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Hamburg port to extend use of diverse autonomous drones

January 30, 2022

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Hamburg port to extend use of diverse autonomous dronesOperators of Hamburg’s port partner with UAV services company HHLA Sky to operate a control platform for increased use of autonomous drones

Operators of Hamburg’s port last year took the lead among major European transport and logistics hubs working to integrate autonomous drones and robotic vehicles into their daily activities. Now thye are seeking to extend that through a new partnership with German UAV services company HHLA Sky – a move expected to further expand use of automated aerial, water, and land vehicles across the vast site.

The deal between the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and HHLA Sky was sealed this month, and aims to ratchet up the enormous facility’s pace of incorporating autonomous drones as part of its everyday operational environment. HPA has said the full integration of HHLA Sky’s navigation, traffic management, and digital logistics flow and monitoring services will accelerate its effort to transform the port – Europe’s largest in terms of volume – into an innovative and intelligent transport hub through the effective use of automated craft.

That is central to HPA’s objective of creating a U-Space model that rivals will have to try to match. Central to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) concept for managing increasing drone use by all kinds of government, business, and service providers, U-Spaces will frame and orchestrate UAV and autonomous robotic operations within wider environments of vehicle and human activity. The EASA has given EU members until the start of next year to begin implementing future U-Space functions.

HPA easily beat that deadline by beginning its project last July. Creation and testing of the port’s U-Space was underwritten by a $1.2 million grant from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, which will draw off that experience to support establishment of similar drone airspaces, navigation systems, and infrastructure around the country.

HPA eagerly accepted the challenge of becoming the national – and possibly global – leader in U-Space development and operation. Now it says it wants to extend its lead with HHLA Sky by exploring new logistical, traffic, and task performance capabilities through increased deployment of autonomous drones around the port

“In the event of storm surges, accidents, or other unforeseeable disruptions, flying, floating or self-driving robots can be on-site considerably faster and provide high-resolution videos and pictures for an exact overview of the situation,” says HPA executive board chair Jens Meier, by way of example. “The time saved can be decisive in an emergency. Furthermore, they make the maintenance and expansion of the port infrastructure significantly more efficient – for example, in the case of facilities that are difficult, time-consuming, or dangerous to reach.”

Under their new partnership, HPA will entrust monitoring, coordination, and management of all autonomous drone and robotic vehicles operating in the port to HHLA Sky’s over-arching control platform.

“Our solution will display and control all associated processes in a safe and understandable manner,” says Matthias Gronstedt, managing director of HHLA Sky. “Furthermore, the HPA is able to collect very different kinds of data using mobile teleoperated sensors. Analyzing it helps us use resources optimally.”

https://www.civilengineering.ai/hamburg-port-to-extend-use-of-diverse-autonomous-drones/

Mayor of London announces ambitious plans to tackle poor air quality and carbon emissions

January 30, 2022

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Mayor of London announces ambitious plans to tackle poor air quality and carbon emissions

Mayor of London announces plans to tackle poor air quality and emissionsA new report commissioned by the Mayor of London outlines the scale of the action required to move London towards a greener future.

A new report commissioned by the Mayor of London, which is being called a stark wake-up call for the UK government, outlines the scale of the action required to move London towards a greener future.

A new report published on 18 January 2021 by Element Energy, commissioned by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, sets out the scale of the action required to move London towards a greener future and net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.

The new analysis shows that more action will be required by City Hall, particularly around reducing vehicle use in London, but that the Mayor does not have the funding or powers to deliver everything that’s required alone. Khan is calling the report a stark wake-up call for the UK government on the need to provide much greater support to help London to reach net-zero by 2030 and to help the UK to reach its national target, which was announced before COP26.

Combatting transport emissions in London

Between 2000 and 2018, London achieved a 57 per cent reduction in workplace greenhouse gas emissions and a 40 per cent reduction in emissions from homes, but just a seven per cent reduction in emissions from transport.

In order to reduce transport emissions by anywhere close to the amount that will be required to clean up London’s air, achieve net-zero by 2030 and cut congestion, the capital will have to see a significant shift away from petrol and diesel vehicle use and towards walking and cycling, greater public transport use and cleaner vehicles. At the moment, just two per cent of vehicles on the roads in London are electric.

The Mayor has already taken ground breaking action to tackle toxic air, carbon emissions and congestion in the capital by introducing and then expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and tightening Low Emission Zone (LEZ) standards – which is expected to lead to a five per cent fall in CO2 emissions from cars and vans in the zone and a 30 per cent cut in toxic nitrogen oxide emissions from road transport. But the new report shows how much more action is required.

The cost of inaction

The Mayor has said that the cost of inaction – to the economy, livelihoods, the environment and the health of Londoners – would be far greater than the cost of taking the necessary action to transition to net-zero and reduce air pollution.

In 2021, London saw the impact of the climate emergency first-hand with soaring temperatures and flash floods in the capital. City Hall analysis has shown that, if extreme temperatures and flooding get worse, a quarter of London’s rail stations, one in five schools, nearly half of London’s hospitals and hundreds of thousands of homes and workplaces will be at risk of flooding in the future.

The capital has seen a shift to driving during the pandemic, with the cost of congestion rising to over £5 billion in 2021, leading to gridlocked roads and toxic air pollution. The number of miles being driven in the capital has increased in recent years, despite statistics showing that more than a third of car trips in London could be made in under 25 minutes by walking, and that two-thirds could be cycled in less than 20 minutes.

The toxic air pollution being caused by London traffic is leading to nearly 4,000 premature deaths a year and children growing up with stunted lungs. The action already committed by the Mayor will reduce the number of air quality-related hospital admissions by one million by 2050, helping to save the NHS and social care system approximately £5 billion. However, if no additional action is taken to reduce air pollution beyond the existing polices, around 550,000 Londoners would develop diseases attributable to air pollution over the next 30 years and the cumulative cost to the NHS and the social care system is estimated to be £10.4 billion.

The Mayor believes that this is also a matter of social justice – with air pollution hitting the poorest communities the hardest. Londoners on lower incomes are more likely to live in areas of the city most badly affected by air pollution and least likely to own a car. Nearly half of Londoners don’t own a car, but they are disproportionally feeling the damaging consequences that polluting vehicles are causing.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/mayor-of-london-announces-ambitious-plans-to-tackle-poor-air-quality-and-carbon-emissions/

Uber acquires Australian company Car Next Door

January 30, 2022

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Uber acquires Australian company Car Next Door

Uber acquires Australian company Car Next DoorUber continues to offer Australians an alternative to private car ownership by acquiring peer-to-peer car-sharing platform Car Next Door.

Uber is continuing to offer Australians an alternative to private car ownership by acquiring peer-to-peer car-sharing platform Car Next Door, giving riders a new option for trips less suited to ride-sharing.

On 20 January 2022, Uber announced that it has acquired Car Next Door, an Australian company first launched in Sydney in 2012 that offers convenient access to cars for renters, while providing revenue to car owners. The peer-to-peer car-sharing platform makes it easy to turn any car into a shared car.

