These awards not only look at new and exciting technology systems and equipment, but also consider a wide range of ancilliary aspects that support the operation of ITS infrastructure as a whole.
The winner of the 2024 @ITS Now Innovation Award - Yunex Traffic - Actis Traffic Signal. The most impressive aspect for this new traffic signal head is its' capability of operating at just 1w (albeit in certain conditions), but this has been a holy grail within signals since LED technology were first introduced to the sector. This will have an enormous impact on reducing electrical consumption, particularly when used with Yunex's Plus+ system. But the innovation doesn't stop there, the optical units are designed so that no glue is used in the unit's manufacture, and they also use a toolless design, vastly aiding recycling when they're life expired. In addition, the body of the signals has been redesigned, with a single door and rear for the three aspects. This has been done to decrease the amount of plastic used, dramatically reducing the resources required to make them. It was interesting to see that even the brackets used to hang the heads, have had a design overhaul, although they retain compatibility with existing pole mounts. The level of detail which Yunex has gone to should be an example to all manufacturers, not just in the ITS sector, that even well-established products can be re-engineered to achieve significant improvements, with enhanced environmental benefits.
2nd Place - Vortex IOT - VTX Air. Although the sensors in this air-quality monitor uses pretty standard technology, the aspect that drew our attention was the mesh communications infrastructure they use, so a large number of units can be installed across a city to provide excellent levels of granularity for air quality measurements, without having to use a complicated communications infrastructure.
3rd Place - Nomad Traffic Counting Systems. A range of pedestrian and cycle detectors which are discreetly installed into wooden or recycled plastic posts, which are installed adjacent to a footpath or cycleway. The units provide daily updates from the cloud, so that data is easily accessible, allowing active transport modes to be promoted by using accurate information.
>>Click on the 2024 Award to see the @ITSNow episode, or on the individual company logos to find out more about them.
The winner of the 2023 @ITS Now Innovation Award - The Yunex Traffic, Fusion Urban Traffic Control system. This moves forward from the existing capabilities used by the majority of highway authorities in the UK, and is currently being trialled in London and Hampshire, and is due for general release later this year. The importance of this new UTC platform cannot be understated, it is as big a development as SCOOT was when it was first introduced by TrL in the 1970s.
2nd Place - Traffic Group Signals, Metro temporary traffic signal, and in particular the software configuration for this, which is a very sophisticated and capable package.
3rd Place - PTC 3 traffic signal controller from Swarco. This includes a very capable technology platform which features a number of innovations.
>>Click on the 2023 Award to see the @ITSNow episode, or on the individual company logos to find out more about them.
The winner of the 2022 @ITS Now Innovation Award - The AGD Systems - AGD650 AI detector. This integrates Artificial Intelligence within an above ground detector to provide enhanced capabilities, including the reliable classification of different classes of vehicular traffic and active users. This optical based technology works with both moving and stationary targets, and retains compatibility with existing traffic signal equipment, with everything housed in the above ground detector.
2nd Place - NAL - LIFTlock, a simple but effective way to open access chamber lids, a great example of innovation to overcome an age-old problem.
3rd Place - Liveable Cities - SmartLinx Smart City Sensors . A range of sensors which can be installed into street lighting luminaires using the lighting controller to add capabilities including CCTV and noise monitoring, whilst still switching lighting as required.
>>Click on the 2022 Award to see the @ITSNow episode, or on the individual company logos to find out more about them.