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Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will not be widely adopted unless tech issues and business cases are sorted out, says an expert at the World Economic Forum (WEF). In an interview with CNBC, Michelle Avary, head of autonomous mobility at the organisation, said: “Really making sure that the technology is working in the areas of perception, which is vision — being able to identify objects and then understand how to move around them. That has yet to be solved.” Speaking at the WEF’s Annual Meeting of the New Ch

Highways England is trialling two electric powered roadworks vehicles with the aim of improving air quality along motorways and major A roads. One vehicle is being used across the East Midlands and the other on a major scheme on the A14 in the east of England. Martin Bolt, Highways England’s corporate group leader, operations directorate (Midlands) says: “We are actively exploring opportunities to improve air quality for those travelling on, or living near, our roads as well as reduce exposure for road wo

Bird is rolling out a solution which it says will direct scooter riders to 1,000 predetermined locations in Paris. These are all off the pavements in the French capital and out of the pedestrian right of way, the company adds. The company’s new app feature directs riders to set parking places using visual references points, real-time navigation and GPS-enabled alerts informing them they are with an approved parking place. Bird is rewarding riders who park in the zones with money off their next ride to

Google is improving its SOS alerts by adding visual information about natural disasters and a navigation system on Google Maps. Google says the upgrade will extend the capabilities of the SOS alerts to provide crisis information via relevant news stories and Twitter updates from local authorities to include detailed visualisations about hurricanes, earthquakes and floods. In the days leading up to a hurricane, users will receive a crisis notification card on Google Maps that appears near impacted areas.

The city of Oslo has unveiled a grant scheme allowing private companies in the Norwegian capital to develop projects that promote climate-friendly travel between home and work. The city says the Climate and Energy Fund can provide grants up to 50% of the total cost of the measure with a maximum amount of NOK 250,000 (£23,000) per company per year. It is available for travel between home and the workplace and business trips to and from the workplace during the working day. The grant will only be availabl

EasyMile’s quality management system has been awarded ISO 9001:2015 certification – which the company says will allow it to develop and better structure activities dedicated to autonomous mobility. The certification includes all activities such as the specifications of autonomous vehicle, software and system development, up to its deployment in the field. It also covers the company’s activities with third-party manufacturers aiming to reach autonomy with their platforms via EasyMile’s technology. Gil

Harman International, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, has unveiled its Dual-Mode Vehicle to Everything (V2X) telematics system aimed at improving automotive vehicle safety. Harman says the system taps into dedicated short range communications and cellular 5G and cellular-V2X networks, removing the guesswork for setting up safety systems. Automakers can use the Dual-Mode V2X system to utilise over the air commands to select which of the two standards will be implemented on each vehicle, the compan

Virgin Hyperloop One showcased its technology to members of Congress and federal stakeholders at an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The company says its mode of transport can transport people and goods three times as fast as high-speed rail. Jay Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One, says: “We are now seeing the groundswell of support that’s needed to realise the hyperloop revolution with the formation of the NETT Council and support from lawmakers across the world.” The NETT (Non-Traditiona

RAI Amsterdam is to explore the feasibility of a drone hub corridor, a place where electrically-powered unmanned air vehicles can take off and land. The initiative is part of the Urban Air Mobility Demonstrator project, which seeks to explore how drones can contribute to a sustainable, safer and more accessible city. RAI Amsterdam will work with the municipality of Amsterdam and Dutch stadium Johan Cruijff Arena to investigate how this might work. Paul Riemens, CEO at RAI Amsterdam, says the partn

Baron has launched a weather forecasting model which it says can be used for ITS and traffic applications. According to Baron, the solution offers predictive parameters 66 hours into the future at 3km resolution at hourly intervals. It can also run a second set of parameters 90 hours into the future at 15km resolution, the company adds. Bob Dreisewerd, vice president of development at Baron, explained the idea behind the new launch: “First and foremost was accuracy. We wanted a more accurate weather mod

The Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) is to deploy 15 electric buses in Guwahati, a city in north-east India. The project is part of the Indian government’s FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) scheme. A report by Business Standard says each bus will carry up to 31 passengers along a 6.4km route between the neighbourhoods of Kachari and Kamakhya. ASTC will operate a second service along a 38km route from the Inter State Bus Terminal while also running another service in

O2 and the European Space Agency are working together to support a project aimed at developing connectivity solutions for connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AVs) in the UK. O2 says Project Darwin will seek to test new technology and solutions involving 5G and satellite communications over the next four years. Catherine Mealing-Jones, director of growth at the UK Space Agency, says: “AVs need robust, high-speed mobile data connections to operate effectively. Building the technology to link them to tele

Ficosa has received European RED certification for its CarCom platform with cellular vehicle to everything (C-V2X) technology. The company says the CarCom platform allows users to integrate the DSRC (802.11p) and C-V2X connectivity options in a modular way while also offering a dual mode variant. Ficosa intends to use the certification to supply automotive components in collaborative systems for smart cities. The solution integrates Qualcomm’s technology and was certified in collaboration with Dekra Lab

Viettel Post has developed a ride-hailing app for riders in Vietnam called MyGo for car, motorbike, delivery and transport services. A report by Vietnam+ says the postal and delivery company will add transport services by truck to its app and will aim to avoid increasing prices during peak hours. The company is now seeking driver partners on the run-up to its official launch in July. South-east Asia is fertile ground for mobility services: in January, FastGo launched its ride-hailing, delivery and cater

Via has launched an on-demand shared transit system for people over the age of 60 in the City of Newton, Massachusetts. Via says the service replaces a taxi voucher system which required passengers to make reservations at least 72 hours in advance. The company will also offer trips to a range of medical facilities outside the city’s boundaries. Using the Via app, riders can hail a vehicle from their smartphone. The company’s algorithms allow riders to share the vehicle and directs users to a nearby pick-