Networking & Communication Systems

An expanded portfolio and increased development over the past few years has prompted Nedap AVI (Automatic Vehicle Identification) to change its name to Nedap Identification Systems. From specialising in long-range RFID solutions for vehicle and driver identification, the company’s portfolio now includes long-range identification of people in and around buildings, wireless vehicle detection sensors for on-street parking guidance and remote management of vehicle entrance points to restricted city zones.

Eurotunnel and the British mobile telephone operators EE and Vodafone have signed a ten year agreement to offer mobile services in the Channel Tunnel. Customers of both operators will have access to 2G and 3G services in the UK to France north tunnel (UK to France). Both EE and Vodafone intend to offer 4G data services throughout the tunnel in the future. This will enable passengers of both Le Shuttle and high speed passenger trains to use their mobile phone or tablet device at any point of the journe

Kapsch TrafficCom has been appointed to deliver two high profile electronic tolling projects in Australia. The contracts will see Kapsch TrafficCom deliver multi-lane free-flow (MLFF) tolling solutions on the Eastern Distributor toll road in Sydney and the Legacy Way toll road in Brisbane using Kapsch multi-lane free-flow single gantry technology. Kapsch TrafficCom’s single gantry solution will be deployed in both projects and to provide stereoscopic vehicle detection and classification, front and rear l

Ertico – ITS Europe and communications standards body ETSI have staged the second eCall Testfest event where vendors tested the interoperability of their eCall systems. The week-long event was staged at CETECOM in Essen, Germany, and attracted more than 30 vendors – both in-vehicle and public safety answering point (PSAP) suppliers - from all over the world. During the event 350 pairing sessions were organised each of which allowed one in-vehicle unit to test with one PSAP unit. Over the course of the

The latest analysis by ABI research expects global V2V penetration in new cars to increase from 10.9 per cent in 2018 to 69 per cent in 2027. ABI Research vice-president and practice director Dominique Bonte comments: “Huge interest in autonomous driving across the automotive ecosystem firmly positions V2X technology and applications as a key component of driverless car systems. However, some OEMs are claiming some forms of (semi)-autonomous driving can be achieved by just using in-vehicle ADAS-sensors.

Danish wireless technology company Blip Systems and its Canadian partner G4Apps have installed wireless sensors to help reduce traffic congestion on one of Ontario’s busiest highways, the Queen Elizabeth Way, which averages close to 200,000 vehicles per day. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is using Blip Systems’ combined Bluetooth and wi-fi sensors to verify travel time prediction algorithms. BlipTrack sensor are mounted on posts at strategic points in the road network and detect wireless

The busy ferry port of Salthomen, close to Gothenburg, Sweden has resolved its parking problem with the installation of a Sensit wireless parking sensor system developed by Dutch parking specialists Nedap. Parking bays are equipped with floor-mounted Sensit wireless sensors to detect in real-time whether or not a bay is occupied and for how long. The sensors are integrated with the Gothenburg’s existing P-IN parking management systems and information on available spaces is displayed on dynamic messages s

Smart parking solutions from Swiss-based Tinynode’s are to be added to Swarco’s road safety and traffic management portfolio in a partnership that sees the technology also added to Swarco’s own traffic solutions. Tinynode’s wireless vehicle detection systems for outdoor and on-street parking are used as part of smart parking solutions which enable motorists to locate a free parking space. The company says there are several million parking spaces in Europe alone that could utilise the system. The Swarco

David Crawford reports on an urban electronic nervous system. The northern Spanish city of Santander – historically a port - is now an emerging technology showcase attracting global attention as a prototype for a medium-sized smart city of the future. In a move to determine the optimal use of available data, it is creating a de-facto experimental laboratory for sensor and mobile phone-based urban traffic management and environmental monitoring innovations.

A wireless automatic vehicle identification (AVI) recently installed for public transportation provider Veolia in Sweden enables the company to control access to its gated dedicated motorway ramp. The Idesco system, installed by access control and security system supplier, GPP Perimeter Protection, includes passive windscreen tags on the buses, RFID readers and a bus gate controller to enable bus drivers to access the ramp without stopping to open the gate and prevents access by unauthorised drivers.