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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

Bike-share company Indego is adding 400 more pedal-assist electric bikes to its pilot in Philadelphia. Waffiyyah Murray, Better Bike Share Partnership programme manager, says: ““Adding more electric bikes to the fleet will help address several barriers and open the door for new cyclists who may not have considered using Indego before.” The Better Bike Share Partnership, a collaboration funded by the JPB Foundation, focuses on building equitable and replicable bike-share systems. In 2015, Indego used fundi

Austria’s road financing company Autobahnen- und Schnellstrassen-Finanzierungs (Asfinag) will invest around €8 billion in roads and motorways by 2024. Annual net profits stood at €824 million and debt was reduced by €235 million. Toll income was up 6.9% for trucks and busses to around €1.5 billion and for cars by 4.6% to around €690 million. Major future projects include the Vienna south-east tangent and the western motorway A1 as well as reconstruction of the motorway between Innsbruck and the German bor

Toyota AI Ventures has announced a $100 million fund dedicated to investing in early-stage start-ups developing autonomous mobility and robotics. The company says the fund brings its total assets under management to more than $200m to invest in and support promising projects around the world. Jim Adler, managing director of Toyota AI Ventures, says: “Investing in start-ups creates long-term relationships that help Toyota explore the latest innovations in mobility.” The company looks across a range of in

Swedish bus operator Nobina has ordered 20 additional electric buses from BYD, bringing its total electric fleet to 138 vehicles. Nobina says the 18m articulated electric buses are powered by cobalt-free iron-phosphate batteries which offer high levels of performance and operational safety. Two separate deliveries of this latest BYD e-bus order will be made, with four vehicles destined for the Barkarby district of Stockholm, and 16 for the city of Linköping. Deliveries of the buses are expected to comm

The government of New Zealand has unveiled a plan to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, says: “To address the long-term challenge of climate change, today we introduce the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill to Parliament.” James Shaw, minister for climate change, says: “The critical thing is to do everything we can over the next 30 years to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and the Zero Carbon Bill makes that a legally bindin

Tritium has opened two R&D electric mobility innovation centres in Australia and the Netherlands. The Tritium e-mobility centre in Brisbane serves as an expansion of the company’s headquarters and will be used to develop disruptive technologies for electric vehicles (EVs). A portion of Electric Power Research Institute's $3.2m package, issued by the US Department of Energy, will be used to develop an extreme fast-charging system which is expected to add 475km of range to an EV in 10 minutes. Last

Six out of ten global experts say smart cities are failing disabled people, according to a new survey. Smart Cities for All, a global initiative comprising non-profits G3it and World Enabled, says just 18% of experts confirm that the smart city initiatives familiar to them use international standards for ICT accessibility. ICT accessibility is the quality of a mainstream technology to be used by the widest range of users regardless of abilities or disabilities. The survey, based on 175 entrepreneurs in

5G – or not 5G? That, with apologies to Hamlet, is the question. It’s a vital one for the future of ITS development, particularly in the area of connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AVs). Just a few years ago, there was only one solution in terms of communications protocols for delivering vehicle connectivity – logically, it would have to be based on dedicated short-range communication. Now, road operators and vehicle manufacturers have choices. We examine some of these in ‘The numbers game’ (p28). Su

Yet another roundabout is being built in the US. The public remains sceptical but agencies and contractors are on board, writes David Arminas Global construction company IBT, based in Miami, has won a contract to install a traffic circle – or roundabout - on State Road 64 near Bradenton, Florida. The deal is part of a road improvement project with the Florida Department of Transportation (DoT). The 13-month project started in November. Worth only $5 million, it is not a big infrastructure contract. But