Bluetooth monitoring to reduce Istanbul’s congestion
Spanish company Trafficnow and Isbak are working together to help in taming the congestion in Istanbul, one of Europe’s most congested cities. They are to install 250 DeepBlue Bluetrack sensors along all the major corridors and access points of the city, together with the DeepBlue core centralised system. The sensors use the signals emitted by Bluetooth-enabled devices such as GPS navigation systems and mobile phones to track vehicles and calculate travel times. With up to ten lanes of traffic, the city aut
Abu Dhabi- red light jumpers account for eleven per cent of crashes
Jumping a red light caused eleven per cent of traffic accidents in Abu Dhabi in the first quarter of this year, new traffic statistics show. Col Jamal Salem Al Ameri, head of public relations at Abu Dhabi Police's Traffic and Patrols Department, said accidents from jumping red lights often had serious consequences and put motorists in danger. In the first phase of a plan to enhance traffic monitoring across the emirate, state-of-the-art triple-function traffic cameras were recently installed at forty juncti
USDOT announces new connected vehicle test bed affiliation
The US Department of Transportation has released a memorandum that helps to create an affiliation of 5.9GHz dedicated short range communications (DSRC) infrastructure device makers, operators of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) installations, and developers of applications that use V2I communications. The objective is to harness the collective abilities of these members to transition the technology toward full deployment by allowing for the exchange of information, the sharing of deployment lessons learned,
Arcontia smart card readers integrated into handheld PDA
Arcontia International, Swedish contactless smart card products supplier, is to supply 1,000 of its contactless smart card readers for integration into the Handheld Nautiz eTicket Pro PDA for e-ticketing and fare collection. Arcontia works closely with Swedish PDA manufacturer Handheld, supplying the public transport industry with ruggedised PDAs with high performance contactless smart card readers.
Siemens, Iteris sign distributor deal
US-headquartered Siemens Mobility and Logistics has partnered with Iteris in an agreement that means that Iteris will now distribute the complete Siemens intelligent traffic product across the state. The contract ensures Siemens a strong position in the state and offers Iteris a significant expansion of its traffic and intelligent transportation portfolio. “This agreement allows both Siemens and Iteris the opportunity to better provide solutions to the many traffic challenges US cities face,” said Frank LoP
Veefil fast EV charger launched
Queensland company Tritium has launched Veefil, an electric vehicle (EV) fast charger, designed to take up minimal space, allowing several to be installed in a small area. Developed in Australia as part of a US$2.3 million project funded with matching support from a federal government grant, the company claims Veefil can charge an EV around twenty times faster than a conventional wall outlet, accommodates two plug styles and is weather sealed for outdoor use. Tritium claims that a ten minute charge can prov
ITS Australia welcomes heavy vehicle smart technology trials
New funding of US$1.7 million recently announced by the Federal and New South Wales Governments for trials of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) technologies has been welcomed by Intelligent Transport Systems Australia. The Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program funds provide for pioneering projects involving heavy vehicle to infrastructure communication technologies to make roads safer.
