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Audi achieved a technological milestone in motorsport at the 80th running of the famous Le Mans 24 Hours in France when its hybrid drive vehicle, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, triumphed for the first time. The four competing Audi R18 cars were the quickest and most reliable vehicles and after 24 hours occupied positions one, two, three and five.

Vehicle image taken by HTS's VIR. The manufacturer logo is analysed and identified by VIR Hi-Tech Solutions (HTS), a developer and provider of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) computer and vision systems, has announced the VIR (Vehicle Identity Recognition) suite, to be implemented in conjunction with the company's License Plate Recognition (LPR) systems. The new suite comprises recognition of vehicle manufacturer logo (car model), vehicle body and plate colour, special icons on the plate itself (such as

DERSA, the national roads company in Brazil, has awarded HTS a contract for over 30 licence plate recognition (LPR) systems to be deployed on seven coastal ferry crossings in order to monitor vehicles as they pass in and out of the entry and exit gates. The company will supply the entire project turnkey which includes LPR cameras, security cameras, video analytics, electrical infrastructure, and communications.

The X-Stream series of H.264 video encoders and decoders from COE Group includes a single channel boxed encoder, and two and four channel encoders which may be box-housed or rack-mounted. The range also includes a dual-channel decoder, the X-Stream 200D, capable of decoding H.264 streaming Ethernet video for use with analogue devices. By rack mounting X-Stream encoders in a standard X-Net rack, as many as 56 channels of analogue video may be encoded and transmitted across an IP Ethernet network from each ra

U-blox has expanded its high-speed wireless connectivity reference design offerings to include full High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) capabilities: 7.2 Mb/s download and 5.8 Mb/s upload speeds. The N731 is a mature design combining a powerful baseband processor, RF transceiver, antenna multiplexer and power amplifier components to support eight bands of HSPA / UMTS / EDGE / GPRS / GSM functionality including data, voice and SMS. "The N731 is a truly state-of-the-art 3.5G modem design, perfect for high-speed m

NEC Electronics has announced the availability of 14 new All Flash microcontrollers (MCUs). The 78K0/Dx2 product series includes a wide range of peripherals with either 80 or 64 pins and memory capacity ranging from 60 down to 24kb. The company says it is offering these new products to support manufacturers of small cars and motorcycles as they capture accelerating consumer demand. Samples of the new MCUs are currently available. Mass production of these new products is scheduled to begin in October 2010 a

Spanish company Imagsa Technologies has unveiled several new products in its Atalaya range of traffic cameras. For instance, the Atalaya3D is an innovative high-speed stereoscopic camera that uses parallel computing techniques to successfully perform real-time three-dimensional analysis of road traffic. It provides, in a single unit, a wide range of traffic measurements, such as precise speed and inter-distance measurement or vehicle counting and classification, combining applications as diverse as speed en

Zetes has launched a new, flexible, ePOD solution to optimise traceability across the supply chain by providing electronic proof of delivery of goods. Based on a robust terminal that integrates RFID, wireless communication, smart card and barcoding technology, the device can be installed either in a vehicle or wall-mounted for additional user flexibility. The system can also complement existing proof of delivery systems based on handheld terminals, providing an additional layer of security in a cost-efficie

Transpo's T-28 Color-Safe Surface Transpo Industries has launched two new products: the T-28 Color-Safe Surface and T-78 Polymer Crack Sealer. T-28 is an acrylic-based resin system used for pavement area markings and anti-skid surfacing. Typically used for demarcation of bicycle/pedestrian paths, bus stops/lanes and other specially designated areas, it enhances skid resistance while its colour warns travellers of hazardous turns and other high accident areas on asphalt and concrete roadways.

The US Department of Transportation's Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) is hosting a free public webinar on Tuesday 10 July, 2012 from 1:00pm-2:30pm ET, to discuss the new features found in Version 7.0 of the National ITS Architecture and the new version of the Turbo Architecture Software as a part of the Talking Technology and Transportation (T3) webinar series.

In line with a new proposal, the local municipality Budapest, the Hungarian capital, will be able to collect a congestion charge from motorists for using its roads. The bill enables the introduction of variable charges for different kinds of vehicles and zones in the city. Istvan Tarlos, mayor of Budapest, has said that motorists entering the city centre would be required to pay a one-off congestion charge of between US$1.70 and $2.00. However, the borders of the planned congestion zone are still under disp

Trapeze Group has purchased Bacchus Management Holdings, the parent company of Bacchus Management Systems based in Brisbane, Australia, which provides integrated operations and financial management, ticketing and RTPI (real-time passenger information) solutions to the passenger transport industry. The company’s core product is TIMS, a comprehensive integrated transport solution for bus and road transport operations. Bacchus clients include major operators in bus and coach transport across Australia and New

Q-Free has received a tag order from Vinci Autoroutes valued at over US$2.5 million. With a network of 4,385 km under concession, including 4,310 km in service, Vinci is Europe’s leading motorway operator. Its four concession operating companies, ASF, Cofiroute, Escota and Arcour, serve the south and west of France, representing half of the country’s total motorway network under concession. Vinci motorways carry 2.2 million customers a day, with 1.5 million electronic toll subscribers.

Annual cost savings in US states with universal motorcycle helmet laws were nearly four times greater (per registered motorcycle) than in states without these comprehensive laws, according to a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Universal helmet laws require that motorcycle riders and passengers wear a helmet every time they ride.

Flexpoint Sensor Systems has revealed it will target the rapidly growing market for vehicle sensors. A study by Global Industry Analysts projects growth in the global sensors market to top US$20.6 billion by 2017. The report singles out safety and comfort applications for particularly strong growth, two areas in which Flexpoint’s bend sensor technology is currently in advanced-stage testing and product placement.

Jupiter Systems, a specialist in visualisation and collaboration solutions for display walls and networked PCs, has announced its twentieth consecutive year of profitability and growth, driven by strong worldwide sales, strategic investments, and continued innovation and product quality. “Achieving our twentieth consecutive year of profitability and sales growth over the recent challenging economic period represents a significant accomplishment,” said Eric Wogsberg, the company’s president. “Strategic inves

Electric vehicle (EV) sales in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), a region with a population of over 100 million people and a solid macroeconomic environment, are anticipated to cross the 60,000 mark by 2017 and witness even stronger growth post 2017, generating revenue opportunities for existing and new market participants in the e-mobility area.

The Swiss National Council has approved a motion by Ulrich Giezendanner regarding the misuse of speed cameras. Giezendanner is convinced that the cameras are used to rip off motorists and he believes that they do not actually increase road safety on the majority of the country’s roads. If the Swiss Council of States votes for the motion as well, the Swiss Federation will only be allowed to approve radar speed cameras on Swiss national roads in areas that are prone to accidents. It is estimated that this wou

The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, has announced that he no longer wishes to participate in the test of Zapa zones (Zones d'Actions Prioritaires pour l'Air), the goal of which is to reduce polluting gas emissions by 10 per cent by reducing car traffic in certain zones. Along with Paris Saint-Denis, Lyon, Grenoble, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux and Clermont-Ferrand, Nice on France’s Mediterranean coast had signed up for a three-year government pilot programme. However, Estrosi now says that the city’s own ove

Siemens Vietnam and Vietnam Motors Industry Corporation (Vinamotor) headquartered in Hanoi have entered into a cooperation agreement to apply Siemens Elfa hybrid drive technology for city buses in Vietnam. Siemens will supply all necessary components and provide technical support, while Vinamotor will prepare the platform and manufacture remaining parts of the bus for operational readiness.