Air Quality & Weather Systems

Travel information services are undergoing a step change as rapid increase in sales of smartphones brings ITS technology to consumers' fingertips. A virtuous circle of expanding capability is under way in traffic and travel information services, promising much for drivers and reduction of road congestion. A recent rapid rise in sales of smartphones has boosted numbers of vehicles carrying GPS enabled devices and so brought expansion of traffic data available for analysis and dissemination. Greater numbers o

The UK Government has been advised by an internal inquiry that it should investigate examples of best practice in travel information services. So where might it look? Jon Masters reports. Publication of a UK Government report on road congestion this year has highlighted a need to look beyond home borders when searching out answers to pressing problems. With regard to issues of travel information in particular, UK transport professionals would do well to look overseas for solutions they can emulate.

ITS Japan's Chairman Hiroyuki Watanabe talks to ITS International about his country's progress with cooperative infrastructures and how the experience gained to date can benefit similar initiatives elsewhere. Japan gave the rest of the world a taste of the cooperative infrastructure future when, in 1996, it went live with the Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS). Designed to provide real-time traffic information and alerts to in-vehicle navigation systems with the dual aims of increasing safe

Telvent GIT completes its MxVision WeatherSentry online platinum package

High Sierra Electronics and Innovative Dynamics have announced a partnership focusing on the ITS industry through which new optical sensor products originally developed by Innovative Dynamics for the aerospace industry are being manufactured by HSE for use in the transportation sectors.

David Crawford reviews promising current developments. Instrumentation of the road infrastructure has grown to become one of the most dynamic sectors of the ITS industry. Drivers for its deployment include global concerns over the commercial and environmental pressures of traffic congestion, the importance of keeping drivers informed throughout their journeys, and the need to reduce accident rates and promote the safety of all road users, for example by enforcing traffic safety rules.

Virginia DoT faced a challenge common to many highway authorities around the world: the need, in economically challenging times, to replace ageing variable message signs reaching the end of their operational life. For some 25 years now, since the mid 80s, Virginia Department of Transportation (VDoT), has deployed variable message signs (VMS) as part of its motorist information systems. Throughout the state there are still many old 'flip-disk' signs. Some of the companies that provided these electronic messa