GIS/ Mapping & Location Based Systems

Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) has announced an addition to its offering of high-accuracy, mobile mapping solutions. The IP-S2 HD Mapping System is a vehicle-mounted surveying and mapping system featuring a high-definition LiDAR scanner from Velodyne Lidar.

Networkfleet has announced the availability of high-resolution satellite and hybrid maps in its flagship Networkfleet wireless fleet management system. The new mapping capability gives fleet managers the ability to observe vehicles in a real-world setting with 3D earth imagery. According to the company, this new functionality provides a more accurate and realistic depiction of a vehicle's location and its geographical surroundings.

Spain-headquartered TSS-Transport Simulation Systems has announced new developments in its Aimsun transport modelling software with the development of a hybrid simulator.

David Crawford investigates new detection analysis technology from IBM. Locations on both the East and West Coasts of the US are scheduled for early deployments of IBM's new Traffic Prediction Tool (TPT) statistical analysis model for the fine-time resolution and near-term prediction of road flow conditions. Developed by IBM's Watson Research Laboratories, TPT is designed to analyse data from the the key detection indicators - average vehicle volumes and speeds passing a location in a given time interval -

Adrian Greeman looks at developments in software visualisation packages. The capacity to make visualisations has been growing in importance over the last decade, and is now a well-accepted part of consultations and client presentations. But making high-quality images of projects is still a major undertaking and larger consultancies employ specialist departments to do so. Costs are coming down but it can still take a while, and some high-capacity hardware, to produce realistic renderings from drawings and 3D

TSS-Transport Simulation Systems will be showcasing Aimsun 7, the latest version of its traffic modelling software. Capable of running simulation models of large metropolitan areas much faster than real time, Aimsun now has nearly 2,000 licensed users in universities, consultancies and governments in over 60 countries.

VisWalk from PTV is a pedestrian simulation tool specifically designed to assist railway station operators, city planners, architects and event managers in planning and coordinating their projects. The software allows planners to optimise pedestrian flows in and outside buildings.

TSS-Transport Simulation Systems has announced the release of Aimsun 7 which takes the previous version's ability to integrate static traffic assignment, microscopic and mesoscopic modelling and then ramps up the concept of integration to a whole new level with the introduction of the hybrid simulator. TSS claims this eagerly awaited tool has long been at the top of the traffic modelling wish list and allows users to model large scale networks mesoscopically while zooming in microscopically on any areas tha

A vast array of new products and systems for aiding road safety were displayed at the ITS World Congress in October. David Crawford assesses a selection of safety initiatives exhibited in Orlando. Vital roles for ITS applications in road traffic safety emerge clearly from a new report from the US Transportation Safety Advancement Group. The report has been carried out for the Next Generation 911 What's Next Forum, which is preparing the way for future development of the US national 911 emergency single call

Alexander Gerschenkron, the famous economic historian, once posited a benefit for those countries which come late to economic development: that they could introduce the latest technology and thus jump over some of the standard development paths followed by their predecessors . It is entirely possible to make the same observation of late-comers to ITS: that they can gain from the pains of those who went before and more easily implement best practice in ITS. As a consequence, it is entirely likely the Abu Dha