Within the AQMO project, our partner Keolis Rennes is represented by Jérôme Champenois.
Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Head of Innovation at Keolis Rennes, he first started his computer engineer career with project management, then with that of the Information Systems Division, and is now in charge of Innovation since 2016.
Keolis’ vision on innovation
Keolis Rennes adopts an innovation-focused approach for two reasons:
First in order to find new solutions to offer to its customers, new solutions allowing to invite them to change their habits in terms of mobility, towards a more socially responsible kind of mobility. Soft and sustainable mobility is a new type on which Keolis is also constantly seeking to innovate.
Then, as a delegate of Rennes Métropole, Keolis Rennes is a partner and an important economic player in the metropolis. As such, Keolis invests in the economic and digital ecosystem to foster innovation, as well as the development of the territory. Keolis supports start-ups, local businesses, and academics in their own innovation projects by providing their experience, expertise and playground (vehicles, infrastructure, data, etc.).
Keolis Rennes and AQMO
In AQMO, our role is essentially to provide the testing ground by providing buses, infrastructure and any assistance necessary with installation of the project equipment. We bring and support, to Rennes Métropole and its transport service, any project requests that require their consent and support the project in its communication on the territory.
The AQMO equipment is installed in the buses, alongside the on-board systems necessary for the operation of the network. They are integrated and supplied like other systems, in the segments present for this purpose in our vehicles. Any additional arrangements possible are considered together with the Keolis Rennes employees in charge of maintenance. However, such adjustments are slightly to not necessary given the efforts made by the AQMO team to integrate as efficiently as possible in Keolis’ existing equipment (e.g. no hole in the ceilings for antennas).
AQMO as an innovation in on-board surveillance
The AQMO initiative is the first one, on the Rennes Métropole transport network, to report on supervision data that is not related to operation or maintenance of vehicles. It also innovates through the use of IoT or 3G communication channels, while industrial systems use digital radio or Wi-Fi protocols at the depot. This initiative demonstrates the inevitable evolution to come to meet the many needs of bus real-time connectivity.
Beyond AQMO
Keolis will launch real-time bus connectivity experiments to demonstrate the interest of shared routers and new features for users. The real-time “connectivity” link is evident with the AQMO project. Other initiatives related to the environment and sustainable mobility are of course also launched in the group’s multiple networks (i.e. electric buses in Rennes and elsewhere) and also correspond to this concern to offer citizens to take charge of the quality of their environment.