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Swedish car maker Volvo Cars is to join forces with ride-sharing company Uber to develop next generation autonomous driving cars, alliance marks the beginning of what both companies view as a longer term industrial partnership. The two companies have signed an agreement to establish a joint project that will develop new base vehicles that will be able to incorporate the latest developments in autonomous driving technologies, up to and including fully autonomous driverless cars. The base vehicles will be

Five routes have been shortlisted for the Trans-Pennine tunnel – the most ambitious road scheme undertaken in the UK in more than five decades. The Trans-Pennine tunnel study was launched by the government in autumn 2015, one of a number of studies aimed at addressing some of the biggest challenges facing the road network in the UK. The latest interim study shows the continued strong case for the tunnel which could provide safer, faster and more reliable journeys for motorists. All five routes join th

As vehicles become highly independent and begin to drive and react to traffic on their own, autonomous systems will aggregate and process data from a variety of on-board sensors and connected infrastructure, says ABI Research. This forces the industry to hit a hard reset on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) architectures, currently dominated by distributed processing and smart sensors. Automotive OEMs will need to adopt new platforms based on powerful, centralised processors and high-speed low la

Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS), the principal bus operator in Western Cape, South Africa, has selected Parkeon’s on-bus and back office technology to help deliver its future ticketing strategy for Cape Town and its metropolitan area. The deal includes 1,250 Wayfarer200 driver consoles, 62 fixed and mobile point-of-sale units, depot cashier and driver dispatching devices, and an integrated back office, depot management and administrative software solution. GABS has run scheduled bus services in Cape

The US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded US$25 million in grants for 11 projects in six states and the District of Columbia to assist in implementing positive train control (PTC). Many awards will help railroads achieve interoperability among the different PTC systems that railroads are deploying. PTC prevents certain train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zone limits and trains going to the wrong tracks be

Helsinki’s Metropolia University of Applied Sciences has begun a trial of self-driving buses on the streets of Helsinki as part of the SOHJOA-project coordinated by the university, which aims to provide opportunities for Finnish companies to develop new traffic automation products and services ideas. The two French-made EasyMile EZ10 buses have no steering wheel or pedals and run on virtual tracks that can be configured to accommodate sudden changes in demand. They can carry ten passengers and have a dri

Dynniq has been awarded a framework agreement by five UK local authorities to supply and install new traffic signal systems, including Dynniq PTC-1 controllers and signal heads, for council led projects, where they upgrade or install new sites. The agreement includes all maintenance, equipment and installation. The contract is scheduled to begin in September 2016 and will run for five years with a three year extension against tightly managed key performance targets. The five councils, Cambridgeshire

The number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in Australia and New Zealand was 0.5 million in quarter four of 2015 according to a new research report from the M2M/IoT analyst firm Berg Insight. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.0 percent, this number is expected to reach 1.1 million by 2020. The fleet management market in Australia and New Zealand is today influenced positively by a number of different market drivers including regulatory developm

Nissan is using an array of technical talent to develop its next generation autonomous vehicle, including automobile and software engineers, experts on sensor technology and artificial intelligence, computer scientists, production specialists an anthropologist. Melissa Cefkin, principal scientist and design anthropologist at the Nissan Research Center in Silicon Valley is playing a key role in the project, analysing human driving interactions to ensure that it is prepared to be a ‘good citizen’ on the ro

Ford has announced its intention to have a high-volume, fully autonomous vehicle in commercial operation in 2021. The new vehicle will be a Society of Automotive Engineers-rated level 4-capable vehicle without a steering wheel or gas and brake pedals. It is being specifically designed for commercial mobility services, such as ride sharing and ride hailing, and will be available in high volumes. SAE level 4 is one level below full automation and is defined as ‘mode-specific performance by an automated

As part of its Rebuilding the System Program, the South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in the US has awarded Michael Baker International a three-year, US$8-million contract to provide general engineering, construction management and inspection services to a range of SEPTA projects throughout south-eastern Pennsylvania. As part of the contract, the Michael Baker team will support SEPTA in their management of complex construction projects with the goal of ensuring quality, enhanci

Jacobs Engineering Group has been appointed by Highways England to develop preferred options for multiple highways schemes planned in the east, south-east and north-west regions of England. Jacobs is providing engineering design services for civil engineering works and traffic technology, surveys, stakeholder engagement, environmental services, traffic modelling, building information modelling and principal designer services under the Construction (Design and Management) 2015 regulations. The stage t

Audi of America, in conjunction with Traffic Technology Services (TTS), is to launch its first vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) technology, traffic light information, as part of its suite of Audi Connect Prime services. The feature will be introduced later this year in select smart cities and metropolitan areas across the country through 2017 and beyond and is available on 2017 Audi Q7, A4 and A4 Allroad models built after 1 June 2016. Traffic light information, an Audi connect Prime feature, enables the

Plans to establish a connected vehicle network, known as Co-operative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), across Australia have taken a significant step forward with the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) intention to allocate the 5.9 GHz band by early 2017. The body representing Australia’s vehicle industry, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCIA), has welcomed ACMA’s release this week of a consultation paper outlining the proposed regulatory measures to support the na

From September 2016, MetService and the New Zealand Transport Agency will commence a road weather mobile data acquisition trial, in conjunction with road contractors Fulton Hogan and Downer. The aim of the trial is to provide MetService, the Transport Agency, road contractors and the travelling public with pre-warning of challenging and dangerous driving conditions or potential road closures during severe weather. The six-month trial follows a pilot sensor-assessment process and aims to expand road