News

Messe Frankfurt (MF) will use voice assistant Alexa to answer questions from exhibitors and visitors at this year’s Hypermotion, held in 5.1 and the adjoining Congress Center from 20 to 22 November 2017. A digital pilot project will also be presented to address this year’s theme of Smart solutions for mobility and logistics. Before the exhibition, the system will be fed with all relevant information and geared specifically to its content. During the event, it will answer general questions about the exhibit

Busem, part of ČSAD autobusy České Budějovice a.s (CSAD), is using Papercast’s solar-powered e-paper displays to create smart bus stops at 14 major locations across the city of Písek in the Czech Republic. The displays are designed with the intention of improving the day-to-day passenger experience and fuel wider adoption of bus services. It also aims to provide passengers with dynamic arrival information based on the actual position of the vehicles on the route as well as immediate updates on service or

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has installed around 2,000 Nedap sensors as part of its Smart Parking Project covering controlled parking at Al-Rigga and the World Trade Center areas. Nedap’s smart parking sensors combine magnetic and infrared detection to enhance vehicle detection accuracy and provide real-time indication if a bay is empty or occupied. The company’s Sensit smart parking platform has been implemented and provides real-time information about individual parking spaces including

Geographic information system specialist Esri is to collaborate with advanced driver-assistance systems software provider Mobileye in a venture aimed at improving safety for road users in urban environments. This will see Esri’s mapping, analysis and visualisation integrated with Mobileye’s Shield+ product. Shield+ will stream road safety data retrieved from city fleets into Esri’s ArcGIS platform meaning incidents of pedestrians and cyclists being detected in blindspots can be viewed on the Mobileye

An on-demand air taxi service for passengers and freight has been launched in the UK’s and is designed to cut a 100-minute journey between the islands of Guernsey and Jersey to 40 minutes. The service is operated by an Air Operator Certificated company called Waves whose CEO, Nick Magliocchetti, said: “there is no schedule.” He claims company can offer air taxi services at a fraction of the cost of other operators by “ensuring its business model is effective without impacting on customer experience or

Jenoptik has received an order from its local partner First Joint Group, for two non-invasive point-to-point (P2P) systems for section speed control on the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Bridge, Kuwait. The project aims to increase traffic safety and will also include several TraffiStar S390 speed measuring devices based on radar technology housed in TraffiTower. The bridge, as of the end of next year, will link the capital Kuwait City with both the Subbiyah region in the north (Subbiyah Link 36km) and the Doha

Ballard Power Systems (BPS) has announced it has signed a development agreement with Siemens, with a contemplated value of $9 million (£6.8 million), to develop a zero-emission fuel cell engine to power Siemens’ Mireo light rail train in Germany. Initial deployments of the train are planned for 2021. BPS will develop a 200-kilowatt fuel cell engine for integration into the new train platform which aims to reach speeds of up to 160 km per hour (100 miles per hour). Sabrina Soussan, chief executive officer

The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) is recruiting volunteer drivers and pedestrians for the Tampa Connected Vehicle Pilot. The $21 million (£16 million) project aims to demonstrate the safety, mobility and environmental benefits of connected vehicle technology (CVP). THEA plans to equip 1,600 privately owned automobiles with this technology by mid-2018.

HMI Technologies (HMI) has launched its third self-driving vehicle trial with a consortium of partners at La Trobe University, in Melbourne, Australia. The trial intends to further help authorities and commercial businesses to research the benefits and limitations of the technology, and identify how it will become part of the public transport network of tomorrow. The La Trobe Autonobus (LTA) will soon connect students and staff at the University campus to other transport network nodes such as trams and bus

QRoutes has launched the latest version of its Transport Planning tool which is designed with the intention of simplifying and improving the planning of school and special needs transport. It creates visual map-based results and enables planners to explore what-if scenarios to find new improved routes. The QRoutes Planner (QRP) can configure the system to take into account a range of variables affecting each route plan. These include board and alight times for different passenger types, and road type

The California Energy Commission has provided True Zero (TZ) with $26.6 million (£20.2 million) to install 12 new hydrogen stations to help build out the state’s retail hydrogen network. The funding includes grants for capital cost share and operation and maintenance support. In August, TZ opened its 18th retail hydrogen station in California and is now developing 13 additional stations. Joel Ewanick, chief executive officer of TZ, said: "With these 12 new stations you'll see a transition to higher

Manufacturer of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles Proterra has announced that Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA) will purchase four of its electric buses this fall as part of a joint effort to minimize emissions, reduce traffic congestion and accelerate sustainable infrastructure development. The 40-foot Proterra buses will replace retiring fossil fuel buses and are designed with the intention of eliminating more than 1.2 million lbs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Over their 12-year lifespan, the

Masabi will launch a two month feasibility trial of its smartphone-based payments platform Justride with the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) in South Australia. The test will be conducted on 50 DPTI employees on Adelaide city trams and SouthLink operated Hills and Outer South Express bus services. In addition, Mastercard is providing its gateway services to facilitate test payments linked to South Australia’s acquirer, Commonwealth Bank of Australia. As part of the trial, Masabi

Aligned Assets (AA) will offer a free trial of its Augmented Reality (AR) application to all local authorities and emergency services in support of GIS (geographic information systems) day on 15 November 2017. The Symphony AR (SAR) allows any data which has a spatial element to be shown as AR markers such as addresses, sports facilities, listed buildings and commercial properties.

ChargePoint (CP) and the Technical Services Group (TSG) has announced an agreement covering site construction, installation and maintenance, together with a reseller partnership to provide electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions and services to business throughout Europe. The partnership aims to accelerate the shift to electric mobility and give businesses an opportunity to evolve with the changing landscape. Initially, CP and TSG will work together in France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK