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ITS Australia recognises award winners

Solutions include modelling tech designed to help safer transit in time of pandemic
By Ben Spencer December 8, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
Brian Negus, ITS Australia ambassador (left,) and the organisation's president Dean Zabrieszach (right) present Dr Peter Sweatman with the 2020 Max Lay Lifetime Achievement Award (© ITS Australia)

Winners of ITS Australia's National Awards have been recognised at an online event. 

Cohda Wireless won the Connected & Automated Vehicle Award for its cooperative ITS Vehicle to Everything technology in production vehicles. 

The Adelaide-based firm's V2X tech is used in the new Volkswagen Golf 8’s Car2X driver information solution.

Data61 CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) took the Excellence in Research & Development Award for its Transit Assignment Engine: The Agent-based Simulation Engine Enriched with Disease Spread Model.

Data61 is CSIRO's digital specialist data sciences arm that specialises in research and design technologies covering privacy and security of data while also using data and technology science to respond to prepare for floods and storms. 

Hanna Grzybowska, senior research scientist at CSIRO’s Data61 says the winning model combines a detailed transport simulation with epidemiological modelling.

“This capability is particularly pertinent to tackle the challenge of safe transit during a pandemic,” Grzybowska adds. 

Transport for NSW won the Excellence in Transport Data Award for its When to Travel Physical Capacity Indicator.

Sherrie Killiby, director, digital customer information services at Transport for NSW, says: “The new digital information, that tells customers if their public transport services has capacity to travel safely, has already been used over 50 million times since it’s launch.”

Directed Technologies earned the Intelligent Mobility Award for its Ambulance Victoria Next Generation ITS Solution.

The Smart Transport Infrastructure Award was a three-way tie between Data61 CSIRO's Structural Health Monitoring System for the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge, Sage Automation for Sage Edge – a valuable insight and smart asset management and Sice's M8 Tunnel Remote Access Testing Solution. 

The 2020 Young Professional Award was also a tie between Abdulmalik Alyousfi (Transurban) and Azadeh Emami (University of Melbourne). 

As part of this award, ITS Australia will sponsor both winners to attend the 17th ITS Asia Pacific Forum, which is due to be held in Brisbane next April. 

Alyousfi and Emami will participate in a programme of conference sessions, technical tours and demonstrations. 

ITS Australia says its awards raise awareness across all levels of government and community about the benefits of ITS technology to cities and communities and transportation.

The University of Melbourne's Dr Peter Sweatman received the Max Lay Lifetime Achievement Award, which celebrates leaders in the transportation industry and ITS. 

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