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Grab Ventures has launched a three-month electric scooter pilot at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Kent Ridge campus for three months. The subsidiary of technology firm Grab says it offers a green transportation option for NUS staff and students. The scooters are available at eight parking locations on the campus. Grab intends to increase this number to 30 by the end of December. Professor Yong Kwet Yew, NUS senior vice president, says the partnership provides a last-mile transportation op

Videalert says its new automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera delivers read rates over 98%. The HD camera, designed for the company’s range of mobile enforcement vehicles (MEV), is expected to boost productivity in parking and traffic management applications. According to Videalert, the two megapixel camera utilises Sony digital signal processor technology for noise reduction and infrared sensitivity to capture images of reflective number plates up to 40 metres away. The ANPR camera also features

Resource management company Veolia will trial two electric refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) which are charged by power derived from waste collected in Sheffield, UK. The former diesel-powered vehicles are expected to operate by the end of the year. The company says the project is intended to demonstrate its commitment to the deployment of zero-emission heavy goods vehicles. Innovate UK has provided a £220,000 grant to Sheffield City Council which will allow the 26-tonne RCVs to operate over the next two y

Sony Europe’s Image Sensing Solutions says its polarised category of machine vision camera captures polarised light in four different angles. The XCG-CP510 GS CMOS camera simplifies stress inspection, contrast improvement, scratch detection, object detection, removal and enhancement from a single image capture, the company adds. The camera’s module is expected to deliver 5.1 MP polarised B/W images at 23 fps, transmitted over a GigE interface. Sony’s camera includes multiple trigger modes such as edge det

Antaira Technologies, an industrial device networking and communication solutions specialist, says its new unmanaged switch series is designed for industrial applications subject to high vibration and shock. The LNP-0800G-M12-67-24 series features a PSE management system which helps provide protection from PoE system or PD overloads. According to Antaira, the IP67 waterproof switch uses bypass technology to help keep data communication flowing if there is a power failure even if the switch is offline. The

Taking the pressure off cities’ road networks can have a beneficial effect on the environment. David Crawford looks at a new economic model which seeks to quantify the societal effect of freight traffic in Southampton, one of the UK’s five most polluted cities Cuts of 60% or more in volumes of freight deliveries are being predicted - along with badly-needed improvements in air quality - from a load consolidation scheme currently being introduced in the UK port city of Southampton. The forecasts are based o

Just a few years ago, terms such as ‘embedded’ and ‘polarisation’ were buzzwords. But now they are real and present examples of vision technology in action – and, Adam Hill finds, the ITS industry is waking up to a number of possible applications Every aspect of the intelligent transportation systems industry moves quickly – but developments in camera technology change with a rapidity which can appear quite bewildering. And with ITS providers constantly searching for an edge against fierce competitio

Theia Technologies says its range of 4K and megapixel NIR corrected lenses for ITS can be used in applications ranging from long distance traffic surveillance and ANPR/LPR, to ultra-wide views without distortion. At the Vision show in Stuttgart earlier this month, the company showed off for the first time its ML610M 6-10mm varifocal lens with 4k resolution, NIR correction for a 2/3” sensor covering the focal range of 3 prime lenses with up to 87 degrees horizontal field of view. The telephoto lens po

A bus-to-jobs project in Milwaukee provides a useful service for low-paid workers. A new report shows the economic impact of potential closure on local employers - and demonstrates the importance of public transit networks for disadvantaged communities The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has a problem. Getting people into out-of-town districts for work is an engine of economic growth, but it costs money. The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) bus routes 6 and 61 - also known as JobLines - provide acces

Industry veteran Brian Negus has been given an award by ITS Australia to mark his long service to the ITS sector. Following a career spanning more than half a century, Negus received the Max Lay Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony in Brisbane this week. He was a director of ITS Australia for 12 years from 2007 – and for half that time he was also its president. Despite retiring, Negus still has a role as ambassador for the organisation, representing ITS Australia nationally and internationally, and i