By adding Car Next Door to its suite of products, Uber hopes to offer Australians with an affordable and convenient alternative to private car ownership, as it would give riders a reliable option for trips that are less suited to ride-sharing, such as running errands at the store or a day trip away. The service operates Australia-wide, with vehicles listed in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide, Hobart, Launceston and Newcastle.

This deal builds on Uber’s ongoing investments in electric vehicles, micro-mobility and public transport to reduce over-reliance on the private vehicle and to help to achieve greener, more liveable cities.

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After acquisition, Car Next Door will report into Uber’s Australian team, but will otherwise operate independently, with its existing leadership team remaining focused on building and scaling their technology in more cities across Australia.

Dom Taylor, General Manager of Uber Australia and New Zealand, said: “This year marks 10 years since both Uber and Car Next Door launched in Australia. A lot has changed in that time, but one thing has stayed constant: a shared vision that we need to make transport not just safe, convenient and affordable – but also sustainable. Over the last decade, Uber has created shared rides options like Uber Pool, invested $800 million globally to drive electric vehicle uptake, and integrated micro-mobility and public transport options into the Uber app.”

Will Davies, CEO and Co-Founder of Car Next Door, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Car Next Door to achieve our mission of ‘freeing people and the planet from the one person, one car mentality’ years before we otherwise could have. By working with Uber, we can scale up our ambitions and look to move Australians away from the over-reliance on the private car, which is damaging our planet and making our cities less liveable.”

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https://www.civilengineering.ai/uber-acquires-australian-company-car-next-door/

Olson Plumbing & Heating - Embracing Benefits of BIM

January 30, 2022

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Olson Plumbing & Heating - Embracing Benefits of BIM

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Faced with the sprawling Centennial High School job, Olson’s CAD department recommended recruiting a relatively new entity in the BIM arena, Uponor BIM Services, to help coordinate the project.

By John O'Reilly

PUEBLO, CO — Perhaps the most powerful trend in commercial construction today is building information modeling, or BIM. With this process, multiple trades closely collaborate around a single, three-dimensional, digital model representing the physical spaces of a construction project.

In short, a project is initially designed and “built” virtually, on screens, so that its subsequent physical construction in the field can go more smoothly and efficiently. The payoffs from this 3D modeling are numerous, but they boil down to improved project execution through better communication and coordination among the trades.

That coordination enables the build team to anticipate and remedy serious clashes and conflicts before any trade steps onto the job site. The results?—Lower costs, less rework, fewer errors, reduced material waste, and improved workforce productivity.

Centennial High School Construction Site | Fall 2021: Early stages of building at the site in Pueblo, Colorado. White pipe is PVC for the school’s underground sanitary system. In the background, block walls for different sections of the school are being erected. The two-story, 185,000-square-foot building broke ground in the spring of 2021 and is slated for completion in 2023.

To better appreciate the practical benefits of BIM, consider a hypothetical hospital-construction project. Imagine an operating room where structural steel for beams, ductwork, lighting, and medical gasses are all fighting for the same small amount of space.

BIM allows for upfront coordination among all trades to predetermine conflict and clash resolution before boots ever hit the ground. Conflict resolution may require the issuance of an RFI (request for information) to the engineers and architects to sort out the conflict and direct the team how to proceed.

If the team can’t internally coordinate, it can sideline plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and structural teams for weeks waiting for the RFI response. If this process is happening at the time of install, it could have considerable impact on the schedule.

Olson P&H: BIM believers

Olson Plumbing & Heating fabrication shop in Colorado Springs: “We felt Centennial would be a really good project for Uponor, given our own emphasis on prefabrication,” says project manager Lana Marsh. Using BIM, Olson can prefabricate 95 percent of the PVC piping installed underground, notes Olson BIM/CAD manager Chris Becker. “Prefabrication makes field installation go substantially faster, a critical necessity for meeting production schedules.” Shown here are 20-foot lengths of PVC, fitted with prefabricated connections, ready for shipment to the job site.

Avoiding jobsite clashes like our hospital example—and the costly delays and productivity headaches they trigger—is a big reason why Olson Plumbing & Heating Co. enthusiastically incorporated BIM several years ago, according to project manager Lana Marsh. The Colorado Springs-based contractor, whose origins go back to 1917, currently pursues a range of commercial projects, with healthcare, hospitals and schools numbered among its specialties.

“BIM is used routinely throughout our Colorado markets,” says Marsh. “We use it on the big projects, for sure, and while smaller remodels lend themselves less to this process, even here we can still use BIM and find value.”

Olson has done jobs for which it was the prime decision-maker on whether to use BIM, she continues. “But typically, the general contractor sets the level of expectations regarding the range of piping diameters our 3D model will show, and how detailed it and the drawings generated from it must be.”

Among BIM’s attractions for Olson is the way it facilitates prefabrication as an alternative to jobsite installation. The more prefab on a project, the better, according to Marsh. Why? A fab shop is, by definition, a more controlled work environment than a jobsite. External and environmental factors, multiple trades, and factors outside of company control give the jobsite many additional safety concerns.

“A fab shop gives us more control over safety factors and allows us to monitor work quality on a tabletop or pipe stand, rather than in the dirt,” says Marsh.

Just as important, prefab allows Olson to “plan and work ahead,” she continues. “It helps us keep pace with all the demanding project schedules being pushed right now. We would struggle to keep up if all of our install work had to take place in the field.”

BIM’s 3D modeling and the different types of digital drawings it produces also help Olson anticipate problems — again, like our hospital example — before they become job-site emergencies.

“The drawings produced through the BIM coordination process identify issues before we ever put a shovel in the ground,” Marsh remarks. “We can get the engineer's input early in the process without holding up the job for weeks, trying to get answers.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/olson-plumbing-heating-embracing-benefits-of-bim/

Go-Ahead Group awarded for carbon cutting initiatives

January 30, 2022

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Go-Ahead Group awarded for carbon cutting initiatives

Go-Ahead Group awarded for carbon cutting initiativesFor the second year in a row, the Carbon Disclosure Project has awarded Go-Ahead with an ‘A minus’ rating for reducing carbon emissions.

For the second year in a row, the Carbon Disclosure Project has awarded Go-Ahead with an ‘A minus’ rating for reducing carbon emissions, the highest score of any UK public transport company. Go-Ahead Group awarded for carbon cutting initiatives

Credit: The Go-Ahead Group

The Go-Ahead Group has announced that it has received an ‘A minus’ rating from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) – an expert group that reviewed more than 13,000 companies worldwide for its 2021 rankings – for the second year in a row. This is the highest score of any UK public transport company.

In just under five years, Go-Ahead has reduced CO2 emissions per vehicle mile by 25 per cent across its UK, Ireland and Singapore bus operations. The group is the largest electric bus operator in the UK and owns one of the largest electric bus garages in Europe – Northumberland Park, in London – which is set to be the site of innovative ‘Bus2Grid’ technology.

