Exeter City Council and Devon County Council in the UK in partnership with a consortium led by global IT services provider NTT DATA launched a two-year intelligent transport project for the area.
The Engaged Smart Transport project identifies solutions to minimise traffic congestion in and around Exeter, a city in Devon, south-west England.
The project will make use of real-time traffic and weather sensor data, along with other data sources such as behavioural information to better understand the factors impacting a person’s behaviour on the road.
“I’m really thrilled to be applying our Japanese smart transportation expertise to helping the people of Exeter.”
The consortium has been awarded match funding by Innovate, the UK Government’s innovation agency.
NTT DATA will lead the consortium of traffic experts and specialist providers.
The consortium members’ expertise include smart transportation and technology, programme management and customer experience capabilities from NTT DATA, intelligent transport systems from Imtech Traffic & Infra, and environmental sensors from Finland’s Vaisala. They aim to provide information on local weather and road conditions, behavioural research into real-time travel decision-making from the University of Exeter, and trend analysis, prediction and citizen engagement through social media from Black Swan.
Devon County Council cabinet member Andrew Leadbetter said: “Technology is rapidly changing and this is a great opportunity to work with industry experts making best use of the vast amount of data various organisations hold to help manage our transport network.”
Exeter has a development plan that aims to deliver 12,000 new homes, 60ha of new business land, and 40,000m² of new retail space by 2026. In this context, it is critical to understand how existing road capacity can be effectively managed.
With the use of existing and new data from a range of sources such as sensor technology, social media feedback and the latest traffic algorithm technology, the Engaged Smart Transport project will provide insight into population movement, which will help road authorities to tackle real-world traffic issues.
NTT DATA public sector head Anna Price said: “The Engaged Smart Transport project is a first-time investment by NTT DATA’s R&D department here in the UK and I’m really thrilled to be applying our Japanese smart transportation expertise to helping the people of Exeter.”
