System focuses on commercial 3G and 4G LTE as well as location cloud technology and data analytics
HERE, provider of mapping, navigation and location experiences, and the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment are together evaluating the deployment of a cellular network-based Cooperative Intelligent Transportation System (C-ITS) for improving road safety and reducing congestion in the Netherlands.
The evaluation focuses on a system utilising standard commercial 3G and 4G LTE cellular networks as well as location cloud technology and data analytics from HERE to connect smartphones and other devices, road infrastructure and traffic management centres. The system would serve as an efficient low latency data exchange mechanism, whereby targeted information – about, for example, an accident or black ice – could be communicated to the right people at the right time and location.
HERE has agreed to support Beter Benutten, the ministry’s comprehensive programme to optimise the efficiency of the country’s transportation networks through innovative solutions, with a demonstration of the technology in Amsterdam during the Netherlands’ Presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2016.
Caspar de Jonge, project manager for Beter Benutten, said: “The vast majority of Dutch adults are using smartphones and, increasingly, cars and infrastructure are getting connected to the Internet. There is an opportunity to take advantage of this connectivity to improve road safety and traffic flow in the next few years.
“In particular, in 2016, we want to start deploying a road user messaging system that enables information to be gathered, processed and then distributed to the relevant road-users with quality, accuracy and at sub-second delivery rates. HERE will demonstrate to us that it can tick those boxes,” concluded Jonge.
Ogi Redzic, senior vice president of Automotive, HERE, said: “The ministry has been keen to explore the potential of cellular networks in improving mobility in the Netherlands. HERE’s solution can be built on existing Dutch networks, meaning that it wouldn’t cost the earth, could be quickly rolled out across the whole country and would bring benefits to citizens relatively fast. The Netherlands is regarded as a C-ITS trailblazer in Europe, so we’re looking forward to showcasing what we can do in the Amsterdam demo next year.”
The cooperation between HERE and the Ministry for Infrastructure and Environment to demonstrate a showcase in the Netherlands, is in part a direct result of the country’s ambitions to foster innovation, strengthen its competitive position and be a frontrunner in the area of cooperative ITS, self driving cars and smart mobility as a whole.