Go-Ahead was the pioneer of ‘geo-fenced’ technology in Brighton, with buses that operate in zero-emission mode in the city’s clean air zone, and ‘air filtering’ buses in Southampton. It has also ordered 20 hydrogen-fuelled buses that will come into service in Summer 2022.

The company also saw a five per cent improvement in Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR’s) electric fleet efficiency in 2019/2020, and is committed to improving carbon efficiencies in its rail fleets in the UK, Germany and Norway.

“Public transport is part of the solution for fighting climate change and poor air quality. We therefore need to ensure that we’re doing everything that we can to provide green, clean services for our passengers. Our ‘A minus’ rating shows that there’s still more that we can, and plan, to do to fight climate change, but we’re well on our way,” said Go-Ahead’s Commercial and Customer Director, Mark Anderson.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/go-ahead-group-awarded-for-carbon-cutting-initiatives/

London wins bid to host 2023 sustainable cities summit

January 30, 2022

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London wins bid to host 2023 sustainable cities summit

London wins bid to host 2023 sustainable cities summitLondon has won a bid to host the Ecocity World Summit in June 2023. The summit is the global conference on sustainable cities, and brings together key urban stakeholders every two years from across the globe to focus on actions cities and citizens can take to rebuild our human habitat in balance wit…

London has won a bid to host the Ecocity World Summit in June 2023. The summit is the global conference on sustainable cities, and brings together key urban stakeholders every two years from across the globe to focus on actions cities and citizens can take to rebuild our human habitat in balance with living systems

The hybrid physical-virtual summit will take place 6-8 June 2023 at the Barbican Centre and will convene representatives from communities across the city from school children, academia and professionals to investors, trade associations and political leaders, to share new thinking and maintain the energy and momentum generated by COP26.

A legacy project will deliver a new piece of sustainable infrastructure in London, developed through a collaborative process.

The London Festival of Architecture will provide a month-long backdrop with activation across the city throughout the month of June.

The bid to host the summit was supported by the following:

- UK government

- Mayor of London

- London Councils

- City of London Corporation

- Transport for London

- UK Green Building Council

- Royal Town Planning Institute

- Green Finance Institute

- Bartlett Faculty of Built Environment, UCL.

It was led by New London Architecture (NLA) in partnership with London & Partners, the Barbican Centre and professional conference organisers MCI.

Summit director, Amy Chadwick Till, will lead a programme committee of industry experts to shape and deliver the programme.

sustainable cities summit

‘Sustainability at the top of the global agenda’

Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said: “It’s fantastic news that London will be the host city for the Ecocity World Summit 2023. It has been great to see sustainability at the top of the global agenda in the wake of the COP26 summit, and the Ecocity conference in London will continue the sustainability conversation by bringing together business, political and community leaders from all over the world.

“Global cities have a big role to play in tackling climate change and environmental issues. London has shown its leadership by committing to a Green New Deal to help London become greener and fairer – creating new jobs and skills for Londoners and ensuring London becomes a net zero-carbon city by 2030 and a zero waste city by 2050.

“As the new Chair of C40 Cities, I am working with other Mayors and cities across the world to share ideas and collaborate, and conferences like Ecocity World Summit will help to enhance global cooperation.”

‘Inspiration and tools for cities to deliver on global needs’

Amy Chadwick Till, director of Ecocity World Summit 2023, commented: “Past Ecocity summits have an amazing track-record of enabling tangible local action; I am excited about the opportunity for our London summit partners to drive local change.

“By facilitating global knowledge sharing and highlighting new thinking, projects, and policies frameworks from around the world, we can offer inspiration and tools for cities to deliver on global needs.

Design workshops that tackle real-world briefs, a virtual offer that connects in cities with fewer resources, and city activation through the festival in June will, I hope, leave a powerful positive legacy beyond the 3-day summit itself.”

sustainable cities summit Summit Visual

‘Embracing complexity and creativity at the core of change’

Kirstin Miller, executive director, Ecocity Builders added: “Ecocity Builders is delighted to welcome London as host of Ecocity 2023. Their winning bid, and its ambition to connect communities, ticked all our boxes.

“There was a clear understanding of cities as complex systems with multidisciplinary actors and sectors. More than that, we saw a level-headed approach to networking them all together to achieve ambitious goals and better outcomes.

“There is a lot we can learn from London, and, I think, a lot we can share as well. The most successful cities and neighbourhood are going to be those who figure out how to effectively collaborate and execute their plans. The London bid acknowledges this by embracing complexity and creativity at the core of change.”

https://www.civilengineering.ai/london-wins-bid-to-host-2023-sustainable-cities-summit/

Continuum Industries Chooses Iterative to Optimize Civil Infrastructure Design with Evolutionary Computing

January 27, 2022

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Continuum Industries Chooses Iterative to Optimize Civil Infrastructure Design with Evolutionary ComputingIterative reduced Continuum’s setup and runtime from 48 hours to just three using DVC and CML

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iterative, the MLOps company dedicated to streamlining the workflow of data scientists and machine learning (ML) engineers, today announced Continuum Industries, which provides AI tools for engineering professionals to rapidly design linear infrastructure projects, has chosen Iterative-backed open source projects DVC and CML to optimize evolutionary computing optimization workflows and reduce time to market.

Continuum Industries works with large amounts of geospatial data with evolutionary computing algorithms to optimize the design of infrastructure like railways and roads. While Continuum Industries do not use machine learning algorithms, they face a number of the same problems that MLOps aims to resolve. They were looking for a way to have that data sync with the code and be versioned together. After considering a custom build using basic ML tools offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Continuum chose Iterative tools for their Optioneer product because they allowed it the freedom to freely integrate various ML tools from other vendors into their workflows (like GitHub Actions for CI/CD in training their models), and begin working on test cases immediately.

“With Iterative, we were able to get started right away without having to maintain it ourselves,” said Ivan Chan, AI engineer at Continuum Industries. “Given the incredible time savings it has already provided, we are planning on expanding our use of DVC to also set up our development and testing environment also to experiment versioning and more.”

With Iterative, Continuum Industries is now able to version everything beyond code, including data, and ML pipelines, and experiments, with DVC, run frequent algorithm tests with reproducible results through Continuous Machine Learning (CML), as well as slash support time. The developer time spent on maintaining Continuum's suite of algorithm tests has been reduced from five hours every three weeks down to virtually no time at all. Due to the time savings, the team can invest more resources on model development and optimization.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/continuum-industries-chooses-iterative-to-optimize-civil-infrastructure-design-with-evolutionary-computing/

Atlantia to buy Yunex Traffic from Siemens for $1 billion

January 27, 2022

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Atlantia to buy Yunex Traffic from Siemens for $1 billion

Atlantia to buy Yunex Traffic from Siemens for $1 billionFRANKFURT (Reuters) - Italian infrastructure group Atlantia has agreed to buy Siemens’ Yunex Traffic division for 950 million euros ($1.1 billion) to expand its cutting-edge transport services.

