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The US Department of Transportation has released its ITS Strategic Plan 2015-2019, outlining its plans for the future of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) research. Some highlights of the plan include program categories, which provide the structure for research, development, and adoption of its technologies, including connected vehicles, automation, emerging capabilities, enterprise data, interoperability and accelerating deployment.

As the Drive Me project enters its second year, Volvo Cars is moving rapidly towards the aim of placing 100 self-driving cars in the hands of customers on selected roads around Gothenburg by 2017. The key to making this unprecedented leap is a complex network of sensors, cloud-based positioning systems and intelligent braking and steering technologies. Volvo Cars’ Autopilot system is designed to be reliable enough to allow the car to take over every aspect of driving in autonomous mode. The main challenge i

A new IDTechEx report, Electric Drones: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles UAVs 2015-2025, examines the market for drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), saying that most of the market value today lies in military applications, both for electric and - the big money - non-electric versions. Nonetheless, small UAVs are increasing in sales fastest and that is primarily down to non-military applications. From 2026, civil uses will greatly exceed military in market value. The report forecasts it all but concentrates o

Galway in Ireland is set to receive part of a US$2.5 million government transport improvement grant to develop cycle paths and other cycling infrastructure in the city and the surrounding area. The grant will be distributed between 14 projects and, as well as money for cycling projects, other transport initiatives will receive funding. The cycling improvements will consist of new cycle paths and on-road cycle lanes, shared cycle-pedestrian facilities, crossing upgrades, increased bike parking facilities, im

Wellington City Council in New Zealand has begun to trial Smart Parking’s bay sensor technology with the installation of an initial 72 sensors. On completion of a successful trial, which is scheduled to run to the end of April, the council plans a US$1.05 million rollout of 4,000 sensors across the inner city streets. The parking solution will also include Smart Parking’s SmartApp which will allow motorists to identify streets with available bays and avoid driving around searching for a spot on roads which

Iteris has again been selected by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to provide state-wide road weather forecasting and maintenance decision support services using the Iteris ClearPath Weather service. The service agreement is renewable annually for up to three years, bringing the full potential revenue of a three-year contract to approximately US$1.4 million. ClearPath Weather is based on Iteris’ proprietary highway condition analysis and prediction system (HiCAPS) pavement condition model an

The Safety, Sustainability and Intelligence: New Challenges, New Roads technical conference, organised by the Spanish Road Association, begins at the Centre of Contemporary Culture in Barcelona at 0930 on 19 February. Almost 200 road experts from Spain and Europe are expected to attend the conference, which concludes on 20 February. The conference focuses on the challenges facing road managers, how to manage road network improvements and the demands and priorities of road users and how to ensure compatibili

Colombian highway concessionaire Infrastructura Concesionada (Infracon) has put forward a US$993 million public-private partnership (PPP) to add a third lane to the highway between the municipality of Girardot and capital Bogotá. The project would involve building a third 132 kilometre-long lane for and carrying out maintenance works on 151 kilometres of highway on the Bogota-Buenaventura, with works expected to last five years, said the president of the national infrastructure agency (ANI) Luis Fernando An

A new online tool from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an interactive calculator called the Motor Vehicle PICCS (Prioritizing Interventions and Cost Calculator for States), provides a tool to help state decision makers prioritise and select from a suite of 12 effective motor vehicle injury prevention interventions. Accessible to the public, the tool helps each of the 50 states identify the best mix of safety devices to implement based on their cost-effectiveness and their capacity t

Six companies have been shortlisted as potential project delivery partners in the US$7.5 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), which is to be rolled out in stages from 2017. The plan aims to resolve traffic woes in the state, especially on the island. It involves massive infrastructure works and a comprehensive public transport system incorporating light rail transit, trams, buses and catamarans, expanding roads and building new highways. It also includes five new intra-state highways and an undersea

The EU's TEN-T Programme will invest over US$500,000 in a study aimed at introducing an intelligent traffic management system in the port of Hamburg in Germany. The study is to contribute to an optimised use of the port's infrastructure, reduced traffic-related pollution, faster transport and cargo handling and improved road safety. The study will look into ways to improve the utilisation rates and cost-effectiveness of existing infrastructure and facilities in the port by introducing an intelligent traffic

Developed by UK vehicle safety specialists Sentinel Systems, the Bike Hotspot is designed to reduce the number of accidents involving cyclists and commercial vehicles. The system is designed to sense when a cyclist is within the blind spot of a large vehicle, a common cause for fatal accidents especially when the vehicle is manoeuvring or turning left. It comprises four of Sentinel’s safety aids including a front corner system, side scan system, a side camera and an external sounder and can be customised to

The French coastal town of La Rochelle will host a series of events related to CityMobil2 and road vehicle automation during next CityMobil events programme between 30 and 31 March 2015. La Rochelle is the site of one of the main CityMobil2 demonstrations of automated road passenger transport systems, which operates from December 2014 to March 2015. Events attendees will have the opportunity to travel in the automated vehicles, provided by CityMobil 2's partner Robosoft, which will be circulation along the

Boston, US, has formed a new data-sharing partnership with Google-owned traffic app Waze, to enable the city’s drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to check real time traffic conditions on Boston’s streets. The partnership aims to help improve traffic flow in Boston in two principal ways. As part of the partnership, the City will share information on expected road closures with the 400,000 users of Waze in Greater Boston, helping them find the best way to get around town. In addition, aggregated information o

Volvo Cars, the Swedish Transport Administration and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration are working together on a project to enable cars to share information about conditions that relate to road friction, such as icy patches, or if another driver in the area has its hazard lights on. The research project is getting closer to real-world implementation; with the technology in place, the testing and validation phase is about to begin. In this phase, Volvo Cars will expand the test fleet 20-fold and broa

Under the theme Enhancing liveable cities and communities, ITS Australia has launched the 23rd ITS World Congress, to be held in Melbourne, Australia from 10-14 October 2016. Comprehensive information is already available, including the exhibition opportunities prospectus, call for demonstrations application booklet and partnership opportunities prospectus. Exhibitors are invited to participate in the exhibition, which has 16,500 sqm of space reserved in the pillarless exhibition centre. Exhibitors who wish

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA), in partnership with the Battelle Memorial Institute, will develop and test collision avoidance systems for its 500 bus fleet that serves Cuyahoga County, thanks to a US$2.7 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The collision avoidance technology is similar to that currently available in high-end automobiles. It detects, warns and even automatically stops the vehicle when getting too close to another object. “RTA is at the national for

Work has begun on one of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects: two nine-kilometre underground rail tunnels that will transform Melbourne’s public transport system. The Victoria government has fast-tracked US$31 million to establish the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority and start work on the project as soon as possible. The project also includes five new underground stations. The Authority will oversee immediate planning works, complete development of the reference design and undertake detailed site inve

The EU's TEN-T Programme is to provide over US$7.4 million funding to support a pilot project which will test and assess cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) to improve road safety, traffic management and multimodality in France. The pilot is the first of a two-phase project to study C-ITS and define a national roadmap to enable vehicles communicate with each other and the road infrastructure for greater transport efficiency and increased safety. It will focus on testing C-ITS applications, imp

In a contract valued at US$6.6 million, Q-Free is to replace all Autopass roadside tolling equipment in Oslo, Norway. The contract, awarded by the Norwegian Roads Administration includes the dismantling and replacement of existing roadside equipment and service and maintenance following completion of the installation. In addition the contract includes options for increased delivery of equipment and extension of the service and maintenance period. Installation begins immediately and is expected to be comple