News

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has invested more than US$2 million in a major refurbishment of the agency's Phoenix-based Traffic Operations Centre (TOC), which opened in 1992. The upgrade gives TOC personnel a variety of tools to use: roadway sensors, overhead message boards, video cameras, on-route travel time estimates, ramp meters and the 511 Traveler Information system to manage Arizona's nearly 7,000 miles of highways.

Thales has announced the award of two major rail system contracts in Slovenia and China. The first, a US€40 million contract with the Slovenian Transport Ministry is for the provision of a complete European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 1 on the Slovenian part of Corridor D. Due for completion in 2015, this project in partnership with GH Holding concerns the 350 km line stretching from the Hungarian border to Italy. The company says this contract represents one of the most important ETCS Level 1 infras

US based Cohu expands its family of HDTV camera products, with the 7500HD series, offering excellent image quality, event management processing and network stability. Available in three configurations, the company says all three are robustly designed and ideal for security, surveillance and remote monitoring applications. The 710HD is a fixed network box camera, indoor IP50 rated, the 7520HD is a fixed network dome camera, indoor and outdoor IP66 rated, while the 7530HD is a fixed network camera, outdoor

According to a report from Pike Research, annual sales of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are forecast to reach 400,073 in the United States and 107,146 in Canada by 2020, but the real story of these sales is in the cities and utility service territories where the vehicles will be located. Pike Research has analysed PEV sales by state and across cities with more than 500,000 residents in the United States, plus forecasts for Canadian provinces and the seven largest cities in Canada. These forecasts were c

“Dan was an engineer who could dream, design and then sell. He loved to sell, and it came from a love to share. I'm sure that's what he's doing right now – selling and sharing. We loved his free spirit…you never knew what he was going to do or say next…he kept you on the edge of your seat. Dan had several careers throughout his life and he took the best from each one, using that to make his next career step even better. But at the end of the day, he was an engineer who loved to sell and share.” – Econo

Econolite Group mourns the recent passing of Philip Daniel “Dan” Fancher, founder, CEO and president of Wireless Technology, Inc. (WTI), who passed away on September 2, 2012. Dan was born in Tampa, Florida, on November 4, 1944. He spent many years in the electronics industry before inventing, developing and receiving a patent for the wireless technology-based products for his new company, WTI, which was founded in 1984. Dan was also on the front lines of making short-range wireless video transmission availa

Cyprus is to introduce a central Intelligent Transport System (ITS), which will inform drivers of traffic congestion via sms, radio or digital billboards. The project, which is expected to cost in the region of US600,000 is aimed at reducing congestion, improving road safety and reducing fuel consumption on the island. The system will also notify police and hospitals of road accidents, so they can respond faster.

A recent survey by the Washington-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a pro-transit environmental-advocacy group, found Americans favored more local government spending on buses, trains, and light rail by a wide ratio: 68 percent to 25 percent. But when asked how to pay for improvements in transit and highways, Americans said no to higher fuel and sales taxes, preferring systems that require developers and commercial landowners to foot the bill

UK company, CA Traffic has combined their Evo8 ANPR camera and Black Cat traffic monitoring technology to provide weigh in motion (WIM) and speed violation detection with high quality ANPR data. Both systems are configured with the local classification scheme, maximum road speed, vehicle speed and weight limits by class. Vehicle data (class, speed and weight) is sent from the Black Cat system to the EVo8, which checks for compliance with the data set for the road.

Swedish company, Sensys Traffic is to supply red light enforcement systems to the Royal Oman Police to boost traffic monitoring system in the city of Muscat, as part of a three party agreement with the police and its local partner, Trifoil. In a contract worth US$3.6 million, systems will be installed at complex crossroads in the city, using the company’s new RS242 radar to monitor violations, identify lanes and classify vehicles.

In China, Yunnan Investment Holdings Group and BYD have announced their intention to open new-energy vehicle manufacturing plants in Yunnan Province, expanding BYD’s EV and new-energy businesses into southwest China and neighboring Asian countries. The BYD-Yunnan cooperation will be developed in three stages, with BYD initially supplying Yunnan Investment Holdings

TomTom Business Solutions, supplier of GPS and fleet management solutions, has announced an incentive program in conjunction with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to help New York commercial and government fleet operators improve fleet productivity and fuel efficiency. In partnership with the New York State Department of Transportation, NYSERDA is providing US$250,000 in funding toward this program which allows participating New York State businesses to receive special