The deal, announced by Siemens on Monday, is expected to close by September.

Atlantia, controlled by the Benetton family, last year clinched a deal to sell its Italian motorway unit Autostrade per l’Italia to end a dispute triggered by the deadly collapse of a motorway bridge operated by Autostrade in Genoa.

The Autostrade sale is expected to add about 8.2 billion euros to Atlantia’s coffers by the end of March, part of which will be used to drive expansion in new sectors.

The acquisition of the German company would deliver savings and new business opportunities when integrated with its existing assets, Atlantia said in a statement.

“We aim to deliver operating and growth synergies between our assets and Yunex ... in the management of infrastructure, services and technological innovation, in order to improve the travel experience,” said Atlantia CEO Carlo Bertazzo.

Atlantia owns motorway toll-road groups including Spanish group Abertis, operates Rome’s airports and controls digital toll payment company Telepass.

Yunex Traffic supplies infrastructure and mobility services including advanced emissions-based dynamic tolling systems, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication solutions, digital traffic lights and street lighting systems.

Dubai, London, Berlin, Bogota and Miami are among its customers for mobility services and infrastructure management.

Atlantia hopes to expand its business in urban areas thanks to Yunex, it said, adding the German company could enter countries where the Italian group has a significant exposure.

“We are certainly keen to expand Yunex Traffic’s business in countries of interest to us, such as Italy, France and Spain,” Atlantia’s CEO told analysts, adding the Intelligent Transport System sector could generate a business value of around 1.5 billion euros a year in those three countries.

Siemens has been simplifying its business in recent years, separating and floating its energy and health equipment divisions as it seeks to become a more focused technology company and lose the conglomerate discount that has weighed on its stock price.

The German engineering company changed the name of the unit to Yunex Traffic from Siemens’ Intelligent Traffic Systems in February as part of preparations for a possible sale.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/atlantia-to-buy-yunex-traffic-from-siemens-for-1-billion/

How engineers can harness more benefits from infrastructure project data

January 27, 2022

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How engineers can harness more benefits from infrastructure project data

How engineers can harness more benefits from infrastructure project data | New Civil EngineerThere is scope to make construction projects more efficient and “greener”, as well as buildings safer, by harnessing the power of data.

However, businesses face a challenge in collecting, organising, structuring and sharing the vast volumes of data generated in the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure in a way that would allow the benefits to be realised across industry.

In addition to digital information models of assets, modern technology is generating and collecting more data than ever. For example, data collected on wearables worn by people on site, to the vibrations of structures measured by sensors during construction and operation to cameras on drones and virtual training simulations.

According to a report by consultancy firm FMI Corporation, 96% of data generated in infrastructure projects is not used and 90% data generated by the engineering and construction industry is unstructured. In many cases, the crucial data in relation to construction components – for example on safety or carbon performance – is not yet produced in a standardised digital format. In addition, sharing of data is not happening across industry yet in a meaningful way. All of these factors can lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities.

When parties do seek to share data, they typically find it more complex than anticipated and can struggle to overcome the challenges.

There may also be a reluctance to share data for commercial and legal reasons, for example because some stakeholders view it as their property or because of concerns around the data being commercially sensitive or subject to legal compliance issues which constrain the ability to share freely. All of these concerns are valid and need checking but this helps demonstrate some of the reasons that data sharing can feel frustratingly elusive to achieve. However, there may be more willingness and ability to share operational performance data on the basis that the organisations can exert greater control over that data without encountering these concerns. Project partners need to be clear at the outset what the aim objectives are for the data sharing is and to clarify any boundaries on the data sharing. There are potential grey areas that need to be considered.

There is a terrific opportunity to share data for the good of our communities and the environment. However, it is important that this is approached carefully so that parties do not put themselves at avoidable risk in their desire to be helpful. The challenges that would prevent successful data sharing have included examples such as using third party data without consent, exclusive rights over data being exercised by technology providers and competition and privacy law concerns preventing data sharing.

A big challenge for construction companies is not just collecting data for data’s sake. It is in understanding the purpose and potential value of the data and how access to it can help in meeting business objectives. In collecting data, the overall process and technology need to be clearly understood and made clear and articulated from the outset.

Excellent data management practices at an organisational level combined with a data strategy at a project level are the best way to achieve success. Standardised, high quality data can benefit the sector. For example:

decarbonisation – carbon emissions data needs to be shared across supply chains to, for example, assist stakeholders to set targets, using common data standards and methodologies to facilitate interoperability.

safety – achieving building safety standards for complex buildings requires a transformation in the way that the asset information requirements are collected and shared over the life of the asset.

operational – sharing of operational data during the construction and operation phases can help to monitor risk, reduce inefficiency and optimise performance.

Well managed data sets and, ultimately, a digital twin of an asset, enables a more systematic, predictive, and reliable approach to management of infrastructure, aiding decision making, reducing risk and increasing productivity.

Anne-Marie Friel is a partner at law firm Pinsent Masons

https://www.civilengineering.ai/how-engineers-can-harness-more-benefits-from-infrastructure-project-data/

Partnership Taps AIoT for Intelligent Wi-Fi Sensing

January 26, 2022

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Partnership Taps AIoT for Intelligent Wi-Fi Sensing

Partnership Taps AIoT for Intelligent Wi-Fi SensingOrigin Wireless and nami.ai’s product will use Wi-Fi radio waves as intelligent sensors in smart home devices

Origin Wireless and nami.ai have introduced a new AIoT platform that uses Wi-Fi access points to bring sensing capabilities to the smallest of smart devices, allowing them to differentiate among humans, pets, robot vacuums, pets and appliances.

Origin’s Wi-Fi sensing software uses AI to track Wi-Fi radio waves. As the waves encounter people, walls and objects, they set off sensors in the software enabling the edge-hosted platform to detect important events, for instance when a person falls over and any effect on their breathing rate.

Nami.ai launched last year to bring privacy-compliant AIoT to connected devices. The company says its machine learning algorithms eschew privacy risks that undermine smart home products. The algorithms encompass firmware, cloud services, application interfaces and user interfaces.

The partnership was first announced last month but it didn’t have a product name until now. It aims to offer companies and brands a unified solution to deploy Wi-Fi sensing in new products, combining intelligent AI algorithms, software and hardware.

By fusing each of the privacy AIoT and Wi-Fi sensing technologies, customers are expected to be able to reduce usage of line-of-sight technologies like computer vision which risk jeopardizing user privacy.

“With the now initiative, we have built a middleware platform guaranteeing privacy from back-end to front-end,” said nami.ai’s CEO Jean-Eudes Leroy.

The turnkey service is expected to reduce lead times for IoT providers as well as internet service providers and tech companies across vertical industries like property, insurance, health care and energy.

