A multilingual signage system project has helped the Intelligent Transport Solutions (ITS) team at VPS Security Services win a major new award for its innovative use of technologies to improve transport and mobility in the UK.
The inaugural TRANStech Awards have been established to recognize imagination and innovation by those using technology to improve the UK’s transport system. They recognize and reward excellence and achievement in both established and emerging areas of mobility and transport, that benefit road users and society as a whole. The VPS Group won the Transport Technology Business of the Year Award for its commitment to improving future mobility through the application of innovative systems. Selected by an independent panel of expert judges drawn from across the transport industry, other TRANStech Award winners included, Ford, Uber, Karhoo, ViaVan, Addison Lee, Appyparking, and Transport for London (TfL)
Widely reported in the press and TV in July this year, Highways England (HE) trialed a new multilingual road sign system that was developed by VPS. Together with HW Martin (Traffic Management) and Rennicks UK, the company deployed mobile CCTV Towers carrying automatic licence plate recognition (ALPR) cameras along approach roads to the M6 motorway in Cumbria to help truck drivers from overseas. By identifying foreign truck drivers in advance of roadworks, the system transmitted messages to electronic signs such as ‘Road Closed Ahead’ in their native language, depending on the country of origin for a license plate. The languages used in the pilot were Spanish, German, French, Polish, Romanian, Dutch, Lithuanian, Slovak and Hungarian.
“Our ITS team are passionate about improving future mobility through Smartzone Safety Systems. To meet individual’s and communities’ increased expectations on mobility we must deploy better integrated technologies,” commented the VPS Group’s chief operating officer, Darron Cavanagh. “We’re delighted, for example, with the response to our multilingual variable road signs project, combining foreign number plate recognition with sustainable wireless CCTV systems”
Phil Bunting, VPS’ director responsible for the ITS team, added, “We’re a new generation of entrepreneurs who are investing in rewriting the model for how we travel. As part of our Smartzone Safety System, integrating technologies enables us to deliver a whole raft of intelligent traffic solutions that can help improve transport and safety for everyone.”
