HERE WE GO – drummers, a robot and three massive balloons get Intertraffic Amsterdam 2026 off to a flying start

Intertraffic Amsterdam 2026 kicked off (literally) in style and its bi-annual attempt to outdo itself saw an energetic percussion trio batter the show into life with the help of giant rubber balls and the sight no-one in the packed auditorium will ever unsee – master of ceremonies and the head of the University of Eindhoven’s AI Institute Carlo van de Weijer insulting a robot boy.

After the dust had settled following the ear-splitting drum group’s performance and the mild hysteria of the audience bouncing, patting and kickin three huge and surprisingly heavy balloons around Summit Theatre 1 had subsided, the theatrics and light-hearted sensory overload gave way to some serious discussion.

Led by Carlo van de Weijer, who is also a prominent member of the Intertraffic International Advisory Board, the discussion began with the help of a special guest – a humanoid robot who joined van de Weijer on stage to talk about how advances in robotics are changing the way we mortal humans drive, and will, if this robot has anything do with it, take over the task of driving in the not too distant future. Van de Weijer seemed taken aback, branding the robot “over-confident”, which immediately lifted this event into the top 10 of anyone’s all-time favourite Opening Ceremonies of any traffic technology show.

The robot boy (presumably) had a point, though. Wayve’s Dan Quirke regaled the captivated audience with a cautionary presentation about the need for autonomous vehicles to experience real-world traffic conditions and that training in specific cities was needed. A robotaxis operating in London is not going to learn the same things in the same way as a robotaxi operating in Tokyo and the key to success is for the machines to learn in different and differing scenarios.

Isabel Capp from the UK Department for Transport’s Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) talked of the importance of local authority engagement if autonomous vehicles are to progress from pilots to deployment in a suitably acceptable timeframe, maintaining that positive user experiences are perhaps just as important as the technology itself in term of robotaxis safety and public confidence.

Continuing on the theme of safety, EuroNCAP’s Secretary General Michiel van Ratingen extolled the virtues of ADAS, although noted that there is still progress to be made in the field of advanced driver assistance systems. “AI will help with system reliability,” he added, noting the difference between assisted driving and automated driving. “AI can optimise [and therefore personalise] safety systems by recognising who is driving, which in addition be being safer for the occupants of the vehicle, also helps the emergency services know who and what they are dealing with. Those extra couple of minutes can make all the difference between life and death, after all.

EYES ON THE PRIZE(S)

The main event, as with every iteration of Intertraffic Amsterdam, was the announcement of the winners of the four prestigious Intertraffic Awards.
Presented by the chair of the judging panel, CROW’s Pieter Litjens, the winners were three groundbreaking innovations in the Green Globe, Inspiration and User Experience categories. The new ITSUP Startup Award and a Special Jury Mention completed the event’s recognitions.
•    The Green Globe Award – recognising environmental sustainability – was claimed by MB Air by HR Groep Streetcare, the world’s first CE-certified compressed-air bicycle parking-lift system. 
•    The Inspiration Award went to Deltabloc TAM Technology by Deltabloc International, a revolutionary fibre optic sensing platform capable of monitoring traffic across 50km of road in real time.
•    The User Experience Award was awarded to TLEX Interchange by Monotch, a cloud-native engine for seamlessly setting up real-time, low-latency mobility data exchange. 
•    Luxene claimed the ITSUP Startup Award for its innovative laser-driven, fibre-optic road-marking system.
•    A Special Jury Mention was given to NavTac Temporary Tactile Guidance Films by Brite-Line.

Said Litjens: “This year’s selection process was made particularly compelling both by the rich mix of solution types as well as the passion that lay behind all of the nominations that made it to the final 15 – all of whom had presented their solutions to the panel across an entire day at the RAI exhibition centre, ahead of Intertraffic Amsterdam. 

“It was great to see the combination of innovation, heartfelt presentations, and the inspiring nature of the people who are behind them,” says Litjens. “There are people behind each of these innovations who are inventing and making them. And they’re not only making them to make profit or to sell something. They are making these solutions because they believe in better, safer traffic, or a better world, or a sustainable surrounding. That’s what I like most.”

Litjens also highlighted the breadth of the shortlist. “We saw a lot of technical applications – software, hardware inventions – all very technical. But I also liked the mix between high tech and also some low tech, very simple inventions that really make an impact – and can contribute to inclusivity in society.”

On the technology side it was notable that two of the four award recipients – Deltabloc TAM and Luxene – employ fibre optic technology, albeit in entirely different applications. Deltabloc uses distributed fibre optic sensing cables embedded alongside or within road surfaces to detect vehicle vibrations and translate them into rich traffic data, while Luxene embeds laser-driven, side-emitting glass fibres directly into road markings to provide continuous visual guidance in rain, snow and darkness. The jury observed that the two technologies could, in theory, be complementary on future road infrastructure projects.