In terms of end applications, the platform will be tailored to connected security, building automation, energy efficiency and healthcare. now AIoT will be marketed to both business-to-business and consumer use cases.

Enterprises can hear more about the technology at a virtual seminar hosted by the Now partnership on February 16th and 17th.

The session will be open to questions from attendees and will include a live demo of the Wi-Fi sensing systems and presentation decks.

Leroy said: “We are excited to contribute to elevate an industry from the Internet of Things to the Intelligence of Things.”

“”Non-line-of-sight monitoring technology allows us to fully respect people’s privacy, while bringing unprecedented levels of granularity in digital sensing.”
https://www.civilengineering.ai/partnership-taps-aiot-for-intelligent-wi-fi-sensing/

How can autonomous vehicles contribute to sustainable mobility planning?

January 26, 2022

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How can autonomous vehicles contribute to sustainable mobility planning?

How can autonomous vehicles contribute to sustainable mobility planning?SHOW is the flagship pan-European initiative that is piloting autonomous vehicles (AVs) and working to define a tipping point in AV development timelines to make them a reality of tomorrow. Building upon the 13 relevant use cases identified in the former SPACE project, it is focused on concretising the formula for the feasible and efficient integration of AVs in the public transport network, while quantifying their contribution to the objectives of sustainable mobility planning.

Cities are focusing on developing a more liveable environment, implementing the visions and goals stated in their Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), but are struggling to understand the potential impacts of novel mobility solutions combined with policy actions.

In this context, the deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs) can be either an opportunity or a threat to achieving such goals, depending on the approach defined. The evidence, so far, suggests that the impact of AVs – by either reproducing the privately-owned car, or delivering service schemes competing with established public transport – will lead to a strong increase in vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT). The first scenario would clearly lead to more car traffic, whereas the second may bring better mobility (fewer parked cars, improved access to public transport) but less efficiency overall (smaller vehicles replacing buses, trains and less active mobility).

However, if transport authorities take a proactive role to operate AV fleets cooperatively by integrating with their public transport network and other sustainable solutions, there is a strong opportunity to reach desired outcomes. This third scenario would enhance the public transport network with AVs and shared mobility services of different sizes, potentially enabling the opportunity to transport every citizen to their destination with up to 80 per cent fewer cars1.

As a result, this scenario represents a promising alternative to car ownership: (i) it offers seamless door-to-door mobility (for people and freight) that is both comfortable and convenient through a combination of services; (ii) provides the service at lower operational costs (driverless); (iii) improves energy efficiency and air quality (fewer cars, more fleet electrification); (iv) enhances accessibility to key services for less mobile persons; and (v) improves safety due to fewer human errors (related to 90 per cent of road accidents), contributing to ‘Vision Zero’. Thus resulting in more accessible, healthier, greener, more inclusive and safer cities, as well as in suburban and rural areas.

SPACE: Paving the way for AV deployment

Aiming to coordinate the proactive efforts of different operators and authorities worldwide, in 2018, the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) launched the SPACE project (Shared Personalised Automated Connected vEhicles)2 – a global initiative to contribute to placing public transportation at the centre of the AV revolution and building a combined transport ecosystem.

An important focus of this multi-stakeholder initiative, involving 50 international entities, was on tailoring AVs to different specific realities where they could add value. AVs provide many opportunities for better urban mobility services, but how they can best be integrated depends on the characteristics of the area. Under this premise, the SPACE partners defined the first list of 13 relevant use cases for integrated AVs to be deployed in environments with different densities, targeting different users3, as presented in the table below.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/how-can-autonomous-vehicles-contribute-to-sustainable-mobility-planning/

Concrete-AI draws investors, recruits Master Builders veteran

January 26, 2022

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Concrete-AI draws investors, recruits Master Builders veteran

Concrete-AI draws investors, recruits Master Builders veteran – Concrete ProductsMix design software developer Concrete-AI has raised $2 million in a seed financing round with participation by the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, a prominent family office, and other marquee investors. The investment will accelerate rollout of the firm’s pioneering data science platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to optimize supply chains and materials selection, and bring new efficiencies to concrete mixture design, proportioning and production. The platform delivers unparalleled reductions in the cost and embodied carbon of ready mixed and precast concrete without changing production methods or materials.

Concurrent with the financing round, Concrete-AI appointed Ryan Henkensiefken as vice president of Business Development, who arrives after more than a decade in concrete and chemicals. Most recently, he was market development manager for Master Builders Solutions, transitioning to that role after serving in business development and engineering capacities for Central Concrete Supply, a U.S. Concrete company.

Henkensiefken will assist Concrete-AI colleagues engaged in pre-commercial platform piloting with several of the largest cement, concrete and chemical admixture producers, including Summit Materials; U.S. Concrete, a Vulcan Materials company; and, Votorantim Cimentos (Prairie Material). The platform has been shown to reduce ready mixed concrete material costs and embodied carbon footprint by up to 10 percent and 50 percent, respectively. It achieves these reductions by applying AI/ML-enabled optimization to predict the performance of concrete as a function of its mixture proportions, and the characteristics of coarse or fine aggregates, supplementary cementitious materials, plus chemical admixture type and dosage. The result is a highly optimized, cost-effective concrete that fulfills all engineering performance characteristics such as slump, set time and strength, while utilizing locally available raw materials to ensure safety, longevity and code compliance.

Concrete-AI’s AI/ML approach for mix proportioning helps solve some of the biggest challenges producers face: concrete overdesign; embodied carbon level attributable to cement; increasing material cost; and, diminishing margins. Traditionally, because it has been difficult to predict how the constituents of a mixture will affect finished slab or structure performance, concrete formulations have been overdesigned such that they contain excess cement. In the U.S. alone, Concrete-AI contends, this tendency costs the industry more than $1 billion annually and results in 10 million tonnes of incremental carbon dioxide emissions associated with cement production. If Concrete-AI were adopted globally, annual CO2 emissions from cement and concrete production could be reduced upward 500 million tonnes.

“Concrete-AI offers the construction sector a one-of-a-kind, capital-light, rapidly deployable, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that brings new performance and sustainability efficiencies to concrete production while leveraging existing supply chains, manufacturing processes, and the power of data,” says CEO Alex Hall. “To reduce the embodied carbon footprint of concrete construction projects, we must use materials effectively and efficiently. Concrete-AI enables this while ensuring safety, peak engineering performance and sustainability by optimizing the use of cement, aggregates, and diverse SCMs in concrete, in an unparalleled manner by a data-driven approach. At a time when states and the federal government are increasingly requiring and incentivizing the reduction of embodied carbon in the built environment, Concrete-AI offers the industry the leading data-driven solution for ensuring cost-effective and sustainable construction.”

