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Lack of investment is the biggest challenge to smart city development, according to half the people who took part in a poll. Wi-Sun Alliance says a fifth of participants in its survey point to security and privacy issues while 14% see interoperability as a major factor for progressing deployments. Wi-Sun – whose members include Cisco and Toshiba - seeks to accelerate the implementation of open standards-based field area networks and the Internet of Things (IoT). Phil Beecher, CEO of Wi-Sun, says

Renault has partnered with Nissan and Waymo to explore the commercial and regulatory issues related to autonomous mobility services in France and Japan. The French car manufacturer says the partners will work together to develop long-term autonomous mobility services operations. As part of the agreement, Renault and Nissan will create joint venture alliance-focused companies in both countries dedicated to these services. John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo, says its Waymo Driver can deliver “mobility solutions t

Bolt is to expand its ride-hailing service to three additional urban centres in Kenya, according to a report by Capital FM Kenya. Ola Akinnusi, the Bolt country manager in Kenya, says: “After Nairobi and Mombasa cities, it was natural that Bolt would gradually expand across the country. We now intend to build new communities in Kisumu, Kakamega and Thika as we continue to gain the trust of the Kenyan people.” According to Akinnusi, the company has provided safety features such as ‘Share your ETA’ which al

A group of 11 companies including Audi and BMW have released a paper to help developers create safer automated driving solutions. Safety First for Automated Driving (SaFAD) says 12 principles - such as vehicle operator-initiated handover and operational design domain - were used to devise a possible overall structure for creating vehicles which will avoid hazards. SaFAD is designed to offer developers and operators a system for clear traceability that proves AVs are safer than the average driver thro

Wejo is to send anonymised traffic flow updates from seven million vehicles using its Adept platform to support TraffiCast’s mobility services in the US. Tech firm Wejo says Adept is a cloud-based data exchange platform that makes sharing and accessing connected car data simple. The data is expected to provide TraffiCast’s services with advanced commuter information, precise arrival time predictions, alternative route suggestions, reduced congestion and carbon footprints and improved traffic forecasting

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