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Vialis and Nedap are to join forces to improve traffic flow in Dutch cities and make parking easier. Vialis, a subsidiary of VolkerWessels, will integrate its Vivaldi dynamic traffic management system with the Nedap Sensit wireless parking space detection system. A large number of municipalities in the Netherlands already use Vivaldi to optimise traffic flow via traffic control systems and signs; Sensit wirelessly detects vacant parking spaces. By combining the two technologies, motorists will be guided to

Q-Free is to supply the Swedish Transport Administration, Trafikverket, with further equipment for the Gothenburg congestion charging project. Q-Free says the value of the contract has now been increased by US$5.32 million for delivery of additional charging stations, related equipment and services for two years. Across the world, in Brazil, Q-Free has received a second frame agreement to supply tolling tags to Centro Gestao Meios de Pagto (CGMP), Brazil’s Centro tag distributor, valued at US$12, with a gua

TransCore ITS is to supply the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) with its TransSuite traffic control system for management and centralised monitoring of existing traffic signals statewide. The TransSuite system will support Caltrans’ strategy to proactively manage traffic through the monitoring of traffic signals and traffic conditions at state-operated intersections. TransCore ITS will develop an interface to the Caltrans controller firmware to support once-per-second communicati

The results of a four-year study by the Field Operational Tests of Aftermarket and Nomadic devices in Vehicles (TeleFOT) Consortium were presented at a recent conference in Brussels. The study focused on the assessment of the impact of driver support functions provided by in-vehicle aftermarket and nomadic devices on driving and driver behaviour. Coordinated by the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) and with a budget of US$19.5 million, the four-year TeleFOT project is one of the biggest traffic IC

Improved reporting functions and a new set of 40 comprehensive reports for online fleet management application Webfleet means customers now have access to the richest reporting suite on the market, according to TomTom Business Solutions. The new reports will provide businesses with better insights into fleet operations to help them reduce costs, comply with legal obligations and improve efficiency, productivity and customer service. Customisation capabilities enable users to home in on their management pr

London's congestion charge could be tightened in 2013, if new emission recommendations are accepted by mayor Boris Johnson that could see just electric cars escape the levy. Around 19,000 vehicles, mainly those with small diesel engines, currently escape the levy as their engines emit less than 100 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre. From July 2013, emission levels could be cut to less than 75 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre; at present only some hybrid and all-electric cars achieve that level. Own

Supplier of in radar speed displays and variable message signs, All Traffic Solutions, has selected ThingWorx to support advanced application development for its SmartApps web-based traffic control suite. All Traffic’s cloud-based SmartApps suite allows law enforcement organisations, as well as state and local agencies, to remotely monitor, manage, and interact with traffic safety signs using a web-based application and virtual map. To support increased customer demand for new features and an overall increa

Kapsch TrafficCom IVHS is to supply the Texas Department of Transportation with the company’s IDS 2.0 integrated incident detection system for the Washburn Tunnel in Houston, Texas. The non-invasive detection system will be linked to 14 fixed roadway cameras for detection of incidents in the two-way vehicular tunnel and up to six infrared intrusion detection cameras in the ventilation tunnel, enabling tunnel operators to provide cost-effective continuous 24/7 surveillance and monitoring. In South America, K

US headquartered Peek Traffic Corporation has announced that its VideoTrak-IQ video-based vehicle detection system has been approved by the Texas Department of Transportation. VideoTrak-IQ combines multi-channel viewing, easy set-up and multiple individual zone settings, and offers the ability to conveniently modify the configurations of up to 26 detection zones per channel. The colour camera delivers the powerful option of lens control over the coax. Zoom and focus settings can be controlled from the Vide

A new average-speed camera, which can measure driving speeds over several kilometres, will be installed near Besançon. By late 2012, around 20 cameras will be installed in France. Similar systems exist in Italy, the UK and Netherlands. Some 13,000 to 15,000 vehicles use the portion of road near Besançon each day. During a test period, 40 speed infractions were recorded each day. Depending on the infraction, photos taken were sent to the main traffic control centre in Rennes. Local authorities claim the stre