The core Concrete-AI technology was developed at the University of California, Los Angeles’ Institute for Carbon Management (ICM) by Gaurav Sant and Mathieu Bauchy. Both are faculty members of UCLA Samueli School of Engineering in the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Professor Sant is also a Department of Materials Science and Engineering faculty member and ICM director.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/concrete-ai-draws-investors-recruits-master-builders-veteran/

Dott to introduce its e-bike sharing service in Marseille, France

January 24, 2022

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Dott to introduce its e-bike sharing service in Marseille, France

Dott to introduce its e-bike sharing service in Marseille, FranceFrom 30 January 2022, 1,000 of Dott’s shared e-bikes will be available for use in Marseille, offering users an environmentally friendly way of moving around the city.

Dott, the European micro-mobility company, has announced that it has won a competitive tendering to introduce its e-bike sharing service in the city of Marseille, France.

With this new city, Dott will be the only micro-mobility provider that is present in the three largest cities in France (Marseille, Lyon and Paris).

From 30 January 2022, 1,000 shared e-bikes will be available in Marseille, providing an efficient way to move across a city, free from congestion and without causing pollution.

Henri Moisinnac and Maxim Romain, Co-Founders of Dott, said: “We are happy and very proud of this decision. Thank you to the City of Marseille for its trust in our expertise, we are looking forward to bringing Marseillais a quality, accessible and reliable service. This decision recognises ‘the Dott system’, which we have used since Dott’s creation: we are a mobility operator, not a digital platform. We operate the service ourselves everyday, with our own teams, who are all colleagues and company shareholders. We are responsible, reliable and always seeking environmental excellence.”

This news follows a range of e-bike successes for the company. In October 2021, Dott launched its e-bikes in Paris, with 3,000 e-bikes in operation in the French city by the end of 2021. Additionally, in November 2021, the company also launched its e-bikes on the streets of Cologne, Germany, with 1,200 e-bikes in use in the city by the end of 2021.

Following these launches, Dott’s e-bikes will soon be available in Rome, Milan, Brussels and London, as the company expands its operations beyond e-scooters to encourage more people to switch to sustainable travel.

By introducing its e-bikes and e-scooters in cities across Europe, Dott is ultimately making it easier for more people to choose the type of environmentally friendly mobility that is best for them with a single app.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/dott-to-introduce-its-e-bike-sharing-service-in-marseille-france/

California taps into the future of fare collection

January 24, 2022

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California taps into the future of fare collection

California taps into the future of fare collectionGillian Gillett, Program Manager of California Integrated Mobility at the California Department of Transportation, outlines the agency’s vision for a connected transportation network in California, which will offer riders contactless payments and better journey information.

The phrase “transportation in California” likely evokes images of vast tangles of freeway, the crimson contours of brake lights threading from desert to ocean. It’s true, the car is king in California. Cars account for more than eight out of 10 of the state’s commutes, while solo drivers make up three out of four. The result? Poor air quality, mind-numbing traffic and inadequate ways for carless Californians to get around.

Within this context, California has set ambitious objectives for sustainability, mobility and equity, and has positioned public transit as the cornerstone of its agenda to achieve these targets. But getting car-reliant Californians to park their cars and board a bus is no mean feat.

That’s why the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is trying a new approach to transit planning: think less like government and more like tech, and design transit that works for everyone.

To get there, in 2019, Caltrans hatched the California Integrated Travel Project (Cal-ITP), the state’s new incubator for mobility innovation. As a team of veterans from the technology and transportation industries, Cal-ITP is working with transit providers across the state to make riding transit an easy, intuitive and predictable experience that puts riders at the heart of transit planning.

To kick things off, we conducted a market sounding with a broad cross section of industry representatives for input on how California should improve the rider experience and increase transit’s mode share. Rather than the usual response from a handful of speciality vendors, the kickoff event saw front row seats occupied by heavy hitters from the payments and mobility industries, including PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Google and Uber. Here’s what we learned:

California’s 300+ transit providers build and plan in silos. This lack of standardisation makes it impossible to invest in solutions that scale, resulting in bespoke systems that are not interoperable for either providers or riders

Innovation and standardisation in the banking and payments industries mean that legacy transit fare systems will not compete well.

The solution: unify transit across California with a single, interoperable payment system and real‑time data standard to make transit easier to use and more appealing to both new and regular riders. Specifically, Cal-ITP is crisscrossing the state to achieve the following three objectives:

Enable open-loop contactless payments: adopt the global contactless Europay, Mastercard, Visa (cEMV) standard as the state’s primary fare payment technology so that riders can quickly and easily tap to pay using their smartphone or the bank card that’s already in their wallet.

Automate customer discounts: streamline the process for riders to instantly qualify for and receive transit discounts (ie senior, veteran, student) when they tap to pay, regardless of which transit system in the state they use.

Standardise information for easy trip planning: remove the guesswork for riders wondering when the next bus or train will arrive by using the General Transit Feed Specification Realtime (GTFS-RT), the global standard for publishing real-time transit information, including fares and payment methods.

Creating a marketplace

When it comes to interoperability in transit, conceiving a system and building it are two entirely different matters. It’s essential that we make it as easy and affordable as possible for all transit providers – regardless of their budget or staff capacity – to procure the technologies that they’ll need. To that end, Cal-ITP has developed the California Mobility Marketplace1, an online catalogue of code-compliant products and services that transit providers will need in order to start using contactless fare collection and real-time GTFS data.

Cal-ITP is working with transit providers across the state to make riding transit an easy, intuitive and predictable experience”

The Mobility Marketplace takes an innovative approach to public procurement. Rather than having individual transit providers fend for themselves on the open marketplace to find the right technologies, it gathers and presents links to a suite of pre-negotiated, code-compliant products and services. This means that nearly all of the procurement work has already been done. For each product and service, Caltrans has already identified or advanced an RFP and leveraged the purchasing power of the State of California to negotiate deeply discounted rates with the selected vendors. All transit providers need to do is choose which products and services work best for them and sign on to existing contracts. This approach saves providers time and money and enables any agency, even those with little to no procurement experience, to design and purchase their own fare collection systems.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/california-taps-into-the-future-of-fare-collection/

Bird launches multimodal fleet in Rome

January 24, 2022

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Bird launches multimodal fleet in Rome

Bird launches multimodal fleet in RomeRiders in Rome now have access to hundreds of Bird e-scooters and e-bikes, as well as Zig Zag e-mopeds, following the launch of Bird’s multimodal fleet in the Italian capital.

Micro-mobility operator Bird has announced the launch of its multimodal fleet in Rome, as part of its Smart Bikeshare Program. In addition to Bird e-scooters, riders in Rome now have access to hundreds of Bird Bikes, as well as Zig Zag e-mopeds, directly on the Bird app.

First announced in June 2021, the Smart Bikeshare Program gives riders access to Bird’s brand new e-assist bikes, as well as local bike and e-moped operators, such as Zig Zag. The programme aims to help to increase sustainable mobility alternatives for Rome’s millions of residents and tourists.

Rome is the first city globally to offer riders a suite of three micro-electric vehicle options directly through the Bird app.