Uber is adding drivers from a specialist company to its app in a bid to provide more wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAV) to disabled passengers in the US. MV Transportation specialises in providing on-demand transportation to people with disabilities and older passengers. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says there are not enough drivers on its platform who use WAVs. He believes the collaboration will allow riders in wheelchairs to be picked up within 15 minutes on average for trips in New York City, Bosto

The rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence means that fortune tellers will soon be out of business. Ed Chavis takes a behind the scenes look at the world of predictive analytics ver since organisations started taking advantage of insights derived from Big Data, data scientists concentrated their efforts on the ability to make correct assumptions about the future. A few years later, with the help of automation, developments in machine learning (ML) and advancements in the application of a

For all the talk of smart cities, investment in systems lags significantly behind organic expansion in most places. Andrew Stone talks to Venkat Sumantran, who has been looking at how to create a coherent framework which could help authorities answer multiple mobility questions Two megatrends are posing unprecedented challenges to those trying to keep people moving around the world’s urban areas now - and in the years and decades to come. The first is rapid urbanisation. One in six of us lived in urban a

Nedap has launched two automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras for vehicle access control applications. The company says its advanced ANPR Lumo uses deep learning algorithms to capture number plates which include different font formats. The ANPR Access V2, a successor of Nedap’s ANPR Access, is expected to offer improved performance while being compatible with existing installations. Both cameras integrate parking and traffic management systems as well as third-party security systems using

Bike-share and electric scooter company Lime has launched a ‘free-floating’ car-share service in Seattle and intends to make 1,500 vehicles available in early 2019. Bloomberg says the company has deployed 50 Lime-branded vehicles and intends to increase this number to 500 by the end of the year. Users can unlock a LimePod vehicle, a customised two-door Fiat 500, via the company’s app for $1 and are charged 40 cents per minute while driving. Toby Sun, Lime’s chief executive officer, says the company is a

The European Parliament (EP) and European Council (EC) have agreed on rules to improve the tracing of drivers who fail to pay road tolls when travelling within the European Union. The informal agreement is expected to improve information exchange on vehicle data. Additionally, the agreed rules are intended to allow service providers to develop a system which allows drivers to use a single on-board toll payment device when travelling across the EU. Rapporteur Massimilano Salini (European People’s Party

Spain-based technology firm Minsait is to launch its smart city solution in two European cities: Helsinki and Antwerp. Its Onesait Digital Platform for Cities was chosen in a competition, Select for Cities, which is part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 innovation project. The open-data platform utilises the Internet of Things to integrate and manage data from multiple sources and devices using predictive models, helping city authorities make informed decisions about transit and generating useful info

The Road and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai has approved the expansion of its smart traffic systems project valued at د.إ 590 million (£125m). RTA says the initiative also includes the development of a control centre for traffic management in the Al Barsha area to help manage bottlenecks. The project’s initial package includes the installation of traffic monitoring systems and information gathering, including the installation of cameras, vehicle detectors, Bluetooth devices and weather sensors.

RATP Dev is upgrading one of its London bus depots to house a fleet of 36 electric buses. The Shepherd’s Bush location will house the vehicles for two all-electric Transport for London (TfL) bus routes, and the French company says it plans to turn the location ‘all-electric’, making it RATP’s first zero-emissions garage in London. The firm already operates four all-electric buses out of Hounslow, and 246 hybrid buses within the UK capital altogether.

People in the UK resort of Bournemouth are being warned not to use a ‘lifts-for-cash’ service which is operating in the town. A closed Facebook group called ‘Bournemouth & Poole town lifts’ has more than 7,000 members but council leaders say the service could be illegal. Members communicate via social media. Once accepted, they can ask for trips, talk to drivers or make money by using their vehicle as a taxi. But Nananka Randle, licensing team manager, planning and regulatory services, at Bournemouth Bo