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Automotive safety systems company Autoliv has joined safety initiative OSCCAR, part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research project. OSCCAR (Occupant Safety for Crashes in Cars) also includes partners such as Toyota, Siemens and various academic institutions. Autoliv says it will help develop harmonised methods and tools for vehicle restraint systems which could feature in automated vehicles. Cecilia Sunnevång, vice president, research at Autoliv, says the project will provide information on

Only 20% of people would be prepared to put their child inside an autonomous vehicle (AV), according to research from Fujitsu. People are more anxious about adopting digital services in travel than they are in other areas of their lives, according to Russell Goodenough, the company’s managing director of business and transport. Just 40% of people would put their trust in an AV - and the transport sector is falling behind in the race to digitisation, the company says. Speaking at a media forum in Lo

Telensa’s smart streetlight controls are being deployed in 64,000 LED lights in Edinburgh, Scotland. Called Planet, the new system is intended to allow street poles to act as hubs for smart city sensors. Planet consists of wireless nodes which connect individual lights, dedicated wireless connectivity and a central management platform. According to Telensa, the solution identifies and tracks faults in real time, which will reduce complaints from residents about broken street lights and remove the ne

Bosch and Daimler are to trial an autonomous shuttle and a fleet of automated vehicles on select routes in California, during the second half of 2019. The move is part of a drive to develop automated and driverless SAE Level 4 and 5 capabilities. Daimler Mobility Services is expected to operate the fleet as well as the app-based service. The project is intended to demonstrate how services such as carsharing, ride-hailing and multi-modal platforms can be intelligently connected. US technology company N

Waze's live alert data is now available in location intelligence company Esri’s ArcGIS marketplace. The service is available to members of the Waze Connected Citizens programme. The sharing of publicly-available traffic and road condition information is intended to help governments make infrastructure decisions and improve the efficiency of incident response. Through the agreement, Waze’s live feed of mapped traffic alerts and information on accidents, congestion and street damage is supported by Arc

Volvo Car Mobility will launch its M car sharing service in Sweden and the US in Spring 2019 to help provide an alternative to car ownership. The brand is intended to offer users a personalised on-demand service via an app. M is developing proprietary technology which asks users about their needs and preferences. The vehicle will draw learnings and data from the company’s car sharing service in Sweden called Sunfleet, which operates 1,700 cars. The service will be integrated with M from next year and wi

Virtuo has launched a mobile car rental service in London, UK. A Mercedes A-Class vehicle can be booked via the app for 30-mile trips outside the capital, starting at £35. The company says the service requires no paperwork and no hidden fees. Drivers can communicate with the company’s London-based customer service team through the app, 24 hours a day, the firm says.

Navya says ABM Greiffenberger’s three-phase induction motors will allow the company to transport passengers safely in its Autonom shuttle. The AC induction motor comes with an air cooling system and is intended be operated over a wide revolutions per minute (RPM) range. The electric motor has an output of 15 kW in continuous operation with a peak output of 35 kW. The peak torque is 30 newton-metres and the maximum rotational speed is 8,000rpm. Aymeric Dubois, test engineer, says the motor is maintena

China-based DiDi Chuxing will deploy its ride-matching app in Japan in partnership with investor SoftBank. The joint venture, DiDi Mobility Japan, intends to offer on-demand services and smart transportation to citizens and tourists in the autumn. Stephen Zhu, vice president of Didi Chuxing and CEO of DiDi Mobility Japan, says the new platform is intended to help taxi companies improve their efficiency, enhance user satisfaction and build more broad-based demand for taxi services. Through the agree

Technology company Grab and the National University of Singapore (NUS) has set up an artificial intelligence (AI) lab to help develop smarter cities in South-east Asia. The partnership intends to solve challenges such as congestion and the liveability of cities in the region. The Grab-NUS AI Lab, part of an initial joint investment of S$6m (£3.3m), will utilise data from the Grab platform to provide insights into how citizens move across cities. It will also be used to map out traffic patterns and ident

Videalert will open a mobile enforcement vehicle (MEV) engineering hub in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, to meet demand from UK councils. The company says demand is driven by councils who want to rapidly deploy enforcement to a range of locations where non-compliant drivers are causing congestion or safety issues. MEVs are equipped with digital camera technology and a suite of software for rapid deployment in enforcement and monitoring applications.

Canada-based manufacturer Electra Meccanica is deploying its all-electric Solo commuter vehicle in a car share programme at the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre. The initiative is intended to provide travellers with an environmentally-friendly travel option. This project stems from an agreement with Harbour Air Seaplanes. The carbon-neutral airline says the project serves as an extension to its commitment to sustainability.

WSP USA is designing a half-mile section of smart pavement in Colorado in a bid to improve driver safety and vehicle connectivity. The pavement uses sensors to determine a vehicle’s location, direction and speed on US 285 north of Fairplay. The smart pavement was developed by Integrated Roadways and will be implemented as part of an agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation. Tim Sylvester, founder of Integrated Roadways, says the pavement will collect real-time traffic data, record t

Inrix says its new platform will help cities and road authorities communicate with operators for safe deployment of highly automated vehicles (HAVs) on public roads. Called AV Road Rules, the solution will allow users to validate and manage traffic rules and restrictions for these vehicles. The platform also creates a channel to communicate road infrastructure needs from HAVs back to transportation agencies to improve safety. The company says the solution will allow cities and road authorities to di

Despite next year’s merger, Alstom are currently ‘still firm competitors’, insisted Siemens Mobility’s CEO Gordon Wakeford. Through the agreement, Siemens Mobility will combine its rail traction and drive business with Alstom. The Siemens subsidiary has also won a contract with Transport for London (TfL) to upgrade the algorithms and systems which control traffic in London. “Once that's done we can upgrade traffic controls throughout the UK and work with TfL in exporting that around the world,” Wakef