VESOS, a technology start up, has been given the Department for Transport’s Chief Scientific Adviser’s Award for the ‘most innovative proven idea’ for the Transport Research and Innovation Grants 2022 programme, delivered by Connected Places Catapult on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT).

Its TeCall Proof of Concept showed it can deliver faster response and detailed information using the data collated from eCall-enabled vehicles, which includes every new car and van sold in the UK since 2018. In the event of a collision with an airbag activation, the solution almost instantly provides emergency services and highway operators with enhanced information detailing a vehicle’s exact location, the vehicle make and model and propulsion type. This also includes other data such as wheelchair adapted vehicles, indicating potentially vulnerable people, that enables them to respond more effectively and better prepared.

Furthermore, what impressed the judges was that TeCall ensures only genuine and validated eCall data is presented to emergency services and road operators with false alarms filtered out and data then presented automatically into emergency Control Centre systems.

VESOS Solutions co-founder Danny Woolard commented: “The VESOS team is delighted to have been recognised by the DfT and been awarded the CSA’s most innovative project. Because of the TRIG funding we have been able to turn our ideas into a real working end to end proof of concept, backed up by a strong benefit driven business case. We have shown the clear response time savings that using eCall data can bring to meeting the aims of Vision Zero. We are especially grateful to the partners that supported us in the project.”

The VESOS team built a proof of concept, undertaking research with Warwickshire and Surrey Fire and Rescue Services. This showed the time savings of using data from eCall instead of just the current voice connection. It also demonstrated, in principle, new cases such as identifying wheelchair adapted vehicles, electric vehicles needing recovery and providing vehicle data into fire response vehicles before they leave the fire station.

Independent road safety campaigner, Meera Naran MBE, whose 8-year-old son Dev, died in a motorway collision on the M6 in 2018, said: “Early in my campaign I proposed exploring the capabilities of eCall and its vital position in the post-crash element of the safe system. VESOS have been working extremely hard in this space bringing to life an innovative evidence-based technological solution that could save so many lives. My heartfelt congratulations and thanks goes to the team for continuing with their work to make this a reality and our roads safer.”

Steve Gooding from the RAC Foundation said: “The rationale for eCall is to put the emergency services in a position to respond swiftly when things go wrong. This project reveals how the system could be used to much better effect, cutting response times while automatically and accurately providing key information such as the location of the vehicle, not only for the 999 services but also to highway managers, including National Highways. The imperative now must be to accelerate the adoption of this approach from innovation-award-winner to becoming standard practice.”

Cllr Andy Crump, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Fire and Rescue and Community Safety, Said: “We were very glad to be part of this project and learn more about eCall and how it could benefit Warwickshire. As the Road Safety Partnership has adopted safe system working, a project like this with its post-collision element help us to improve emergency response times and give better emergency care. This work all contributes to our target of 50% reduction of killed or serious injuries casualties by 2030.”

VESOS is co-owned by road safety expert and former police inspector Andy Rooke, Telematics traffic business consultant Danny Woolard, connected vehicle expert Andy Graham and traffic operations design expert Alan Gentle.

(Picture courtesy of VESOS, L-R Andy Rooke, Alan Gentle, Andy Graham, and DfT Chief Scientific Adviser Sarah Sharples)

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Responding to collisions, stranded vehicles and potentially vulnerable drivers is a priority for the UK’s emergency services. Faster response and detailed information regarding the vehicle are the focus of the project awarded to start-up company VESOS Solutions. It has received a grant from the 2022 Transport Research and Innovation Grants (TRIG) programme, which is delivered by Connected Places Catapult on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT).

Until now, eCall, which has been mandated on all newly approved cars and lights vans since 2018, has focussed on the voice channel which is initiated when the airbag triggers or the SOS button is pressed. VESOS’s TeCall project will further analyse data sent by eCall in real time and create a ‘proof of concept’ demonstrator. In the event of a collision with an airbag activation, it can almost instantly provide emergency services and highway operators with vital enhanced information detailing a vehicle’s exact location, the vehicle make and model and propulsion type, and other data that enables them to respond more effectively and better prepared.

The TeCall project will ensure only genuine and validated eCall data is presented to emergency services and road operators with false alarms filtered out and data then presented automatically into emergency Command and Control systems.

