Manchester trials connected vehicle tech at traffic lights
Source: Smart Cities World
The trial uses open data provided by TRL Software’s Scoot 7 traffic management software to create a demonstration app that helps drivers minimise wait times.
A connected vehicle technology trial in Manchester is using open data and an app to help minimise drivers’ wait times at traffic lights.
KL Systems, an intelligent transport consultancy and engineering firm, is using freely available data from TRL’s Scoot 7 software to generate in-vehicle alerts to inform drivers of the time left to the next change of lights.
In-vehicle messages
The trial is part of a wider deployment that also examines the provision of in-vehicle messages that can instantly alert drivers to hazards on the road.
KL Systems reports that thanks to the Scoot 7 data provided by TRL Software, it can show that live second-by-second traffic light information can be fed to vehicles without the need for additional, expensive hardware.
The KL Systems app tells the driver how long they have until the next change of lights and the optimal speed to drive at in order to minimise time spent at red lights. According to KL Systems, although this is not the first Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (Glosa) deployment, it is one of the few ones still active and providing real world benefits.
“Once we had created the app for displaying the information to the driver and then successfully linked it up to interpret the data that Scoot 7 was firing into the cloud, there was no need to install any hardware, or take any down afterwards,” said George Brown, founder of KL Systems.
“The open data is still being transmitted, because that’s what Scoot 7 does, and our app continues to work with it.”