Skip to main content

Siemens technology supports UK’s first connected road test environment

Intelligent traffic systems company Siemens has begun working on its latest Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) project, in a collaborative partnership to create one of the most advanced environments for CAV technologies in the UK. Together with nine other consortium members, the UK Connected Intelligent Transport Environment (UK CITE) project will see trials on UK roads as early as next year, following a successful application for funding from the Government’s US%$144 million (£100 million) Intelli
June 2, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
RSSIntelligent traffic systems company 189 Siemens has begun working on its latest Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) project, in a collaborative partnership to create one of the most advanced environments for CAV technologies in the UK.

Together with nine other consortium members, the UK Connected Intelligent Transport Environment (UK CITE) project will see trials on UK roads as early as next year, following a successful application for funding from the Government’s US%$144 million (£100 million) Intelligent Mobility Fund.

The project aims to enable automotive, infrastructure and service companies to trial connected vehicle technologies in real-life conditions on 40 miles of roads within Coventry and Warwickshire, using combinations of DSRC and LTE talking car technologies to compare their performance.

Siemens will develop, supply and install roadside units which will communicate with the vehicles and the traffic infrastructure. Siemens Stratos hosted traffic management system will be used as the back office for all communications to and from the vehicles.  This technology will help to prove use cases that will establish how technology can improve journeys, reduce traffic congestion and provide in-vehicle entertainment and safety services through better connectivity.

The UK CITE consortium comprises leading industry, academic, local and national governmental organisations. It is jointly led by 2165 Visteon Engineering Services Limited and 7998 Jaguar Land Rover and includes Coventry City Council, Coventry University, 8101 Highways England, HORIBA 4310 MIRA, 6787 Huawei Technologies (UK), Siemens, Vodafone Group Services and WMG at University of Warwick.

The first phase of the project will continue until the end of 2016 and will include the preparation of infrastructure on routes along the M40, M42, A46, and A45 – as well as an urban route in Coventry – and the preparation of a Vehicle, Systems and Gantry App, which will ensure variable roadside messages appear in-vehicle, either on the vehicle display or smartphone. Finally, pre-test trials will take place on HORIBA MIRA’s City Circuit, following which trials are likely to start on public roads as early as 2017.

Related Content

  • August 19, 2014
    Funding boost for West Midlands transport links
    The UK Department for Transport has agreed to fund a new bridge which will improve links to three of the West Midlands' economic powerhouses, Baroness Kramer has announced. Building work on the new A45 South Bridge in Solihull can start after the government agreed to provide US$13.8 million in funding towards the full project cost of US$20 million. The new bridge will significantly improve a transport link that carries 50,000 vehicles a day and will directly serve Birmingham International Airport, the
  • March 26, 2012
    UK test centre ready to evaluate eCall product performance
    InnovITS Advance, the UK research and development centre for telecommunications, automotive and electronics industries, has carried out a demonstration of capability in the area of eCall testing and certification.
  • April 25, 2016
    Traffic signal upgrade for UK’s south-east
    A contract to deliver a new central traffic signal control and management system for the UK’s south east has been placed by Highways England with Simulation Systems (SSL) to meet both the immediate and future requirements of Highways England for England’s motorway and major A-roads. Central to the contract will be Siemens Stratos cloud-hosted, fully integrated traffic control and management solution and hosted-SCOOT, the real time UTC and adaptive traffic control system already used to manage and co-ordinat
  • April 18, 2012
    Connected vehicle technology challenge winners
    The US Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) has announced six winners of a national competition seeking ideas for using wireless technology to enable vehicles to communicate with each other. The winning ideas may be incorporated into ongoing research on using technology to improve vehicle safety and transportation operations.