Transportation and Logistics
This field deals with all spatial and time-related activities involved in bridging the gap between goods and people, including their restructuring. This begins with the supplier and follows each stage of the operational value chain to product delivery and concludes with product disposal and recycling.
innovations-report provides informative reports and articles on such topics as traffic telematics, toll collection, traffic management systems, route planning, high-speed rail (Transrapid), traffic infrastructures, air safety, transport technologies, transport logistics, production logistics and mobility.
Car of the future now in Southampton
A revolutionary new car, which averages more than 200 miles per gallon in the city, is being developed at the University of Southampton.
Postgraduate research student Dennis Doerffel has turned a hatchback into a hybrid electric car. It uses the latest lithium ion batteries linked to a small petrol engine, which cuts in automatically if more power or range is required.
He said: “More than 90 per cent of all car journeys are less than 50 miles long. That is the range of the battery and it
A New Tool to Help Keep Roads Ice- and Snow-Free
Testing Begins This Winter
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are testing a Web-based system for weather forecasting and winter road treatment that could soon save lives, cut costs, and help keep millions of drivers on the move. Highway officials and road crews in Des Moines and Ames, Iowa, will test the Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) February 3 to April 4.
Motor vehicle accidents involving bad weather
A bright idea: Roadside beacons warn motorists of danger ahead
Fog-related pileups such as last month’s 71-car collision in Texas could become a thing of the past with roadside “smart beacons” that use the latest wireless technology to sense wrecks and warn motorists of danger ahead.
So say three University of Florida engineering researchers who this month applied for a patent on the concept for the beacons, which would be placed at regular intervals on roadside rights of way and would flash red or yellow lights to indicate a hazard ahead.
On track for better rail transport in Europe: the EU Strategic Rail Research Agenda
Today in Brussels the European Rail Research Advisory Council (ERRAC) presented a comprehensive Strategic Rail Research Agenda (SRRA), which identifies key scientific and technological priorities for both passenger and freight rail transport over the next 20 years.
ERRAC was created one year ago in Cologne, initiated by European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin. It is the first time that a long-term plan for rail research and technological development has been jointly devised a
Engineering the road to safer streetlighting
An innovative engineering project could lead to fewer night-time accidents on badly lit roads.
It is developing a revolutionary way of assessing whether roads are equipped with appropriate levels of streetlighting.
The new assessment system is quicker, cheaper and more comprehensive than methods previously used. It can also help local authorities avoid the cost of unnecessary streetlight replacement.
The project is being carried out by engineers at Queen’s Univers
Sinking boats raise automatic alarm up to space
At best, a yachtsman far out to sea experiences an exhilarating solitude to equal any space traveller. But too much isolation at sea can give rise to loneliness, disorientation and multiple dangers.
A new ESA-developed technology enables boat crews to check their positions, stay in constant contact with shore, receive urgent emergency warnings, and enable friends and family to remotely track them on the internet.
If a boat becomes dangerously water-logged or its power system is o