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Proposed US legislation which advocates funnelling hundreds of millions of dollars into smart city developments has been brought back before lawmakers. Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, senator Maria Cantwell and congressman Ben Ray Luján have re-introduced the Smart Cities and Communities Act to promote the advancement of smart cities. DelBene says: “Utilising smart technologies to our advantage will allow cities to invest in clean infrastructure projects that reduce pollution, create good-paying jobs, and e

Tritium has added its Veefil-PK 350kW DC High Power Chargers to Chargefox’s ultra-rapid network site at the Toombul Shopping Centre in Brisbane, Australia. Marty Andrews, CEO of public EV charging network Chargefox, says: “Our new Brisbane station at Toombul Shopping Centre is the next stepping stone on our journey to connect Australia’s major cities for the thousands of drivers using efficient, clean electric vehicles (EVs).” Tritium says the two 350kW chargers can add up to 400km of range to an EV

Neuron EV has launched a smart transportation shuttle called Hub which it says integrates renewable energy, telecommunications and cloud computing for ease of mobility. The firm claims Hub can operate as an autonomous ride-sharing service or as an emergency vehicle. For ride-sharing, the six-seated electric vehicle (EV) can run autonomously within a five-mile radius. The input or scan of a blockchain ID allows a Hub service to operate without reservations while traffic detection software directs the

Keysight Technologies is extending its collaboration with Chinese company Gohigh Data Networks Technology to accelerate cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) technology for connected car applications. Keysight says the collaboration allows manufacturers of long-term evolution vehicles (LTE-V) standard-based chipsets, devices and on-board units and roadside units to validate the radio frequency (RF) performance of the PC5 interface. The PC5 refers to a reference point where user equipment (UE) such as a

If you replace today’s traditional private car ownership with a mixture of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and on-demand autonomous vehicles (AVs) running door-to-door, you could make dramatic cuts in city traffic, according to new research. The Oslo Study – How autonomous cars may change transport in cities shows that, “in the most optimistic scenario a reduction of 14 % traffic is possible”. But researchers warn that the traffic reduction potential “is less than estimated in previous studies from other citi

Waymo is to deploy 10 autonomous vehicles (AVs) on Lyft’s platform to serve as a ride-hailing service in the Metro Phoenix area in Arizona, US. The company says it will deploy its Waymo One vehicles over the next few months to improve road safety and introduce AVs to more people. The deployment will allow riders to select an AV using Lyft’s app and provide Waymo with an opportunity to gain feedback on the service. Last December, Waymo launched its ride-hailing service in Phoenix for early riders who w

Sony Europe’s Image Sensing Solutions has launched a software development kit (SDK) for polarised camera modules which it says cuts machine vision application design time and costs. Stephane Clauss, senior business development manager Europe at Sony, says the company has worked with customers to identify key functions for the XPL-SDKW and develop optimised algorithms. “Depending on the dev team and application, a standard polarised-camera application would typically take between 6 to 24 months,” he

The Linux Foundation has formed the Urban Computing Foundation to allow companies like Google and Uber to collaborate on open source software to improve mobility. Linux, a non-profit organisation, says the software can also be used to improve safety, traffic congestion and energy consumption in connected cities. Jim Zemlin, executive director of Linux, says: “The Urban Computing Foundation is poised to provide the compatibility tools and resources for developers to create software that can map out a

Lawmakers in San Francisco have voted to outlaw the use of facial recognition tools. It is a move which will have implications for police surveillance – and also for transit agencies. It was reported last year that Bay Area Rapid Transit (Bart) was considering the introduction of face recognition software on its cameras, for example – but Bart will not now be able to do so. The 8-to-1 vote by the Board of Supervisors means San Francisco is the first city in the US to take this step – and the decis

Ertico has partnered with Belgian firm Be-Mobile to develop technology platforms for connected cars and to prepare for autonomous, multi-modal and shared mobility. Be-Mobile works to help road operators and the car industry tackle traffic jams. It also works on traffic monitoring and guidance, electronic toll collection, multimodal route planning and mobile parking payment. Additionally, Be-Mobile offers services for connected cars and traffic platforms to enable the deployment of cooperative-ITS use ca

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched a system which it says can reduce search time for parking spaces by up to 30%. RTA says the smart parking system in the Al Rigga areas of Deira and the World Trade Center along Sheikh Zayed Road (E11) provides real-time information on vacant spaces. This service allows drivers to identify vacant parking spaces through an electronic guide board. Maitha Bin Oday, executive director of traffic and roads authority, says: “Ground sensors and digital

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBBTA) is to hold a summit in Philadelphia this weekend. The Summit on Finance and Policy, hosted by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, will focus on mobility strategies and on funding for improvements to US roadways, bridges and tunnels. Patrick Jones, IBTTA executive director, will moderate a luncheon discussion about New York City’s toll-cordon congestion pricing plan. Panellists will include Allison de Cerreño, senior vice presiden

Uber’s much-heralded move to being a publicly-traded company has put a value of $80bn on the ride-hailing group

EVgo has announced its plans to use 100% renewable energy to power its electric vehicle (EV) chargers in the US. The company says it is buying a combination of Green-e certified wind and solar energy through its electricity suppliers and renewable energy certificate (REC) partners across the US. In California, EVgo is currently procuring 100% solar RECs and intends to purchase bundled renewable energy from its partners as they become certified through the California Air Resources Board Renewable Energy