The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) will highlight how advanced adaptive technologies can be used to help enhance and improve urban traffic management during this week’s NATRANS Expo 2016, the GCC’s (Gulf Cooperation Council) leading future transport technology and ITS trade show.
TRL is the knowledge partner for the event, which is being held from October 25-26 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). This year’s NATRANS Expo will be composed of two main conferences: the first one covering the important role of the Internet of Things (IoT) in smart transportation; and the other on Sustainable Transportation.
TRL, which has been working across the Middle East for over a decade, will play a major role at the event. Akin Adamson, TRL’s director for the Middle East, will give the opening address on both the days of the Expo, and he will also moderate a panel discussion on the topic Future of Transportation with Innovation as a Driver. Meanwhile, TRL program manager George Zakhem will hold a unique workshop on autonomous vehicles that will discuss the various advantages and also challenges in the implementation of the technologies, under the heading Autonomous Vehicles as the Future of Transport in Smart Cities.
During NATRANS, the company will highlight the importance of SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimization Technique), a cost effective intelligent transport system (ITS), and how it can be used as a solution to address urban traffic issues. At the IoT Smart Transportation conference, Tawab Kazemi, UAE country director and head of transportation for TRL, will give a presentation on SCOOT, the most advanced adaptive signal control system in the world, responding automatically to fluctuations in traffic flow through the use of vehicle detectors. He will also highlight the significance of signalizing road networks, traffic light control and coordination, and the implementation of an optimized signal timings plan.
“With the constant increasing vehicular traffic, persistent traffic jams, and rising number of accidents especially in urban areas, advanced adaptive technologies can help to enhance urban traffic management,” said Kazemi.
“Intelligent transportation systems have emerged as a cost effective technology that bear a pivotal potential to overcome these difficulties. This technology enables a new broad range of smart city applications around urban sensing, including traffic safety, traffic congestion control, road state monitoring, vehicular warning services, and parking management. We are proud to participate at NATRANS Expo this year and look forward to the opportunity of meeting and interacting with various transport authorities and government bodies from the GCC, who are looking at embracing the advanced technologies for the ‘Future of Transport’ in the region.”
Recent industry reports have shown that the Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy, an initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is expected to help transform 25% of the Emirates’ transportation into autonomous transportation by the year 2030, collectively saving AED22bn (US$5.9bn) in annual economic costs.