The project aims to demonstrate benefits across all road types to Fire, Police and Paramedics, in addition to benefits to road operators shown in an earlier project awarded to VESOS to study use of eCall for generating faster responses to incidents.

On rural roads, where statistically 60% of annual road deaths occur, the automatic sharing of the exact location will get help to more people during the “platinum 15 minutes” for trauma interventions. Before heading to a collision, firefighters, paramedics and doctors will be better prepared, knowing what vehicle they will find – for example an electric vehicle – and where exactly they need to go.

Over one in four cars and vans on UK roads now have eCall. There are now more than 10,000 UK alerts every month and around one automated activation every hour.

The project is being supported Warwickshire and Surrey Fire and Rescue Services, with other county FRS targeted to join the project. In addition VESOS has secured the support of Agilysis who will assist in analysing historical post-crash data. VESOS hope to identify whether there are vulnerable people in the vehicle, how many occupants are on board, and whether they are in hazardous locations such as on motorway running lanes or slip roads.

“eCall has been mandatory for five years, but up until now its true life-saving value has not been realised,” commented VESOS co-owner and former Police Inspector Andy Rooke, who has worked on eCall for 20 years. “So far, emergency services have largely used the voice aspect of eCall, but that – while still beneficial – relies on people in the vehicle being conscious, able to speak and hear. We can achieve far greater benefit if we use the data aspect too.”

The first VESOS project undertaken for National Highways in 2019 showed how eCall could detect incidents and stopped vehicles faster by using data direct from the vehicle. “This was the trigger to set up VESOS as an eCall solutions company” says co-owner and telematics specialist Danny Woolard. “This new TRIG22 award will enable us to take TeCall to Proof of Concept and develop new use cases, particularly for the emergency services, and help identify vulnerable drivers. The time savings from eCall have been shown in studies across Europe to save lives by getting the right response to the scene quickly.”

This project will run for six months and will enable VESOS to develop its intellectual property to a demonstrable platform. VESOS is co-owned by Andy Rooke and Danny Woolard along with TTF Connected Vehicle Working Group chair Andy Graham and traffic operations design and development professional Alan Gentle.

(Picture courtesy of VESOS)

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The project, supported by the Transport Technology Forum and announced by ITS UK CEO Max Sugarman at the TTF Conference in Leeds, will investigate which markets are the top priority for UK ITS businesses, with the aim of informing how Government and industry best support the sector in exporting more overseas.

ITS UK is asking businesses from across the industry to respond to a short 10-minute survey, providing information on their attitudes to exporting. The survey is for companies of all sizes, including those providing both products and services and is applicable to those who currently export and those that don’t.

Mr Sugarman (pictured ) said: “We know the UK is highly-regarded across the globe for its expertise and knowledge in intelligent transport, with British businesses working on projects around the world.

“The ITS Exports Study, launched with the support of the Transport Technology Forum, is about helping ITS businesses by identifying those countries which the sector sees as priority markets, and understanding what government and industry bodies like ITS UK can do to support companies looking to expand internationally.

“I’d urge all companies, whatever your size and whether you’re an established exporter or never exported before, to provide input into our survey and help us identify how we can best support ITS providers in securing new overseas opportunities, helping to make our transport technology sector a truly global industry.”

(Picture – TTF/ITS UK)

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The company, which delivers sustainability solutions, connectivity, and smart and digital infrastructure technology to local authorities and national governments, is sponsoring the two-day conference which involves more than 200 delegates, including representatives from more than 60 local councils and combined authorities.

Clearview’s Head of Technical Sales Pete Cattell will present a paper “From Policy to Pavement” which will challenge whether government policies alone are enough to make a change happen, and whether there is additional support needed from business.

Mr Cattell will also ask how can anyone be sure that the policies are being implemented, are they having the desired effect and what can SMEs do to help.  The presentation, part of a session looking at the importance of transport technology for future changes, looks to analyse how the private and public sectors work together to solve transport challenges and ask how things can be done better and more efficiently to deliver solutions quicker and more effectively.

Clearview’s solutions include its environmentally-friendly SolarLite solar-powered LED road studs for emission-free delineation, and wired Intelligent Road Studs for intersection safety, through its Connex Active real-time Pedestrian and Bicycle Classifier to its cutting-edge Insight multi-modal smart mobility platform.

