Miovision automates Indiana DOT’s traffic data collection
Miovision, US-based supplier of intelligent traffic solutions is to supply the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has purchased Miovision’s Scout video collection units (VCU) to standardise and automate their traffic data collection for state transportation projects. Indiana’s transportation agencies are responsible for the planning, building, maintenance and operation of the state’s transportation system that serves 6.5 million residents. In the past, INDOT used manual data collection methods or
Inrix and CenNavi to deliver premium traffic services in China
US-headquartered traffic information and driver services provider Inrix is to partner with China’s traffic information services provider CenNavi to deliver premium real-time, predictive and historical traffic services across China. The companies say the collaboration leverages Inrix’s sophisticated traffic intelligence platform, vertical market expertise and connected services technologies with CenNavi’s real-time traffic information and advanced technologies, domestic experience and automotive relationship
New Mexico DOT launches virtual road planning
Planning for the road ahead is something the New Mexico Department of Transportation (DOT) takes literally, as the department oversees the planning, design, construction and maintenance of 30,000 lane miles of highways, 3,500 bridges as well as the state's transit and rail operations, while keeping costs and environmental concerns in mind during the planning stages. To assist with the development of infrastructure projects, the department will roll out cloud-based building information modeling software late
Perceptics rolls out BOOM model to e-tolling operators
US-based Perceptics, the company that performs most of the US government licence plate camera reads at the land borders, is to present its Build, Own, Operate and Maintain (BOOM) model for Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems at an Alliance for Toll Interoperability (ATI) webinar scheduled for 16 January. Perceptics claim BOOM will be an industry-first for e-tolling operators and integrators, helping to expedite new technology implementation in the field as an alternative to transponders, whil
Rail safety technology launched in Central Minnesota
New safety technology being installed along some rail lines across the US, including Central Minnesota, aims to prevent deadly train crashes caused by human error. The technology is designed to automatically stop or slow a train to prevent accidents such as a collision with another train or a derailment caused by excessive speed. The changes stem from federal legislation passed in 2008 after a commuter train collided head-on with a freight train in California, killing twenty-five people and injuring 135. An
New software aids traffic studies
New software from the PTV Group enables users to carry out traffic studies necessitated by planned housing schemes or shopping centre construction, which could have a substantial influence on traffic management. According to PTV, its PTV Vistro software simplifies traffic studies and allows users to quickly create networks, while at the same time enabling them to optimise traffic signals. The user can specify the geometry of the network, add data from traffic counts and specify traffic control rules for in
Low power retrofit LED wait indicators from Siemens
Siemens’ new energy saving LED pedestrian crossing wait indicator retrofit solution allows both Siemens and Peek 48 volt incandescent wait indicators to be upgraded to the latest Central Light Source (CLS) LED technology, says the company. Siemens claim the low power consumption the solution offers power savings typically in excess of 70% and represents a highly cost effective upgrade option for existing wait indicators, particularly when undertaken alongside a wider LED traffic signal upgrade program. The
Cisco, NXP invest in Cohda Wireless to enable the connected car
In a partnership that they say will advance intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and car-to-X communications, US-headquartered IT provider Cisco and Dutch semiconductor supplier NXP Semiconductors are to invest in wireless communications specialist Cohda Wireless. The three companies will apply their collective expertise and technologies to help automotive OEMs, suppliers, enterprises and consumers to connect vehicles with ITS infrastructure. This will be spearheaded by producing the first automotive-q
Reflecting on the EU ITS action plan
How do national policy positions reflect key facets of the European Commission (EC) ITS Action Plan? How useful are memoranda of understanding (MoU) as association tools? How can associations attract more young people to work in ITS? Finding answers to these questions emerged as key challenges for 2013 at the Network of National ITS Association’s November 2012 meeting in Dublin. Commenting on its commitment to work with Ertico-ITS Europe in surveying national action plan stances, Network chair Jennie Mart
IRF takes politicians to task on road safety
The International Road Federation has issued a wake up call to government ministers, in the form of its Vienna Manifesto on ITS. Four years on from coming to a key decision on ITS, the International Road Federation (IRF) now faces a further question – how can it ensure its Vienna Manifesto on ITS achieves maximum impact? This is a challenge the organisation is not taking lightly. Issues the manifesto has been drawn up to address have become more acute in the time taken to publish it and are forecast to wors
