Advanced traffic surveys boosted by funding for new transport technology
In a development that’s likely to be replicated in other parts of the UK, Innovate UK and Oxfordshire County Council have made up to £250,000 available for organisations to develop a traffic management system that can accommodate both traditional road users and new transport technology such as self-driving cars and electric vehicles.
Traffic data to design the roads of the future
It’s likely that, within the next 5-10 years, our roads will look and feel very different. More people will choose to buy electric cars, and technology features will be introduced that take many of the driving decisions out of the control of the traditional driver. This in turn means that the road network will need to be able to manage these changes and, in highly developed and congested places like Oxford, this creates its own challenges.
The initiative, which is a Small Business Research Initiative, is competitive, with applicants being asked to design a traffic management system based on intelligent data gathering using infrastructure already in place in the county, such as CCTV, ANPR and traffic light control systems. According to a government press release, the system must:
- Use information from sources on the Internet of Things and share this data across a variety of teams and organisations.
- Allow Oxfordshire County Council to identify data gaps
- Produce data metrics that can adapt to council policies.
It must also be able to:
- Enable communication between traffic management and road users.
- Identify which modes of transport are being used.
- Explore integration with other council functions, such as emergency planning and social services.
- Integrate with artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Traffic data and road-use data is becoming increasingly valuable in a world where infrastructure planners cannot ignore the advances in technology, the pressures on the local, national and global environment and the desire of consumers to both move to more environmentally-friendly modes of transport, and still be able to make journeys quickly and easily. It’s thought that the biggest value in Uber, the taxi and ride-sharing business, is in the data it collects every day about the way people choose to travel.
Sophisticated traffic data from Road Data Services
With the latest in data-collecting technology, RDS can work with you on projects to survey existing road use, vehicle types, journey times, parking and more. We provide our data in whatever format is best for you, giving you a robust basis for planning and decision-making about the future of the road networks in your area. To find out more, contact us today.
