Location Based Systems

IBM is collaborating with Beijing transportation information service systems provider TransWiseway Information Technology to build the largest connected vehicles platform in China that will transform the development of the country’s connected car services industry. The cloud-based platform will use advanced analytics for applications that offer real-time in-vehicle services to mobile devices, such as weather advisories, traffic alerts and alternate route suggestions.

Brisbane-based company, Tritium, has been awarded a prestigious 2014 Good Design Australia Award in the Automotive and Transport category for its Veefil Electric Vehicle (EV) fast charger, berating off strong competition from products such as the Audi A3 sedan and the new Melbourne e-class tram. Veefil, launched in May 2013, is the result of ten years of technological development and is the first liquid-cooled charger in the international EV fast charger sector – which means it can withstand extreme weather

Tests conducted by Rx Networks and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) confirm that, when used in addition to GPS and/or GLONASS, Galileo significantly improves the accuracy of location-based services when used in challenging environments. The GSA and Rx Networks, a leading mobile location technology and services company, announced the results of tests conducted by the company measuring the performance of Galileo when used in various combinations with GPS and GLONASS.

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

The latest research from Lux Research indicates that automakers and technology developers are closer than ever to bringing self-driving cars to market, with basic Level 2 autonomous behaviour already coming to market, in the form of relatively modest self-driving features like adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and collision avoidance braking. With these initial steps, automakers are already on the road to some level of autonomy, but costs remain high in many cases. It is the higher levels

According to a new market research report by MarketsandMarkets, Electronic Toll Collection System Market by Products, Technology Applications and Geography - Analysis & Forecast 2013-2020, the market for electronic toll collection (ETC) is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.1 per cent from 2013 to 2020, and reach US$9.5 billion in 2020. The overall global electronic toll collection system market is segmented into four major areas: products, technologies, applications and geography. All the major segments a

European vehicle manufacturers, including BMW, Opel and Mercedes-Benz and MAN, are taking part in a new project to develop advanced driver assistance and traffic management systems for cities. The focus is on the human element in all aspects of mobility and traffic and takes the form of three approaches: Cognitive Assistance; Networked Traffic Systems; and Human Factors in Traffic. The four-year UR:BAN project (from a German acronym for Urban Space: User-oriented assistance systems and network managemen

In another application for autonomous vehicles, Oshkosh Defense has integrated its TerraMax unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) technology into an Oshkosh MRAP all-terrain vehicle (M-ATV) to demonstrate capabilities for route-clearance missions. M-ATV and other heavy and medium tactical wheeled vehicles equipped with TerraMax UGV technology enables one or multiple vehicles in a route clearance convoy to operate autonomously, resulting in fewer troops exposed to threats. The technology is designed as a modul

In a recent blog post, Google’s director of their self-driving car project, Chris Urmson has given an update on the technology that he says is better than the human eye. Google’s autonomous vehicles have logged nearly 700,000 miles on the streets of the company’s hometown, Mountain View, California. Urmson says a mile of city driving is much more complex than a mile of freeway driving, with hundreds of different objects moving according to different rules of the road in a small area. He claims that

According to French think tank IDATE, there will be 420 million connected cars on the road by 2018, compared to 45 million in 2013, an annual growth of 57 per cent. IDATE attributes the development of the market to European safety regulations and manufacturers looking to identify new sources of revenue.