“I’m delighted to be speaking at such an important, high profile event,” Mr Cattell said.  “We have a room full of people from across the sector who can make a difference, and I’m excited to lead the discussion on collaboration.  It would be easy to use this event as a chance to just promote our products and services, but that misses the point of the what the conference is trying to achieve, so I will be there sharing insights based on nearly 35 years in the sector, and hope that we can continue to take the conversation forward.”

It will be a busy week for Clearview, which is also exhibiting at the major ITS America Conference and Expo in Dallas as the company looks to expand its traffic safety and management technology business in the US.

(Picture shows Peter Cattell speaking at the TTF Autumn Update in Manchester, 2022)

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The data-driven systems and use cases which deliver digital traffic management used by local authorities and the ITS industry are providing to plan and deliver road network management.

The latest research, in terms of a survey, will lead to guidance on the best way to deliver new technology solutions, particularly tools which leverage real-time data and modelling to support delivery of network management duties, such as the Traffic Management Act 2004.

Consultants WSP are undertaking the questionnaire for the DfT. It will use it to learn about authorities’ projects/case studies that you may have undertaken as part of your network management.

They write: “We are especially interested to hear about how you’ve used technology (including exploiting real-time data) to digitally plan (eg use of real-time data and predictive modelling), control and deliver real-time improvement (eg digital cameras, AI to improve traffic management systems) to your management of the network. This technology could be already available or ‘near-market’ (ready for traditional procurement through CCS frameworks or open procurement).”

To take part in this survey click here.

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The data-driven systems and use cases which deliver digital traffic management used by local authorities and the ITS industry are providing to plan and deliver road network management.  The latest research, in terms of a survey, will lead to guidance on the best way to deliver new technology solutions, particularly tools which leverage real-time data and modelling to support delivery of network management duties, such as the Traffic Management Act 2004.

Consultants WSP are undertaking the questionnaire for the DfT. It will use it to learn about authorities’ projects/case studies that you may have undertaken as part of your network management.

They write: “We are especially interested to hear about how you’ve used technology (including exploiting real-time data) to digitally plan (eg use of real-time data and predictive modelling), control and deliver real-time improvement (eg digital cameras, AI to improve traffic management systems) to your management of the network. This technology could be already available or ‘near-market’ (ready for traditional procurement through CCS frameworks or open procurement).

To take part in this survey click here.

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Download the short report here and the longer version here.

(Image: UKRI)

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Digital Roads is a broad concept encompassing increased use of information technology, data and connectivity to allow a step-change in the way roads are designed, built, managed and used, enabling future safer forms of mobility.

The Digital Local Roads report is authored by TRL, with specialist contributions from Ringway and Vinci Highways as local and strategic highways providers, while professional services organisation Jacobs provides the digital transportation solutions, and Ordnance Survey is mapping and data provider. This team has worked with Government, specifically the Department for Transport through the Transport Technology Forum, along with the Local Government Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT), and Innovate UK. They are publishing the report setting out a vision, both nationally and locally, for Digital Local Roads.

The report suggests that an opportunity exists to meet coming challenges by harnessing the growth in connected digital technologies, for which they have adopted the term “Digital Local Roads”.

It goes on to say the that the case for Digital Local Roads is growing because of “unprecedented challenges” in the transport industry caused by climate change, budgetary pressures, and the exponential pace of technological development.

The report calls on the Government to deliver a vision, strategy and roadmap for Digital Local Roads, along with a holistic definition of the transport network, funding, standards and training to accelerate progress.  Local Authorities are encouraged to develop Digital Local Roads strategies and action plans that will support their local goals, and to encourage innovation, share expertise and collaborate in regional development programmes.  Industry is urged to be proactive in bringing Digital Local Road solutions to authorities, sharing the benefits and lessons learned across contracts.

“Embracing the opportunities that digital technology offer is a significant element of the jigsaw puzzle that is future transport,” explained ADEPT President Mark Kemp.  This is an important piece of work and I am grateful to those who contributed to its development.  We must all take on the challenges presented by this work in order to support the development of the highways and transport industry over the next ten years.”

Read the report here.

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