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High-performance digital camera supplier Point Grey has introduced plug-and-play interoperability between its Grasshopper3 and Flea3 USB3 Vision cameras and Matrox Imaging Library (MIL), a comprehensive software tool for developing machine vision, image analysis and medical imaging software applications. The two companies have been working together since summer 2013 on the USB3 Vision implementation. Matrox Imaging already provides support for Point Grey’s GigE Vision and FireWire products and with the r

David Crawford previews a work zone travel breakthrough. In February 2014, the Port of Long Beach in California launched what it claims is a groundbreaking construction zone navigation aid - LB Bridge mobile app. The app is designed to help drivers during the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement programme by keeping them up to date on activity and the ensuing traffic diversions when construction starts in summer 2014. The unusually content-rich app is designed to convey current project news (enlivened by phot

The World Bank has announced a US$133.54 million grant to support the Government of Yemen’s ambitious plan to connect the northern and southern parts of the country with a 710 kilometre highway. The largest ever infrastructure project in Yemen’s history will play a vital role in the country’s transition by targeting the root causes of instability, such as lack of access to economic opportunities and poor national integration, and rebuilding the country’s social and economic base. “This is more than just

The UK government’s proposed Infrastructure Bill would improve how the national infrastructure is funded, planned, managed and maintained and provide a US$4.4 billion boost to the economy over the next ten years. Proposals include: improving the funding and management of our major roads; streamlining the planning process for major projects; protecting our infrastructure from invasive plants and animals; supporting house building; making it easier and cheaper to register land and property; helping communi

Digital security provider Gemalto has made its Protiva Cloud Confirm strong authentication solution compatible with the HP CloudSystem for Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), under the HP Helion cloud portfolio. The easy-to-deploy solution integrates seamlessly with CSPs' existing or future infrastructures, providing secure, frictionless access to cloud-based services for HP's CSP customers and their end users. Protiva Cloud Confirm features mobile one-time-password (OTP) capabilities coupled with a multi-te

To support the unprecedented urban growth in Bangalore, India’s third most populous city with a population of over eight million, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has adopted GIS to completely transform the way it manages its road network. Using GeoCivic Road Infrastructure Management, a solution by CyberTech, a partner of Esri, BBMP built a geo-enabled, transparent system that provides officials with information-rich dashboards for monitoring road activities across all wards and zones. The

David Crawford reports on how the authorities in New Zealand are using Bluetooth technology to monitor the effects of a new expressway as it is being constructed. New Zealand Highway Agency (NZHA) is using Bluetooth-based vehicle detection to assess the impact of its biggest road building project as the various sections are completed. The large-scale deployment of a Bluetooth-based vehicle detection system is making substantial contributions to traffic data needs in progressing the new Waikato Expressway, a

German consulting and software group PTV has signed the Global Road Safety Commitment, pledging its support to the agreement on road safety worldwide, designed to help organisations develop a systematic approach to reducing the main risks caused by road traffic, ensuring greater safety on the roads. The annual death toll from road traffic accidents stands at over one million worldwide. The United Nations is aiming to reduce this number considerably and has declared the period from 2011 to 2020 the Decade

A research study released by the US National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) program offers the most comprehensive evaluation of protected cycle lanes to date. The study, Lessons from the Green Lanes, examines recently installed protected bike lanes in five of the six founding PeopleForBikes Green Lane Project cities and provides the scientific basis for decisions that could improve bicycling in cities across the United States. Protected bike lanes, sometimes called cycle tracks, are

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has released the draft moveDC Transportation Plan, a comprehensive, multimodal transportation strategy that outlines policies, programs and capital investments to enhance the District’s transportation network, and includes detailed elements or master plans for each mode of travel in the District. The plan takes into account projections that the city will add about 170,000 residents in the next 25 years, and increase jobs by 40 per cent, for an additional 2

Siemens is conducting a four-month joint feasibility study with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) in South Yorkshire to evaluate the impact, benefits and requirements of an integrated, multi-modal transport system. Funded by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the first phase of the collaboration project will look at how to offer a unique and innovative IT solution for South Yorkshire in order to improve local citizen and traveller access to comprehensive, yet personalised, travel in

EU member states have dealt a blow to plans to allow lorry makers to sell safer vehicles. Transport ministers meeting today agreed that European Commission proposals to enable, not require, manufacturers to make changes to lorry cabs that improve visibility and reduce the impact of crashes on other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists should be subject to an eight-year delay. The position of transport ministers is at odds with the European Parliament, which said in April that safer cab designs should be pe

Map-based computerised road asset management can pay dividends as Colin Sowman discovers.

At the recent Greenfleet Scotland exhibition Siemens UK took showcases its new electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions range which includes both modular DC and AC variants for all charging standards, including CHAdeMO and CSC COMBO 2. For slow or fast charging, the floor standing, pole or wall mounted AC charger (single or dual outlets) provides single phase charging output of 3.6kW or up to 22kW with three phase. Combining AC and/or DC fast charging, both modular DC 20kW and DC 45kW chargers provide c

The EU is helping countries in North Africa and the Middle East utilise Galileo’s services. With its Galileo constellation rapidly taking shape, the European Union has opened lines of communication with countries in North Africa and the Middle East with a view to assisting their governments and businesses to utilise the satellite services that extend across the Mediterranean. The services available to countries are provided through the European Global Navigational Satellite System (E-GNSS), which includes a

Siemens’ introduced its new Sitraffic sX controller as a ‘game changer’, Colin Sowman finds out why.

David Crawford investigates a control centre with a future. Destined to play a central role in keeping the city and its transport running smoothly during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in July, the new Glasgow Operations Centre in Scotland’s largest urban centre formally went live earlier this year. The aim was to dry run its far-reaching integration of previously distinct core systems and familiarise the public with the initial phase of what will be a long-term post-event legacy. The centre brings together, i

Truvelo UK’s new TRIMMS infrared illumination enables mobile speed enforcement in the dead of night. Lincolnshire is the UK’s fourth-largest county, has a population of over a million and is predominantly rural. Only 66km of its 8,893km road network is dual carriageway and 79% of the rest is ‘C’ class or unclassified roads. In terms of Killed and Seriously Injured (KSI) figures, there were 415 casualties in 2013 (down from 526 in 2002). Official figures show inappropriate speed accounts for 25% of the UK’s

A free webinar by Dr Peter Harrop, IDTechEx on Tuesday 10 June will share some of the research carried out for the new IDTechEx report, Hybrid and Pure Electric Cars 2014-2024. It encompasses hybrid and pure electric on-road cars, golf cars, neighbourhood electric vehicles NEV and the car-like micro EVs and quadricycles. On-road hybrid cars are a success in developed countries and micro EVs are a success in developing countries. Pure electric on-road cars will become successful within the coming decade.

TRW Automotive demonstrated its driver assist systems (DAS) and outlined expected trends in sensor technologies during the company's recent bi-annual Ride and Drive event at the Hockenheimring in Germany. According to Andrew Whydell, TRW Electronics’ director of product planning, DAS has and will continue to be a focal point for the automotive industry as governments and industry bodies strive to reduce road fatalities worldwide. For example, the European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP) and the Ins