University data experts team up with local company to improve road safety

Data analytics experts at Queen’s University Belfast have teamed up with local company See.Sense to create an intelligent bike light, which they say could help to improve road safety.
June 20, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

Data analytics experts at Queen’s University Belfast have teamed up with local company See.Sense to create an intelligent bike light, which they say could help to improve road safety.

See.Sense created the world’s first intelligent and connected bike light, which uses advanced sensor technology to monitor and react to its environment, helping to make the cyclist visible when they most need to be. Now, The university’s researchers are working with the company and are using a new type of data analytics to develop the light further.

Special sensors, which are built in to the bike light, collect information on the road surface in real time and analyse the cyclist’s activity. Through an app, the data is then processed using sophisticated analytics methods and mathematics.

They claim the latest updates mean that accurate sensor data collected by the light could be used to plan better infrastructure and create smart cities. By applying advanced analytics and data visualisation, the team could use this anonymised and aggregated data to work with a city to design better infrastructure and policies.

It also means the light can detect if a cyclist has had an accident or near miss, or hotspots where they should take extra care, as well as alerting local authorities if a road needs repairing.

The bike lights are currently on sale and closed data trials are currently underway in several cities around the world.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Measuring vehicle lengths with a single loop - promising results
    July 27, 2012
    District 7 of Caltrans has been conducting trials to see whether the use of a single inductive loop to measure vehicle lengths and so identify heavy trucks is feasible. So far, the results have been very promising, according to Lead Transportation Engineer Steve Malkson. Between them, the adjoining ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the US's two biggest, cover some 10,700 acres (43km2) and 68 miles (109km) of waterfront.
    Read More
  • Asecap meeting tackles tolling’s future challenges
    March 3, 2017
    Carole Défossé, communication & information manager at Asecap, previews the association’s forthcoming annual meeting. With 72% of Europeans moving by car and 60% of freight being transported by trucks, road infrastructures are central to Europe’s mobility and toll roads form a key part of those networks.
    Read More
  • Smartphones smooth the journey for visually impaired
    May 13, 2016
    Moves to make life easier and safer for vulnerable and impaired road users are gaining strength on both sides of the Atlantic. A recent webcast by the US Roadway Safety Institute, based at the University of Minnesota, showcased work in progress on a positioning and mapping methodology using Bluetooth and smartphone technologies to support situation awareness and wayfinding for the visually impaired.
    Read More
  • Assessing driver behaviour in work zones
    May 31, 2013
    David Crawford looks at moves to increase throughput and safety in work zones.
    Read More

Highlighted Content