News

Spain-based consulting and technology company Indra is leading a project that will test autonomous driving on European roads, mainly in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon, Madrid and Paris. These are the three largest cities in the Atlantic Core Network Corridor, which comprises roads that are regarded as priorities for developing Europe's transport infrastructure. Spain's Traffic Department, the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Portugal's National Road Safety Authority, the University of Coimbra, the Ped

A new report from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) identifies the potential impacts of autonomous vehicle technology on the trucking industry, which include significant safety and productivity benefits that may result from autonomous technology adoption. The analysis mapped potential autonomous vehicle impacts to the trucking industry's top ten issues as surveyed annually by ATRI. From hours-of-service to the driver shortage to driver health and wellness, benefits and challenges to co

The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in collaboration with Dubai Properties, has recently begun the trial operation of autonomous vehicles, each capable of carrying ten passengers, within the Business Bay District over a 650 metre-long track. This follows the success of the first and second phases of the trial operation of smart vehicles in the Dubai World Trade Center and the Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard. The electric-powered smart vehicle is designed to move within closed internal roads in a

UK transport user watchdog Transport Focus has launches it report on road users’ experiences of planned roadworks and unplanned disruption. The report, Incidents and roadworks - A road user perspective, follows the watchdog’s 2015 work on road users’ needs and experiences of the Strategic Road Network. In it, the watchdog recommends planning shorter roadworks, 24/7 working and involving the freight industry more in roadworks planning. It also encourages more work to help release trapped traffic, prev

The South Australian Government is inviting applications for a three-year US$7.5 million (AU$10 million) Future Mobility Lab Fund to boost local testing, research and development of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies. From today, companies, industry bodies, research institutions and other organisations are able to submit creative proposals which will accelerate the development and implementation of connected and autonomous vehicle technology, focused on three themes:. Autonomous vehicle te

Swarco Group’s Evolt eMobility brand has been awarded a contract estimated at US$2.2 million (£1.8 million) by Dundee City Council for the first phase of works to support three new charging ‘hubs’ in the city, along with an additional regional charging infrastructure. As one of the Go Ultra Low Cities, Dundee is creating three new charging hubs that will become dedicated areas for the charging of electric vehicles. Each hub will be equipped with Evolt’s well proven charging technology, including a combi

Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) and Abellio East Anglia has received the Best Product/Innovation of the Year award for NextAgent at the Global AirRail Alliance (GARA) Awards. Cubic’s NextAgent combines a virtual walk-up ticket office, a ticket vending machine and a video-linked call centre. In October 2015, Cubic and Abellio Group partnered to trial NextAgent at Stansted Airport to assist passengers en route from plane to train and to their final destinations. NextAgent technology provides a virt

Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is studying selling a stake of just under 50 per cent in the country's motorways to allow it to develop the network's infrastructure more efficiently, Der Spiegel magazine said on Saturday. Ownership of the 13,000 km network, the world's second largest behind the United States jointly shared between the federal government and the country's 16 states. The Finance Ministry is considering selling off all but a tiny fraction of the latter share, leaving Berlin w

Rolls-Royce and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have announced a strategic partnership to design, test and validate the first generation of remote and autonomous ships. The new partnership will combine and integrate the two company’s unique expertise to make such vessels a commercial reality. Rolls-Royce is pioneering the development of remote controlled and autonomous ships and believes a remote controlled ship will be in commercial use by the end of the decade. The company is applying technol

WSP /Parsons Brinckerhoff will design a new bridge in Pensacola, Florida as part of a design-build team led by Skanska. The project is being undertaken on behalf of the Florida Department of Transportation. The US$398.5 million project includes design and construction of new westbound and eastbound bridges on Route 30 (US 98) to replace the existing three-mile-long bridge that links the communities of Pensacola and Gulf Breeze. The project also includes shared-use paths on the outside of each bridge, rec

Samsung Electronics and Harman International Industries have entered into a definitive agreement under which Samsung will acquire Harman, which will give Samsung a significant presence in the large and rapidly growing market for connected technologies, particularly automotive electronics, which has been a strategic priority for Samsung, and is expected to grow to more than US$100 billion by 2025. Harman has extensive expertise in connected car solutions, with more than 30 million vehicles currently equip

The District of Saanich’s Police Department in British Columbia, Canada, has awarded Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) a contract for the implementation of its latest-generation GPS-enabled Opticom pre-emption solution, which works alongside intersection controllers to help ensure emergency vehicles can move through intersections rapidly and safely. Saanich Fire Department is already a user of the Opticom system. The system includes a GPS component for location, direction, speed and ETA, as well as wirel

Siemens ITS has secured a place on the new Traffic Management Technology (TMT2) framework agreement developed by the Crown Commercial Service to provide public sector customers with access to industry leading, innovative traffic management solutions. The new framework will deliver local, regional and national traffic management technologies through a qualified supply chain ensuring reliability and resilience. TMT2 aims to provide value for the nation through outstanding commercial capability and quality

Data collected through connected cars will present automakers with tremendous business opportunities to enhance customer experiences while at the same time also posing inherent risks, according to a new KPMG report, Your Connected Car is Talking: Who's Listening? KPMG's national automotive leader, Gary Silberg, notes that, while OEMs can use data collected through connected vehicles to optimise performance, reliability and safety of vehicles they produce, failure to get cyber-security right could have a

Digital security specialist Gemalto is partnering with Colorado, Idaho, Maryland and Washington DC to pilot digital drivers licences (DDL). The company has been awarded a US government grant to pilot the development of a smartphone-based credential in these states. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has also awarded a two-year grant to the project. The digital driver's license serves as a secure, companion version of the physical ID card. The pilot will address four main use ca