“Our partnership with Bird is helping to establish a new industry standard, one that benefits riders, cities and local businesses alike,” said Zig Zag founder, Emanuele Grazioli. “Integrating with Bird has given millions of scooter riders the opportunity to experience the benefits of e-mopeds. When operators like Bird and Zig Zag cooperate to make more clean transportation choices available, everyone wins.”

Each Bird Bike comes equipped with a host of safety and sustainability features, including dual hand brakes, advanced onboard diagnostics, aerospace-grade aluminium alloy framing and a maximum range of more than 50 miles on a single battery charge.

Furthermore, riders can easily access Zig Zag e-mopeds by simply tapping the clearly marked icons in the Bird app, which will then take them to the Zig Zag user interface to complete their rental.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/bird-launches-multimodal-fleet-in-rome/

Powerful sensors on planes detect crop nitrogen with high accuracy

January 23, 2022

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Powerful sensors on planes detect crop nitrogen with high accuracy

Powerful sensors on planes detect crop nitrogen with high accuracySynthetic nitrogen fertilizers transformed agriculture as we know it during the Green Revolution, catapulting crop yields and food security to new heights. Yet, despite improvements in crop nitrogen use efficiency, fears of underperformance spur fertilizer overapplication to this day. Excess nitrogen then ends up in waterways, including groundwater, and in the atmosphere in the form of potent greenhouse gasses.

Predicting the amount of nitrogen needed by a particular crop in a particular year is tricky. The first step is understanding crop nitrogen status in real time, but it's neither realistic nor scalable to measure leaf nitrogen by hand throughout the course of a season.

In a first-of-its-kind study, a University of Illinois research team put hyperspectral sensors on planes to quickly and accurately detect nitrogen status and photosynthetic capacity in corn.

"Field nitrogen measurements are very time- and labor-consuming, but the airplane hyperspectral sensing technique allows us to scan the fields very fast, at a few seconds per acre. It also provides much higher spectral and spatial resolution than similar studies using satellite imagery," says Sheng Wang, research assistant professor in the Agroecosystem Sustainability Center (ASC) and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES) at U of I. Wang is lead author on the study.

"Our approach fills a gap between field measurements and satellites and provides a cost-effective and highly accurate approach to crop nitrogen management in sustainable precision agriculture," he adds.

The plane, fitted with a top-of-the-line sensor capable of detecting wavelengths in the visible and near infrared spectrum (400-2400 nanometers), flew over an experimental field in Illinois three times during the 2019 growing season. The researchers also took in-field leaf and canopy measurements as ground-truth data for comparison with sensor data.

The flights detected leaf and canopy nitrogen characteristics, including several related to photosynthetic capacity and grain yield, with up to 85% accuracy.

"That's close to ground-truth quality," says Kaiyu Guan, co-author on the study, founding director of the ASC, and associate professor in NRES. "We can even rely on the airborne hyperspectral sensors to replace ground-truth collection without sacrificing much accuracy. Meanwhile, airborne sensors allow us to cover much larger areas at low cost."

https://www.civilengineering.ai/powerful-sensors-on-planes-detect-crop-nitrogen-with-high-accuracy/

HHI Group sets out to create new standard in sea transport with robotics and green fuel

January 23, 2022

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HHI Group sets out to create new standard in sea transport with robotics and green fuel

HHI Group sets out to create new standard in sea transport with robotics and green fuelHyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group plans to set new standard in sea transportation through autonomous navigation, liquid hydrogen transport, and intelligent robotics technology

“Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has grown into the world`s biggest shipbuilder over the past 50 years. Now, it will become a “Future Builder,” creating new values for humankind,” said Chung Ki-sun, CEO of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings, while presenting the group`s future vision at CES 2022 at Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) on Wednesday.

HHI Group hosted a press conference for international press as well as Korean journalists at it joined the world’s biggest innovation event for the first time as a shipbuilder.

At the press conference, CEO Chung said, “I am proud of the past 50 years of HHI Group, which has laid the groundwork for the growth of the world. In the next 50 years, we will become the world`s best “Future Builder” and create new growth that is more sustainable, smarter, and more inclusive, something we have never seen before.”

The CEO presented autonomous navigation, liquid hydrogen transport and propulsion, and intelligent robotics and solution as the group`s innovative technologies that will lead the three core businesses of shipbuilding and offshore engineering, energy, and industrial machinery in the future.

“The driving force behind Future Builder is technological innovation. In particular, innovation in logistics and autonomous navigation technology that will reduce the risk of maritime accidents will become a new future for us. Eco-friendly ships and hydrogen value chains will be a solution to the energy crisis and climate change that threaten humanity,” he added.

Source: Pulse

https://www.civilengineering.ai/hhi-group-sets-out-to-create-new-standard-in-sea-transport-with-robotics-and-green-fuel/

Transdev to begin operating new Wellington bus service in summer 2022

January 23, 2022

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Transdev to begin operating new Wellington bus service in summer 2022

Transdev to begin operating new Wellington bus service in summer 2022Transdev subsidiary Mana Newlands has been awarded a six-year contract to operate a new bus service between Wellington Station and Wellington International Airport from July 2022.

Inhabitants in Wellington, New Zealand, will soon have an easy and convenient way to get to Wellington International Airport, with a new seven-day bus service funded by the Greater Wellington Regional Council and delivered by Transdev subsidiary Mana Newlands. The service is set to commence from July 2022 and will operate on the Metlink network and support Snapper ticketing.

“With a new service becoming part of the overall Metlink network, we’ll be able to see passenger journey data, exactly who is connecting to the service and from which parts of our region,” said Metlink’s General Manager, Scott Gallacher. “This will help us to make adjustments to our bus and rail network and target our resources better to meet demand from our communities,” he explained.

The new service will be operated by Transdev subsidiary Mana Newlands, with the company being awarded the six-year contract as part of a competitive tender.

Mana Newlands’ CEO, Craig Chin, said that the company was thrilled to have been chosen to operate the service, which will service 11 stops between Wellington Station and the airport.

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“We’ve been a part of the local community for more than three decades, and the expansion of our services to Wellington Airport is a very exciting one. The last two years have been tough for many families and businesses, and we are very much looking forward to helping people to reconnect, particularly as international travel resumes,” said Craig Chin, CEO of Mana Newlands.

Currently, both Mana Newlands and Transdev are under contract with the Greater Wellington Regional Council. While Mana Newlands operates bus services in Newlands and Tawa, Transdev operates rail services in Wellington.

“Public transportation is all about people serving people, and there’s nothing that beats the warm welcome for those who are coming home or visiting our city, which is what our Mana team will provide,” said Greg Pollock, Transdev New Zealand’s Chief Officer. “We are excited to be delivering a cleaner, greener and comfier service for passengers with the route serviced by a dedicated fleet of 10 new zero-emission electric buses,” he said.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/transdev-to-begin-operating-new-wellington-bus-service-in-summer-2022/

Contactless cash: Ensuring that everyone is along for the ride

January 21, 2022

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Contactless cash: Ensuring that everyone is along for the ride

Contactless cash: Ensuring that everyone is along for the rideKatherine Conrad, Director of Client Services at NEORide, discusses the introduction of cash payments for mobile tickets across the EZfare payment system and why this is key to ensuring that the needs of both transit and its passengers are met.

