehicle safety issues, including active safety systems, injury biomechanics and causation, crash test procedures and accident data analysis.