ITS America 2013 Annual Meeting smartphone App
Visitors to this year’s ITS America Annual Meeting & Exposition are being provided with a powerful tool to help them plan and manage their meeting experience. A brand new, user-friendly, smartphone app will offer new services and provide a truly interactive, connected experience for attendees. Some of the features provided by the smartphone app include access to all exhibitors, speakers and the latest schedule information, as well as mobile alerts for upcoming events occurring at the Annual Meeting. Users w
Kapsch highlights CVO capabilities of its 5.9GHz DSRC technology
Kapsch TrafficCom will appear at the 23rd ITS America Annual Meeting with an important recent validation of the versatility of its 5.9 GHz DSRC multi-modal, integrated and interoperable technologies. Earlier this month, the company announced it had been selected by HNTB and the Michigan DOT (MDOT) to deliver a Truck Parking Connected-Vehicle System at five sites along the I-94 corridor in Michigan.
Unique State DOT CEO Roundtable
Delegates to the ITS America Annual Meeting will have an opportunity, on Sunday, April 21, of attending a unique event – the State DOT CEO Roundtable. Attendees will hear first-hand from more than 19 State DOT CEOs as they discuss how they are using technology to address their transportation challenges, what the results have been, and how their ITS strategy may change given the passage of MAP-21. Never before have so many State DOT leaders come together to discuss in an open forum the issues that matter mos
Official ITS Training sessions available to ITS America Annual Meeting attendees
In partnership with the US DOT/FHWA, ITS America will provide a new opportunity for public and private sector ITS and transportation professionals to attend official training courses conducted by US DOT instructors. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge base, grow professionally and take back real-world information that can help their ITS systems operate more efficiently.
Iteris to highlight a range of congestion mitigation solutions
Iteris will use its presence at the 23rd ITS America Annual Meeting to highlight how the company is doing its part to mitigate congestion through planning, engineering, and implementing technology based solutions. The company says its focus is to measure (collect travel behaviour and pattern data); manage (analyse and monitor travel conditions); inform (provide real-time information to traffic managers and motorists); and guide (deliver actionable and predictive information).
An even more focused Vaisala
An important strategic task every company must do periodically is review products and make sure they match the goals and direction of the company. In March, Vaisala, the global weather solutions provider, concluded that three non-weather road transportation products no longer match its long term strategy, and thus sold these products to another company. Vaisala says the change will allow it to increase its already industry-leading innovations, such as the non-intrusive road weather sensors, and the Conditio
Delcan to focus on cutting-edge ITS products
Delcan will use the ITS America Annual Meeting to focus on its cutting-edge ITS products, including the company’s state-of-the-art Advanced Transportation Management System (ATMS) software called Intelligent Networks. This off the shelf software application is designed to assist in the collection, dissemination and management of transportation systems and information. It has a scalable architecture, which can be customized to meet unique operational environments and be adapted for small and large scale ITS
TEST Controls has international test appeal
Founded in Milan in 1968 with the aim of manufacturing and distributing testing instruments, machines and systems for the construction and civil engineering industries, Controls is now a leading and globally-renowned producer of testing equipment. With branches in France, Mexico, Poland, Spain and the UK, and with more than 100 qualified distributors across the world, Controls says it can satisfy customers with its operating efficiency, technical know-how and after sales care.
