Skip to main content

TSB funding for intelligent transport solution project

University Campus Milton Keynes is working with Clearview Traffic Group on a 13-month research that could lead to the development of innovative traffic management systems. UCMK, part of the University of Bedfordshire, will receive $195,000 of funding from the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, to carry out the research. The project will see UCMK and the University’s Department of Computer Science and Technology partner with Clearview Traffic Group to explore the feasibility of extendi
May 27, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
University Campus Milton Keynes is working with 557 Clearview Traffic Group on a 13-month research that could lead to the development of innovative traffic management systems.

UCMK, part of the University of Bedfordshire, will receive $195,000 of funding from the UK’s innovation agency, the 2231 Technology Strategy Board, to carry out the research. The project will see UCMK and the University’s Department of Computer Science and Technology partner with Clearview Traffic Group to explore the feasibility of extending vehicle counting data obtained from solar-powered sensors built into roads to include information such as the classification of each vehicle and its speed.

In order to measure accurately the speed of passing vehicles, detectors must be placed some distance apart. While wireless communication negates the need for costly and problematic cables linking the sensors, it is currently impractical to send all data collected from each sensor due to size, power and capacity limitations.  

Clearview’s project will aim to develop a set of novel algorithms for solar-powered in-road sensors capable of gathering and compressing vital vehicle data, enabling it to be sent wirelessly to derive speed and vehicle classification, creating actionable information and informing intelligent traffic management decision-making.

The data will inform intelligent decision-making by transport managers and road network operators in order to minimise congestion and emissions, reduce accidents and lower the costs of installation and maintenance traditionally linked to in-road traffic data collection systems.

Ben Allen, Professor of Computer Science at University Campus Milton Keynes, will lead the University’s contribution to the project.

He said: “We are very excited to be working with Clearview on this collaborative venture, which will also help to put UCMK on the map as the city centre hub for innovation. The University of Bedfordshire’s expertise in algorithms and distributed signal processing will be crucial to the development of this new technology.”

Dr Chris Barnes, Clearview head of Engineering, said: “This project will stimulate innovation at the intersection between connected computing and the use of sensors, providing traffic and transport data that can help decision-making around traffic management.

“The global market for intelligent transport solutions is substantial and rising year on year.  In partnership with the University of Bedfordshire, and with financial support   from the Technology Strategy Board, we aim to bring innovative technology to market as soon as possible.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Personal Rapid Transit, clear benefits for European cities
    July 26, 2012
    David Crawford watches the race to get the world's first PRT system up and running. To paraphrase the old joke about buses bunching, you seem to have to wait several decades for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, and then half a dozen come along together. Currently, in fact, there are well over that number of schemes for driverless electric passenger-carrying 'pod' networks at various stages of planning, design and implementation around the world. Locations range from a straight-off-the-drawing board ne
  • ‘Free’ power for signs, shelters and so much more
    March 17, 2016
    David Crawford looks at the sunny side of the street. Solar power has been relatively slow in entering the transport sector, but a current blossoming of activity bodes well for the large-scale harnessing of an alternative energy that is zero-emission at source and, in practical terms, infinitely renewable. Traffic management and traveller information systems, and actual vehicles, are all emerging as areas for deployment. Meanwhile roads themselves are being viewed as new-style, fossil fuel-free ‘power stati
  • Mobility as a Service gaining traction in US and Europe
    December 15, 2015
    As Mobility as a Service starts to move into the mainstream of transport planning, David Crawford compares European and North American initiatives. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a concept fast gaining traction on both sides of the Atlantic as a way of giving travellers digital multimodal one-stop shops and journey planning tools as an alternative to private car use. Planned delivery methods include subscription-based travel packages in Europe, and 'mobility aggregator' apps, including employee commute ben
  • Roadside monitoring used to target non-compliant trucks
    March 9, 2016
    The UK’s DVSA is utilising existing technology to identify non-compliant commercial vehicles and target repeat offenders while avoiding law-abiding companies. Enforcing the compliance of commercial vehicles (goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and vehicles with eight or more passenger seats) on the UK’s roads is the responsibility of the DVSA (the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency). The Department for Transport created the executive agency about 18 months ago by merging the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and t