Networking & Communication Systems

Daimler Trucks acquires majority stake in Torc Robotics

April 11, 2019

Daimler Trucks has acquired a majority stake in Torc Robotics in a bid to commercialise highly automated trucks operating at SAE Level 4 on US roads. Roger Nielsen, CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), says: “Torc’s Level 4 system has been shown to operate well for both urban and highway driving in rain, snow, fog, and sunshine.” Martin Daum, member of the board of management at Daimler, says the deal will combine the company’s truck hardware with Torc’s “agile software development”. Torc i

Telensa delivers intelligent street lighting in Australia

April 10, 2019

Telensa is to deploy its Planet intelligent street lighting system as part of an upgrade project in the city of Palmerston, Australia. Athina Pascoe-Bell, Palmerston mayor, says: “Telensa’s smart technology will improve our street lighting service, save money and provide a platform for future smart city innovations.” The city, in Australia’s Northern Territory, will replace 5,000 streetlights with wirelessly connected LEDs, controlled by Telensa’s central management system hosted by Amazon Web Services

Swarco: ‘Everyone’s running after buzzwords’

April 1, 2019

The ITS world finds itself in a time of great change. Swarco’s Michael Schuch talks to Adam Hill about connectivity, the increasing importance of the end user – and why you shouldn’t leave your core business behind

C-ITS in the EU: ‘A little tribal’

April 1, 2019

As the C-ITS Delegated Act begins its journey through the European policy maze, Adam Hill looks at who is expecting what from this proposed framework for connected vehicles – and why some people are insisting that the lawmakers are already getting things wrong here are furrowed brows in Brussels and Strasbourg as European Union legislators begin to consider the rules which will underpin future services such as connected vehicles. The idea is to create a regulatory framework to harmonise cooperative ITS

C-ITS in the EU: ‘A little tribal’

April 1, 2019

As the C-ITS Delegated Act begins its journey through the European policy maze, Adam Hill looks at who is expecting what from this proposed framework for connected vehicles – and why some people are insisting that the lawmakers are already getting things wrong here are furrowed brows in Brussels and Strasbourg as European Union legislators begin to consider the rules which will underpin future services such as connected vehicles. The idea is to create a regulatory framework to harmonise cooperative ITS

Sprint to launch commercial 5G service ‘in May’

March 22, 2019

Connected technology firm Sprint is to launch a commercial 5G service in May. Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Kansas City will be the first of its nine markets, with Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, DC expected to follow by the end of June. The company has also created an interactive exhibition, the Sprint 5G Experience, at its Kansas HQ to explain how the communications protocol works and what difference it will make to people’s lives. Steve Gaffney, Sprint vice president

Cohda trials V2X tech in Norwegian tunnel

March 20, 2019

Cohda Wireless has carried out a trial of Vehicle to Everything (V2X) technology in Norway’s Bjørnegård tunnel. The idea was to demonstrate the ability of Cohda’s V2X-Locate solution to provide accurate vehicle positioning in areas where GPS systems often run into difficulty – such as in tunnels or underground car parks. The company’s chief technical officer, Professor Paul Alexander, says GPS positioning can be off by up to 40m in such environments – which would have a significant negative impact on

Dynniq’s FlowSense gives green light for city mobility

March 19, 2019

Putting an end to traffic jams – including those involving freight - and improving the air people breathe are major goals for city authorities everywhere. With FlowSense, Dynniq thinks it may have some answers. Adam Hill asks how Sitting in traffic is top of the list of many commuters’ pet hates: a necessary evil, perhaps. But at least it doesn’t kill you - the same can’t be said of toxins in the air. Indeed, the World Health Organisation estimates that 4.2 million deaths worldwide are due to outdoor pol

Ficosa pledges €500m investment in C/AV technology

March 19, 2019

Spanish firm Ficosa is to put €500m into R&D over the next four years to provide new technology for connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AVs). The firm believes that revenue from its technology systems will rise from €100 million to €800 million over the next five years. Assisted driving and e-mobility are other areas of interest, and the company has already put its money where its mouth is, showing off a new e-mobility development centre last year. The company had overall revenues of €1.28 billion

Asfinag makes case for ITS-G5 over 5G

March 15, 2019

Asfinag’s Manfred Harrer and Peter Meckel talk to Jason Barnes about the organisation’s first steps towards C-ITS deployments - and why ITS-G5 will be the underpinning standard For quite a number of years, it was assumed that the connectivity required for cooperative ITS (C-ITS) applications and autonomous vehicle (AV) operations would be catered for by a bespoke communications solution/protocol. This would provide localised ad hoc communication in a manner similar to Wi-Fi, and the dedicated bandwidth/n