TomTom expands fleet management integration possibilities
TomTom has expanded the functionalities of its connected car technology and extended the integration possibilities for its fleet management solution to help companies manage their mobile operations more efficiently. TomTom Business Solutions is allowing third-party developers to create new applications for use in and around the vehicle. This has been enabled by granting access to the Bluetooth channel on its in-vehicle Link device. TomTom’s open API on both its hardware and software enables technology partn
Managing East Sussex County Council highway assets
East Sussex County Council has awarded Yotta DCL a series of contracts to help with managing the council’s highway assets, following a successful video survey of its 3500-km highway network with data extracted and delivered using Yotta DCL’s unique visualised asset management software, Horizons. Yotta DCL will also work with the council’s maintenance contractor to enable the development of a fully integrated asset management solution that supports the whole highways maintenance supply chain. This will invo
Second call for SUM funding applications
The European Commission's Sustainable Urban Mobility (SUM) campaign has launched a second call for SUM funding applications. The funding available under this second call will co-finance campaign initiatives taking place during the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014. Applications for the second round of funding must be submitted before 12:00 (CET) on 31 May 2013. A committee of experts will select one winning promotional action per country based on a pre-defined set of evaluation and eligibility criteri
Cost effective EV fast charger from ABB
US power and automation technology group says its latest fast charger, the Terra SC is a cost-effective direct-current (DC) charger specifically designed for convenient fast charging in commercial and office areas. It fully charges an electric vehicle (EV) in thirty to 120 minutes. The Terra SC is also ideal for people who want to keep driving but don’t necessarily need a full charge: it can charge the battery of currently available EVs from thirty per cent to eighty per cent in less than half an hour. Easy
TransCore delivers real time fleet tracking
By integrating the company’s ROVR tracking system into its TransSuite advanced traffic management system (ATMS), TransCore brings the ease of fleet vehicle tracking to departments of transportation (DOT), enabling them to efficiently manage their construction, maintenance, snow ploughs, and safety vehicles in real time, easily identifying their location in the TransSuite ATMS map application and responding faster to roadway incidents. Additional GPS data can provide vehicle information for travel time calcu
Unlocking Toronto’s gridlock
A project by University of Toronto professor of civil engineering Professor Baher Abdulhai marries cameras with computers to create traffic lights that can measure vehicle flow, understand what it means, and adapt signal patterns to reduce gridlock. “We want the traffic light to learn from experience,” explained Prof. Abdulhai, who is principal investigator on the University of Toronto project, dubbed Marlin, and an expert in intelligent transportation systems (ITS). “In the Toronto experiment we cut down d
Turning 4G mobile phones into multi-protocol transponders
GeoToll, a new product that promises to turn the newest generation 4G mobile phones into a multi-protocol toll transponder is about to be launched in the US. OmniAir founder and president Tim McGuckin is leaving the interoperability standards cooperative to run GeoToll as its first chief executive officer. The device will be multi-protocol, so it will be usable on any toll system in North America, to the extent they can handle patent issues with licensing or open standards. GeoToll hopes to trial the devic
£25 million boost to tackle UK highway bottlenecks
Ten schemes to remove bottlenecks on the local UK highway network and support economic growth have been given the green light by transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin. This £25 million in funding, the first allocation from the US$258 million Local Pinch Point Fund programme, will enable early delivery of these schemes and will help support employment while unlocking development sites to help local businesses and communities.
Creating safer roads with vehicle communication
Accurate, timely information which eliminates the need to brake quickly when approaching a work zone or other road hazard could prevent crashes and save lives, according to research by the University of Minnesota. Thanks to research by the University of Minnesota, this vision is closer than ever to reality. “In the past fifty years we’ve made great strides in reducing traffic fatalities with technologies that save lives in crashes, like airbags and seat belts,” says M. Imram Hayee, electrical and computer e
Unexpected benefits of red light cameras
According to the US National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR), red light cameras don’t only make roads safer for drivers, passengers and pedestrians alike, they also keep communities safe in other ways. From 2011-2012, local police departments from 172 communities across the country requested 4,262 red-light safety camera videos for use in solving crimes. This video footage from key intersections has helped to determine fault in hit-and-run accidents, catch vandals, and even solve shooting investigations. O
Data crunching ‘can prevent cars crashing’
Having already cut traffic collisions resulting in injuries and deaths by nearly forty per cent in five years by analysing patterns from data it has collected, the city of Edmonton, Canada, is using predictive technologies to increase road safety even more. The city’s Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) has installed as many as 200 digital signs as just one element of an innovative traffic safety program that has dramatically reduced vehicle collisions in the Edmonton region since OTS launched in late 2006. Unde
Indian toll road upgrades to infra red classification
Indian technology company Rajdeep has received an order from Oriental Structural Engineers to install an infrared vehicle classification system for a National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase V road upgrading project in Etawah Chakeri, Uttar Pradesh. The order involves two toll plazas with a total of twenty-six lanes. The new system will replace the existing treadle based classification system. All toll lanes will have weigh in motion (WIM) as well as a mix of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) lane