Skip to main content

TRL at work in Beijing

Dr Alan Stevens, chief scientist and research director at the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), has been working in Beijing on an ITS project to develop a strategy to improve safety on the motorways of China, using cooperative ITS as an addition to more traditional safety improvements. It is also expected that this will lead to improvements in capacity and environmental sustainability.
April 7, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Dr Alan Stevens, chief scientist and research director at the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (491 TRL), has been working in Beijing on an ITS project to develop a strategy to improve safety on the motorways of China, using cooperative ITS as an addition to more traditional safety improvements.  It is also expected that this will lead to improvements in capacity and environmental sustainability.

Cooperative ITS is as much about organisations cooperating together, as well as cooperation between vehicles and between vehicles and the roadside.  To this end, Alan and his colleague Peter Vermaat have been meeting  key stakeholders such as communications providers, automotive industry, mapping providers, road operators and the Ministry of Transport to discuss their views, capabilities, interests and constraints which could affect what cooperative systems are deployed and how that might take place.

TRL has growing links with China and in February opened a state-of-the-art testing facility based in Guangzhou’s Science City development, designed in conjunction with Inspection, Quarantine, Technology Centre (IQTC). This impact test rig is fitted with the latest technology including the required instrumentation to test to regulation R44 and the new China ‘CCC’ child restraint regulations.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • TRL and GOBOTiX team up on vehicle research
    May 28, 2014
    The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has teamed up with robotic technology consultants GOBOTiX to create a vehicle that will be used to test a variety of advanced vehicle functionality. TRL, with a long history in studies of the development and impact of advanced vehicle technologies, has donated a Toyota Prius to GOBOTiX, who will adapt the vehicle for innovative systems research. The first step will be for GOBOTiX to install drive-by-wire systems to replace mechanical linkages and actuators for
  • Volkswagen emissions – ‘a missing global standard is the issue’ say UK organisations
    September 24, 2015
    The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) and research organisation Frost and Sullivan have both commented on the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal, which has resulted in the resignation of CEO Martin Winterkorn. The world's biggest carmaker by sales has admitted to US regulators that it programmed its cars to detect when they were being tested and altered the running of their diesel engines to conceal their true emissions. Winterkorn said, “I am shocked by the events of the past few days. Above
  • First trial of driverless vehicles, regulatory review launched
    February 11, 2015
    The first trial of driverless cars is launched today in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London. The Greenwich Automated Transport Environment project (GATEway) is one of three projects chosen by the Government to deliver demonstrations of automated vehicles in urban environments. The trial officially gets underway at Greenwich Peninsula today, attended by Business Secretary Vince Cable and Transport Minister Claire Perry, who also officially launched a regulatory review and the UK Government’s ‘Intro
  • Smarter mapping makes for more informed decisions
    December 2, 2016
    Following his keynote presentation at the 2016 ITS World Congress in Melbourne, ITS International caught up with Esri founder Jack Dangermond. It is getting close to half a century ago that Jack Dangermond and his wife Laura founded the Environmental Research Systems Institute – known today as Esri - of which he remains president.