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The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) has awarded £2 million to develop a national health-check of road markings. The DfT is to analyse nearly 10,000 miles of road with the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG) to understand where investment is needed. The council will use Gaist’s machine learning artificial intelligence technology to review close to 150 million high definition images. Stu McInroy, chief executive of the Road Safety Markings Association, believes the study will provide “ha

A US driverless vehicle ‘living laboratory’ has partnered with Smart City Expo Atlanta (SCATL) - the US edition of Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona. Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners is a 5G-enabled autonomous vehicle (AV) test bed with a 1.5 mile AV track within a 500-acre commercial office park in the city of Peachtree Corners, Georgia. City manager Brian Johnson says start-ups and “mature companies” can use the test track to better understand how their technology operates in a suburban com

Virgin Hyperloop One is working with Saudi Arabia’s Economic City Authority (ECA) to conduct a study to build a 35km test and certification track. The company claims its technology can reduce travel times between cities: it says the trip from Riyadh to the Red Sea port of Jeddah would be slashed from 10 hours to 76 minutes, for example, with the Riyadh-Abu Dhabi route cut from 8.5 hours to 48 minutes. The study will take place in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), located 100km north of Jeddah. It w

Uber is trialling a monthly subscription pass in the US that combines its transportation and food delivery services. A report by TechCrunch says the service is being launched in San Francisco and Chicago. For $24.99 per month, users receive a fixed discount on every Uber trip, free rides on its Jump bikes and scooters as well as free delivery on Uber Eats. Additionally, Uber is testing lower-priced passes in other cities that provide discounted journeys and free delivery on Uber Eats orders above a

Redvision has updated its VMS1000 open-platform control system which it says can be used for traffic management and vehicle counting. Stephen Lightfoot, technical director at Redvision, says the new object linking feature can be used to configure “a logical flow between cameras on screen” while the field of view direction depiction feature is for “fixed cameras and PTZs on maps”. “Additionally, over 300 camera brands and 10,000 individual camera models are integrated with the VMS1000,” he adds.

Tritium has signed a deal with Box Energi to be the sole supplier for Drive Energi, a nationwide electric vehicle (EV) charging network in the UK. Drive Energi is expected to consist of 2,500 charging locations by 2025, with at least 100 sites live by the end of January 2020. The network will be a mix of public and private charging solutions. Kevin Pugh, Tritium’s business development manager for UK and Ireland, says: “With the average daily commute in the UK in the vicinity of 20 miles, a single 20

Extreme Networks provided the Indiana Toll Road Concession Company (ITRCC) with a system which it claims has reduced traffic incidents along the US road by 30%. The company says its system is powered by Smart OmniEdge technology, which provides real-time updates on traffic patterns, enabling safer and more coordinated use of the roadway. Working with Qubit Networks to deploy Extreme technology, ITRCC is hoping the system will allow it to better identify and resolve bottlenecks, ensure greater operationa

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has built a policy library and gathered modelling tools to help decision-makers implement Shared, Electric and Automated Mobility (SEAM) options. The SEAM framework is a set of sustainable mobility policy guidelines aimed at helping cities alleviate congestion and reduce pollution. Maya Ben Dror, WEF project lead, says decision makers can use the framework to “pick what is projected as impactful and feasible” and “design it to maximise emissions reduction as well as soci

Navya has partnered with Esmo and SK Telecom to develop autonomous driving features using 5G technologies already deployed in South Korea. Navya will provide autonomous driving technology and R&D resources to incorporate features associated with 5G networks, supervision and cloud computing. Esmo - a manufacturer of wiring harnesses - will market the products and services and be responsible for setting up a vehicle assembly line. SK Telecom will provide connectivity and a 5G autonomous driving in

Toyota Motor Corporation is to conduct verification tests using data obtained from Hamo Ride, a car-share service comprised of battery electric vehicles operating in Japan. The manufacturer says the tests will seek to raise awareness of safe driving among users by establishing a system that rewards safe driving. Aside from Toyota, other members taking part in the trial include Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, logistics equipment company UPR and Toyota City – an industrial city east of Nagoya in Aichi Prefectu

Toronto City Council has amended its vehicles-for-hire rules to improve safety and accessibility of taxis and private transportation companies including Uber and Lyft. Toronto mayor John Tory, says:” These new and updated requirements are a necessary step in protecting the residents and visitors of this city. Regardless of where they are going or how far the distance, we want to make sure passengers are able to access the service and get to their destination safely." The new rules will make it mandatory

Volvo has chosen Samsung SDI to provide battery cells and modules for its electric trucks. Martin Lundstedt, CEO of Volvo, says: “The alliance with Samsung SDI is an important next step on our journey to offering the world's most truly sustainable transport systems and fossil-free alternatives in our vehicles.” Volvo has also taken steps to support its electric fleet operations in the US. Last November, the company entered into an agreement with Greenlots to install electric vehicle charging infrastr

Chinese bus manufacturer Yin Long intends to produce electric buses at Ikarbus’ factory in Serbia by the end of the year, according to a report by SeeNews. Yin Long acquired Ikarbus through its subsidiary Lanzhou Guangdong New Energy Automobile, and intends to hire 200 employees at the factory and use it as a hub to expand its business. The factory is in the city of Belgrade. Ikarbus produces low-floor and articulated city buses as well as intercity buses.

Bosch and Daimler have obtained approval to operate an automated parking system that requires no safety driver in Stuttgart, Germany.

Financial services company State Farm’s research revealed that 62% drivers using adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist “frequently” or “sometimes” read or send text messages State Farm, a financial services company, says these drivers are taking more risks than those without adaptive cruise control (49%) or lane keeping assist (51%). The findings also revealed that 60% of drivers with adaptive cruise control and 63% of those with lane keeping assist admitted to holding a phone while talking ve