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IEEE has released the findings of a survey that revealed expert opinions about the future of driverless cars, from challenges to mass adoption, essential autonomous technologies, features in the car of the future, and geographic adoption. More than 200 researchers, academicians, practitioners, university students, society members and government agencies in the field of autonomous vehicles, participated in the survey. When survey respondents were asked to assign a ranking to six possible roadblocks to th

In a bid to improve safety at the Sheriffhall roundabout near Edinburgh, Scotland, Clearview Traffic has been working with BEAR Scotland on an innovative accident reduction project at the complex six-arm gyratory roundabout which is used by over 42,000 vehicles per day. The project, which Clearview says is the first of its kind in the UK, uses the company’s IRS2 intelligent hardwired road stud to increase driver awareness and improve lane discipline on and off the roundabout. Improvements and efficien

In a contract worth US$1.4 million Q-Free TCS is to supply the City of Montgomery in the US with an advanced transportation management system (ATMS). The contract is for a parking guidance system which will begin in July and delivered by the end of 2014. Q-Free TCS has previously delivered two parking guidance systems to the same customer. “Q-Free is the market leader within parking guidance solutions in North America. This contract confirms the attractiveness of our offering in this market,” says Q-F

A recent study by MarketdsandMarkets, Traffic Management Market by Solutions, Displays & Systems (Full Pedestrian, Parking Space and Toll Management, Above Ground Pedestrian and Vehicle Detection) - Global Advancements, Projects, Worldwide Forecast & Analysis (2014 - 2019) analysed and studied the major market drivers, restraints, and opportunities in North America, Western Europe, CIS and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The study reports that the traffic manageme

A wide-ranging report produced by transport expert Professor David Begg, A 2050 vision for London, looks at the impact that the rise of autonomous transport systems might have on UK cities, and in particular London. Begg’s report proposes 10mph zones for traffic near schools and in busy areas and suggests that the safety of and efficiency of London's transport network could be improved by the introduction of driverless vehicles. Speeds for automated buses could be restricted by remote control, while

The USDOT's Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) has announced that the Systems Engineering Tool for Intelligent Transportation (SET-IT) software is available as available as an Alpha release. SET-IT software integrates drawing and database tools with the CVRIA so that users can develop project architectures for pilots, test beds, and early deployments. The Alpha version of the SET-IT software is provided as-is with the current capabilities of the tool at this point in i

Dozens of sustainable transport schemes got the green light this week, Transport Minister Baroness Kramer has announced. The range of schemes will include improved infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians, better bus journeys and new and upgraded transport interchanges allowing people to easily switch from one mode of transport to another. The Department for Transport is providing US$109 million towards the schemes in the latest round of its Local sustainable Transport Fund, with Local Enterprise P

San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) has turned to Cubic’s big data subsidiary Urban Insights to make better use of its data, according to a report in Information Week. The agency has disparate data sources, including a smart-card payment system, GPS-based automatic vehicle location devices on buses, automatic passenger counters on trolleys, and extensive route and schedule information formatted in the general transit feed specification (GTFS) format developed by Google in 2006. "We look at all

While Google develops driverless cars in the west, in China, internet giant Baidu is said to be developing an unmanned autonomous bicycle. According to Techweb, a prototype of the world’s first unmanned bike is possible by the end of this year. The bike is said to be able to identify its owner, navigate obstacles and run on its own using an electric motor. The bike, without a rider, can apparently sense its environment well enough to avoid obstacles and navigate complicated road conditions. The device

UK-based parking specialist Parkeon is to install 43 Parkeon Strada Rapide terminals in Birmingham, on behalf of Birmingham City Council. The terminals are all mains powered, coin-only meters, with the added benefit of being fitted with 3G modems enabling connection to the Parkfolio centralised management system, an easy to use flexible, web-based system that will enable the council to control parking by live monitoring live of financial and terminal status across the parking zones. All the new termi

Toyota Technical Center’s (TTC) general manager of the Integrated Vehicle Systems Department, Hideki Hada, has been awarded a patent for the development of vehicle speed indication using vehicle to infrastructure technology. The idea behind vehicle speed indication using vehicle-infrastructure is to improve traffic flow by dynamically adjusting posted speed limits on highways using vehicle to vehicle communication. The system uses Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) to transmit vehicle speed t

Transport for London (TfL) has published London’s first Pedestrian Safety Action Plan following consultation in the spring. One of the Mayor and TfL's top priorities is to reduce by 40 per cent the number of people killed or seriously injured on London's roads by 2020 and action is being taken to prioritise the safety of the most vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. The plan has been compiled by TfL working alongside key stakeholders, and looks to address the concerns and chall

South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has begun testing of vehicle-crash avoidance technology on a short road from Seoul to Suwon on the Seoul-Busan expressway, with a view to reducing the number of highway accidents. The accident avoidance system uses wireless access in vehicular environment (WAVE) technology which allows vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, detecting any change in road conditions and warning drivers of potential hazards. Closed circuit