Smart parking app revisited
The Streetline Parker 4.0 parking guidance app for the iPhone features one-click turn-by-turn voice navigation, updated design, and more than 23,000 parking garage locations. Developed by US-headquartered smart parking specialist Streetline Parker 4.0 features a clean, updated design; an easy-to-use side panel menu; and one-click turn-by-turn voice navigation, enhancing the hands-free capabilities of the app. Utilising data from Streetline's real-time sensor network in more than thirty-five locations global
White House honours ITS America members
Three members of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) have been honoured by the White House as 2013 Transportation Champions of Change. The 2013 White House Champions of Change event recognises individuals and organisations that have embraced the concept of “Transportation Technology Solutions for the 21st Century” across the country. Michael Pack from the University of Maryland Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory (CATT Lab), Dr Thomas Dingus from the Virginia
Peek releases latest traffic controller software
The release of V1.17 of Peek Traffic’s IQ Central provides users with several new features. Intended for the traffic operations centre, IQ Central is Peek's central traffic equipment management software suite and enables traffic personnel to configure and monitor hundreds of traffic control devices from a central location. The new features include greenband analysis, allowing users to optimise offset programming for a coordinated corridor using an interactive time-space diagram, while the split monitor fun
McCain parking guidance system acquired by Swarco
Swarco Traffic Americas has acquired the McCain parking business unit, which uses LED signs, single space indicators and software to provide real-time information to motorists and parking operators. The acquisition enables Swarco to further broaden its product offering in the United States with technology and project references that perfectly align with the company’s standards. McCain will continue to produce all of Swarco’s hardware through its contract manufacturing division that offers turnkey manufactur
Eight out of eleven OEMs focusing on global mobility market
According to Frost and Sullivan, eight out of eleven major global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are focusing on the global mobility market, investing in a range of key solutions including products like electric vehicles (EVs), micro-mobility, and services like car-sharing and leasing. New mobility strategies of key global OEMs are gathering pace and the future of mobility is already here. The report, Competitive Benchmarking and Comparative Analysis of the Mobility Strategies of Key Global OEMs, o
Real time road hazard awareness system launched
inthinc Technology Solutions, US-based telematics, fleet management and driver safety solutions provider has incorporated its road hazard awareness (RHA) into its waySmart fleet management solution, enabling managers and drivers to collectively communicate and warn each other of impending dangers on the roadways in real-time. Capable of integration into any corporate journey management system, inthinc RHA functions as an add-on feature of waySmart, a comprehensive telematics-based mobile resource management
Cameras to nab speeding Kenya motorists
Motorists in Kenya have been put on notice that police will now firmly enforce regulations on speed limits. Traffic Commandant Samuel Kimaru said, after receiving ten speed cameras from the National Road Safety Trust, that speed has been a major cause of accidents and traffic police will now expand their operational areas. The Russian-made speed cameras record on a memory card the speed at which a vehicle is moving, the picture of the vehicle and area in which the data is captured.
Spanish city to test 200 EVs
The Spanish city of Malaga is to participate in the four-year Zem2All project to study the impact that the use of electric vehicles (EVs) have on the city. During the tests an in-depth study of the impact of EVs on the electricity grid will be carried out and the conditions for a widespread use of electric cars will be analysed. Researchers say results should provide information on the impact and management of e-mobility resources in cities of the future, ranging from the use of cars, charging infrastructur
Georgia gets SCOOT
Siemens has won a new SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) project in the US State of Georgia, in an area to the north of Atlanta along State Route 9. In the first phase, SCOOT will control thirty-three intersections in the towns of Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs and it is expected that more intersections will be added to the system over the next few years. The project is being managed by Siemens USA with local dealer Temple.
Combining Bluetooth and wi-fi to optimise traffic signals
Optimisation of traffic signals is often seen as a challenging and expensive task, requiring inductive loops, cameras or manual counting for traffic monitoring. However, a new development from Danish wireless technology company Blip Systems aims to change that. BlipTrack uses a combination of Bluetooth and wi-fi to constantly monitor and map traffic flow. The system detects all vehicles containing Bluetooth or wi-fi enabled devices to provide accurate traffic data, enabling real-time traffic monitoring a
Sensys enforcement for Latin America
Sensys Traffic has received an order worth around US$307,000 for speed and red-light enforcement to be supplied to a customer in Latin America. Sensys has already supplied a small number of systems to the same customer, which is now expanding their enforcement installations in the region. The original order, valued at US$154,000, was received in December 2012. The customer wished to evaluate the system prior to expanding traffic monitoring in the region. At that time, Johan Frilund, CEO of Sensys Traffic s
VDOT to get world-class transportation operations centre
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has issued a Notice of Intent to Award to Serco to integrate and run the state’s five transportation management centres under a six-year, US$355 million contract. The Commonwealth Transportation Board will make the final decision at its June meeting. The project will operate all five centres, including managing the Safety Service Patrol, under a single advanced active traffic management system platform, providing greater consistency and efficiency and enabli
Gatso T-series type approved in the Netherlands
Gatso’s T-Series Statio red light and speed enforcement solution, which uses the company’s RT3 tracking radar, has received type approval from the Netherlands Institute for metrology and technology (NMi). Exclusively designed by Gatso for traffic enforcement purposes, tracking radar has not previously been approved in the Netherlands. The RT3 enables the detection of multiple concurrent violations, including speeding, and continuously and simultaneously measures the speed and position of up to twelve vehic