Air Quality & Weather Systems

Pan-European, multi-modal traffic and travel information is now available, for drivers willing to pay for it. Jon Masters reports. Those able to afford a new car with all the latest options including internet connectivity can now look forward to getting detailed up-to-the-minute traffic information. They can also access multi-modal travel data, such as train times, plus weather forecasts and parking availability. Take the connected car to any Western European country and the system still works with live

Pete Goldin examines Nokia’s rationale for combining its location services, digital mapping and other capabilities under the HERE brand. While it has divested itself of its mobile phone business to Microsoft, Nokia has kept hold of its HERE business unit and brand which incorporates the company’s location services with digital mapping and other capabilities. The creation of HERE is much more than rebranding as its services are heading off the map and into the cloud. “HERE offers the first location cloud

Inrix XD Incidents is a breakthrough in traffic intelligence, according to the company, which says it reports more accidents, road closures and other incidents across significantly more roads in more countries and at much greater speed than ever before. Inrix XD Incidents detects accidents and road closures faster by automatically correlating real-time traffic flow data with information from nearly 400 public and private sources including media partners, departments of transportation, emergency responder

Moscow is to test an intelligent transportation system (ITS) in the city in December 2013 in a bid to reduce traffic congestion. Around 3.2 million cars use Moscow’s roads daily, and officials hope the system will reduce traffic by more than 20 per cent. The system, which is said to be designed for more efficient traffic management, will include ‘smart’ traffic lights to regulate traffic and information boards to advise motorists of less congested routes.

The busy ferry port of Salthomen, close to Gothenburg, Sweden has resolved its parking problem with the installation of a Sensit wireless parking sensor system developed by Dutch parking specialists Nedap. Parking bays are equipped with floor-mounted Sensit wireless sensors to detect in real-time whether or not a bay is occupied and for how long. The sensors are integrated with the Gothenburg’s existing P-IN parking management systems and information on available spaces is displayed on dynamic messages s

New research from Research and Markets indicates that the overall traffic management market, which stands at a total revenue of US$2,580 million in 2013, is expected to grow to US$12.69 billion at a CAGR of 37.5 per cent from 2013 to 2018. Traffic management reduces congestion and promotes a regular flow of traffic. Traffic management also proves to be money saving as it reduces the wastage of fuel. It decreases the carbon emissions from the vehicles and thus supports to keep our environment clean. Trans

Details of a multi-million pound project have been unveiled that will cut congestion and improve journey times on parts of the M60 and M62 in Greater Manchester. The smart motorways scheme – the first of its kind in the north-west – will be introduced on a 17-mile stretch of the network between junction 8 of the M60 near Sale and junction 20 of the M62 near Rochdale. The system will use the latest technology to monitor traffic levels, provide traffic information to road users, and ease congestion by usin

Vaisala’s Windcap ultrasonic wind sensor WMT700 now includes an option for full-body heating of the unit, making it the ideal choice for monitoring wind conditions in extremely cold climates with heavy snow and ice. The sensor body, arms, and transducers can all be heated to minimise snow and ice build-up, to ensure high quality data acquisition and reliable operations. The device is a professional meteorological instrument that utilises ultrasound to determine wind speed and direction. There are no movin

Tapco BlinkerRadar driver feedback signs utilise K-band (24.15GHz) direct-sensing radar and can be integrated into an intelligent transportation system (ITS) to offer a solution that alerts drivers of their speed to promote road safety and encourage drivers to adhere to posted speed limits. Available in a range of character display height models and other options the signs are suitable for temporary and permanent traffic applications, including residential, city, rural streets and highways, school and pede

David Crawford reports on an urban electronic nervous system. The northern Spanish city of Santander – historically a port - is now an emerging technology showcase attracting global attention as a prototype for a medium-sized smart city of the future. In a move to determine the optimal use of available data, it is creating a de-facto experimental laboratory for sensor and mobile phone-based urban traffic management and environmental monitoring innovations.