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The ITS sector is now going through an evolution driven by the maturation of communications technologies and their increasing adoption in major cities worldwide. The widespread availability of high-speed networks, both fixed and wireless, along with the ability to embed intelligence in physical objects throughout the urban environment and the diffusion of mobile devices that can send and receive real-time vehicle or infrastructure information, is driving the adoption of smart transportation systems in citie

Greener agendas, emission-based taxation, parking charge exemptions, and mass-produced electric vehicles are all working together to increase the sales of microelectric vehicles to 0’118,000 units by 2017 within the North American market new analysis from Frost & Sullivan predicts. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.30 per cent between 2010 and 2017. By 2013, the total count of microelectric vehicles in North America is likely to increase to 150 types, with the introduction of 34 new

In the US state of Colorado, the Denver Public Works is installing 500 sensors in the streets in order make its smart parking meters smarter. In the 90-day test, sensors will communicate with parking meters when a space have been vacated or filled. If the lot is vacated, the meter will be reset to zero. Should the city like the results of the pilot programme, other features may be included into the system such as relaying real-time information to motorists on vacant parking spots in the city via a smartphon

Thales has delivered European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 1 systems for the Gyeongchun Line, a 81 km rail link in the north-east of Seoul, in South Korea, and the 89 km Jeolla Line serving Yeosu in the south of the country, host city for Expo 2012. The ITX (Intercity Train eXpress) Gyeongchun high-speed train service began operating in February after project completion to a tight schedule of just 18 months. Based on the quality of the systems and the work performed, the customer also selected Thales

Siemens has been awarded a US$73 million contract to build 18 of its S70 light rail vehicles for TriMet in Portland, Oregon. The vehicles will be manufactured from start to finish at Siemens' rail vehicle manufacturing plant in Sacramento, California. These 18 vehicles were ordered as a part of the Portland-Milwaukie light rail transit project. This extension includes a light rail alignment that travels 11.75kms, connecting Portland State University in downtown Portland, inner Southeast Portland, Milwaukie

A road train, comprised of three Volvo cars plus one truck automatically driving in convoy behind a lead vehicle, has operated on a public motorway among other road users. The historic test on a motorway outside Barcelona, Spain, took place last week and was pronounced a success. “This is a very significant milestone in the development of safe road train technology,” commented Sartre project director, Tom Robinson of Ricardo. “For the very first time we have been able to demonstrate a convoy of autonomousl

AMG-Panogenics, manufacturer of the PanoCam 5 Megapixel 360 degree camera, has announced an OEM partnership agreement with Tecton, the UK based designer, developer and manufacturers of CCTV for commercial, security, government and broadcast applications. Under the new agreement, Tecton will integrate PanoCam360 into all its video management systems.

SafeZone, Siemens’ approach to average speed enforcement, has been approved for deployment in the UK by the Home Office. Designed, developed and manufactured by Siemens, SafeZone is a modular system which combines ANPR technology with advanced data processing and back-office systems. It uses the company’s Sicore cameras each of which can monitor two lanes of traffic in both directions, dramatically reducing the cost of deployment and system complexity.

Spain’s Indra has announced it is leading a consortium of nine companies on the Ciudad 2020 project to address innovation in transportation, the Internet of the future, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability and the relationship between citizens and their city. The project is one of the first industrial research projects within the Innpronta Programme of Spain’s Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness' Centre for Technological Industrial Development (CDTI). Ciudad 2020, which has a US$20.5 million

Thales Austria has signed the contract with the Hungarian infrastructure company NIF to provide modern electronic train control technology for the 101 km electrified Boba-Bajánsenye line. The contract includes the design, supply, installation and commissioning of a complete European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 solution and adaptations to the existing ETCS Level 1 system.

More than 2.3 million drivers in 18 states ran a red light in 2011, according to the first-ever Safer Roads Report 2012: Trends in Red-Light Running from the National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR). The report examines red-light running trends across 18 states and is designed to help raise driver awareness of the dangers of red-light running. The risks of red-light running are clear: intersection-related vehicle accidents caused more than 8,500 causalities in 2001, according to the National Highway Traffi

Nissan has announced that a 100 per cent electric compact van, the e-NV200, will go into production at its Barcelona plant in Spain in the 2013 Financial Year. The new model will be based on the existing award-winning NV200 currently produced at the plant and will be an important and innovative addition to Nissan's global range of light commercial vehicles (LCV's).

Radwin, a specialist in backhaul and broadband wireless solutions, has launched what it claims is a ground-breaking solution that boosts broadband connectivity for vehicles in motion. The company’s Radwin 5000 Mobility solution delivers high capacity of 100 Mbps at speeds of up to 200 Km/h for video and internet connectivity. The solution comes with powerful base stations that enable connectivity to ruggedised mobile units that can be mounted on vehicles, trains and vessels. The device provides wide-area co

Spanish company Libelium has announced it has developed new sensing technology that can detect smartphones through their WiFi or Bluetooth interfaces and integrated it inside Meshlium Xtreme, the company's multiprotocol router. Applications of this new technology go from street activity measurement to vehicle traffic management. For instance, the company claims it is possible to monitor the number of people passing daily in a street, the average time they stop at landmarks, like shopping windows, and even d

Axion Power International, the developer of advanced lead-¬carbon PbC batteries and energy storage systems, has been awarded a US$150,000 grant from the US Department of Energy (DoE) to fund a commercialisation plan for the use of its PbC batteries in a low-cost, high-efficiency dual battery architecture for micro-hybrid vehicles.