The new Future Standards Forum will homogenise standards develop in the machine vision and partnering sectors. Here, machine vision industry experts discuss developments. By Jason Barnes At the Vision Show, which took place in Stuttgart at the beginning of November, the European Machine Vision Association, the US’s Automated Imaging Association and the Japan Industrial Imaging Association (JIIA) established a joint initiative, the Future Standards Forum (FSF). This, said the EMVA’s President Toni Ventura, a

In a bid to improve Sydney’s roads and congestion, Australia’s Federal and New South Wales governments are to jointly fund a project to equip the full length of the state’s M4 motorway with technology to improve traffic flows and ease congestion along this vital part of Sydney’s road network.The US$17 million project will provide the M4 with an electronic freeway management system consisting of variable speed and message signs, entry ramp signalling, CCTV and digital traveller information signs. Transport m

Parsons Brinckerhoff, the international engineering consultant, has been appointed to provide a broad range of specialist services to Transport for Greater Manchester under the UK authority’s new Transport Professional Services framework, to help deliver much-needed improvements to transport infrastructure across the region. Under the new four-year framework agreement, Parsons Brinckerhoff will provide a range of services including transport systems, transport planning, environmental planning and engineerin

Siemens is to upgrade over 160 traffic signal controllers across the UK’s Tyne & Wear region following the award of Government Better Bus Area (BBA) funding to the Tyne & Wear Integrated Transport Authority. The project aims to improve the reliability of journey times along 19 bus corridors and relieve congestion at nine hotspots where buses are currently regularly delayed. Siemens will upgrade and connect traffic controllers to its Remote Monitoring System (RMS) and provide the Tyne & Wear urban traffic co

Moxa has equipped Taiwan’s Hsuehshan Tunnel with its NPort 5230 device servers and EDS-508A-SS-SC Ethernet switches as part of the tunnel emergency traffic control system. The tunnel is south east Asia’s second longest road tunnel consisting of one pilot tunnel, one west-bound tunnel, and one east-bound tunnel stretching 12.9km through Hsuehshan Mountain. Emergencies occurring inside tunnels of this length can be disastrous, especially a fire-related incident. To minimise casualties during an emergency, a t

The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and US Department of Transportation (USDOT) have launched the Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Model Deployment in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The largest connected vehicle test undertaken, and a critical next step in the development of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication. The pilot, a $22 million partnership between UMTRI and USDOT, is part of a joint research initiative led by the National Highway Traffic

Prospects for a vision of vehicles fully connected to traffic information, safety and entertainment services are being boosted by a $100 million investment from Intel. Pete Goldin reports. Hear the name Intel and what comes to mind is processing power. What may not be realised is that Intel is positioned to become a major player in the automotive technologies market, including connected vehicle technology. To strengthen this position, the company’s investment arm, Intel Capital, has established a $100 milli

New analysis from Frost and Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of the Chinese Hybrid and Electric Transit Bus Market, finds that the total hybrid and electric transit bus sales in China are expected to reach over 12,000 units by 2018, from 3,374 units in 2011. By 2018, the hybrid and electric powertrain penetration in transit buses is anticipated to be more than 14 percent. The total transit bus sales are likely to exceed 80,000 units by 2018, cementing China's domination of the global transit bus market. This is

Swedish telematics service provider WirelessCar was selected by Sprint to be a key technology provider in the launch of their Sprint Velocity Program. As an integral part of Sprint’s ecosystem, WirelessCar helped to build and implement an end-to-end global solution targeted to the connected vehicle industry. Sprint Velocity delivers a new capability for the auto industry, encompassing the development, integration and marketing of in-vehicle communications systems. Automakers can use Sprint Velocity as a com

The European Commission has launched two Calls for Proposals under the 2012 Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) multi-annual and annual programmes, making over US1.5 billion available to finance European transport infrastructure projects in all transport modes – air, rail, road, and maritime/inland waterways – plus logistics and intelligent transport systems, in all EU Member States. Commission Vice President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said: "In making this considerable amount of funding a