Integration of travel payment and information closer to reality
Integration of travel payment and information is bringing utopia in management of transportation as a single intermodal system is closer to reality. Larry Yermack writes. For decades, transportation planners and ITS visionaries all believed that transportation would not be fully optimised until it could be managed as a single intermodal system. Relationships between modal operators left this more in the dream category than reality. However, the steady march of advances in payment technology have brought us
Reflecting on five years of important ITS progress
Former head of the ITS Joint Program Office Shelley Row has passed the baton to a new director. Now working as an independent consultant, here she reflects on her five years at the helm of the JPO and what the future may hold for ITS in the US. During a mid-morning in Paris earlier this year, having just landed, I decided to take a trip on the city’s subway (Paris’ underground metro) into the city centre. A family with a small boy – about nine years old – boarded the same train. They were American and we st
Need for secure approach to connected vehicle technology
Accidental or malicious issue of false messages to connected vehicles could result in dire consequences, so secure systems of authentication and certification are likely to be necessary, write Paul Avery and Sandra Dykes. Connectivity among vehicles in urban traffic systems will provide opportunity for beneficial impacts such as congestion reduction and greater safety. However, it also creates security risks with the potential for targeted disruption. Security algorithms, protocols and procedures must take
GPS system to track Hong Kong airport bus service
Catching the next airport bus is expected to be a lot simpler for Citybus’s Cityflyer airport bus passengers. The IT and network technology provider NEC Hong Kong recently developed a fleet management system (FMS) that uses GPS-based technology to monitor airport buses and predict their arrival times at upcoming bus stops. Available at Citybus’ web site and as a smartphone mobile app, the estimated time of arrival (ETA) service covers around 300 bus stops of all Citybus A routes and the accuracy of predicti
Road signs removed to reduce ‘clutter’
In a response to a move to remove unnecessary clutter in cities and rural areas, more than 9,000 road traffic signs have been taken down in England, where local councils have been urged to think more creatively about the number and location of their location. Ministers have warned that excessive signs can be a distraction to motorists and make roads appear unattractive. In October 2011, the requirement for certain road signs was lifted; the government plans to give councils more discretion over where they p
Singapore to implement enforcement systems
Traffic police in Singapore are planning to implement an average speed enforcement system, to be trialled along the pan-island expressway and Changi coast road. The average speed enforcement system works by recording the time a vehicle takes to travel between two points to calculate its average speed, which the police say means that speeding motorists cannot evade the law even if they slow down before or speed up after the cameras. Speed detectors placed at the start and end points - to be determined in c
Q-Free to supply further toll tags to Brazil
As part of the award of a frame agreement worth US$12.8 million for the supply of toll tags, Q-Free is to supply tags to the value of US$4.1 million to Centro Gestao Meios de Pagto (CGMP) in Brazil. Tags valued at US$8.4 million have already been supplied under the agreement. Q-Free says its OBU610 is the most advanced universal toll tag of its kind, designed to blend into the interior of any modern vehicle, small enough not obstruct the driver’s view, and yet powerful enough to support all applicable CEN
New Hampshire drivers get real time traffic information online
As part of its ongoing efforts to bring real-time traveller information to New Hampshire motorists, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) has partnered with TrafficLand, a Virginia-based company, to provide real-time viewing access to the NHDOT's highway cameras. The public can now view traffic and road conditions from NHDOT cameras in ten regions of the state via the TrafficLand website, www.Trafficland.com. The camera locations are tied to interactive Google maps, which display travel sp
Aesthetically designed pedestrian counting
In an effort to gather information on the number of walkers and cyclists using pedestrian routes in Angoed and Treforest in Wales, sustainable transport charity Sustrans has installed Eco-Multi counters from UK company Traffic Technology. The counters have been installed on national cycle networks routes in Angoed and Treforest, which provide mainly traffic-free routes, enabling cyclists, walkers and horse-riders to enjoy healthy, affordable and scenic travel to work, school or the shops, or for leisure. T
European safety conference looks at V2X communications
Telematics Update’s V2X for Safety and Mobility Europe 2013 Conference, to be held in Frankfurt on 20-21 February 2013, will bring together decision makers from OEMs, government, suppliers, manufacturers and road operators, allowing key players in the value chain to gain insights into different strategies that are breaking ground in the European TS landscape. A line-up of speakers from organisations including BMW, ETSI, Renault, Denso, Scania, NEC, Cohda, RWS and the European Commission, amongst others, wil