NEORide, a Council of governments comprised of 17 transit systems dedicated to the development and promotion of regional public transportation services, have launched cash payments for mobile tickets across the EZfare payment system (which is enabled by Masabi). EZfare is currently being utilised by 14 transit agencies across Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan. With the continuation of COVID-19 and transit agencies increasingly seeking contactless and low-touch ticketing solutions, this move ensures that cash-paying riders will still have access to touch-free services.

How does it work?

Transit riders can load cash by visiting any of the participating agency’s transit centres and use cash or card to buy mobile tickets or to add funds to their EZfare or Transit App Account. These funds can then be used to buy tickets when needed. EZfare’s other partner apps – Uber and Moovit – plan to make this feature available by the end of 2021.

When visiting the transit centre, riders simply need to present their in-app Account ID barcode and select the ticket that they would like to buy or their EZfare Account Barcode, then pay using cash or card. Agencies will use Masabi’s Justride External Orders API to securely send visual and barcode tickets directly to riders using the EZfare and Transit apps or add value to their EZfare Accounts.

In addition to transit centres, EZfare will be integrating with multiple nationwide retail locations in the autumn of 2021. Once this integration is complete, transit passengers will be able to visit stores associated with InComm’s VanillaDirect Pay programme and load cash on to their EZfare Account. This feature will only be available on mobile phones at launch, but will be expanded to EZfare smartcards in 2022. Retail stores associated with the programme include Dollar General, Family Dollar, 7-Eleven, Kum & Go, Speedway, Walgreens and CVS.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/contactless-cash-ensuring-that-everyone-is-along-for-the-ride/

Hayfield acquires site to deliver £21m green development

January 21, 2022

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Hayfield acquires site to deliver £21m green development

Hayfield acquires site to deliver £21m green developmentHayfield has acquired a prime eight-acre site to deliver a £21m green development, featuring 50 eco-efficient luxury homes in Wiltshire, West Lavington

Hayfield has submitted a Reserved Matters Application to Wiltshire Council for a range of bungalows, maisonettes and two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom executive houses.

30% of the development will be designated for affordable housing and every home will have parking. The plans also feature air source heat pumps, energy-efficient underfloor heating, smart electric vehicle fast-charging points and ultra-fast broadband.

Hayfield intends to create a new access road and footpaths as well as 20 new drop-off car parking spaces for the use of parents and carers at Dauntsey Academy Primary School, located next to the new housing scheme.

With biodiversity in mind, an equipped play area, native tree planting, an attenuation pond, and a new area of pollen and nectar-rich wildflowers will be incorporated.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/hayfield-acquires-site-to-deliver-21m-green-development/

Mayor of London reveals cost of congestion as car use remains high

January 21, 2022

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Mayor of London reveals cost of congestion as car use remains high

Mayor of London reveals cost of congestion as car use remains highDespite efforts to encourage the use of active travel and public transport, the Mayor of London has revealed that congestion in the capital is costing the economy £5.1 billion a year.

The cost of traffic congestion to the capital has been revealed by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, as he warns the public of the need to increase efforts to deliver a green, sustainable recovery from the pandemic in order to prevent London from moving from one public health and economy crisis to another.

Although more than a third of car trips made by Londoners could be walked in under 25 minutes and two thirds could be cycled in under 20 minutes, statistics show that traffic on London’s roads costs the economy £5.1 billion a year, which equates to £1,211 per driver. While car use remained high, trips by public transport in 2020 dropped by 14 per cent compared to 2019, offsetting a substantial increase of nine per cent witnessed in the share of trips made by walking or cycling in 2020.

Encouraging active travel

Throughout the pandemic, the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) have implemented measures which have aided significant progress in active travel, working closely with boroughs to transform roads and ensure that there is enough space for people to walk and cycle safely. These measures are playing a vital role in reducing congestion by enabling people to travel while taking up less road space, including walking, cycling and public transport.

More than 120km of cycle routes and tens of thousands of square metres of extra pavement space have been delivered. Cycling during the pandemic increased by 22 per cent in outer London compared to spring 2019, with a seven per cent rise in inner London. Participation has also broadened, particularly among people from ethnic minority communities.

Early signs of a car-led recovery

Furthermore, public transport ridership increased by 95 per cent and is currently still significantly behind pre-pandemic levels, with buses at 70 per cent of normal demand and Tubes at 55 per cent. Car use has been more resilient than public transport and has been the fastest mode of transport to recover to near-normal levels of use after each lockdown, with data showing that it has been close in reaching pre-pandemic levels for much of the latter half of 2021.

Additionally, data from external providers shows that, as the number of vehicle miles increased, so has the time lost by drivers due to traffic. TomTom data shows that, in 2017, an average of 144 hours per year, per driver, were spent sitting in traffic – amounting to almost 20 minutes extra for a 30-minute trip during the evening rush hour. In 2018, this increased to 147 hours and, in 2019, to 149 hours per year. This equates to six days and five hours in total for an average London driver. In 2020, despite traffic reducing, Londoners still spent an extra 15 minutes per 30-minute trip driving because of congestion.

As well as the financial implications, this has also caused significant health impacts, including increased risk of respiratory diseases, and children growing up with stunted lungs. Pollution leads to 4,000 Londoners dying early each year, all of which increases the economic and resource burden on the health service.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/mayor-of-london-reveals-cost-of-congestion-as-car-use-remains-high/

Tech Trends: Sensor Fusion Pushes AI Forward

January 21, 2022

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Tech Trends: Sensor Fusion Pushes AI Forward

Tech Trends: Sensor Fusion Pushes AI ForwardCombining data from multiple sensors can ease the strict reliance on video surveillance when creating deep learning algorithms

At October’s annual CONSULT conference in San Antonio, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussing the current state of artificial intelligence in the security industry. The panel included Quang Trinh from Axis Communications, Aaron Saks from Hanwha Techwin, and Srinath Kalluri from Oyla, and we discussed the many challenges in moving AI forward – particularly the area of AI known as deep learning.

While I have defined deep learning in previous articles, lets summarize the concept for this column’s purposes as a form of AI where computers are taught to mimic the human thought process through multiple layers of algorithms known as “neural networks.” Within the security industry, the holy grail of deep learning would be the ability for computers to interpret video feeds to identify behaviors that constitute a security threat. Video analytics have that same mission, but they are focused on finding discrete elements based on very narrowly defined rules.

Deep learning algorithms would have the ability to interpret scenes based on a much broader set of rules – many of which the computer has defined itself through its own ability to learn from data.

Still a Ways to Go

While some sales and marketing folks would have potential customers believe that we are near the end-state of deep learning, in reality we are far from it. There are a multitude of issues with deep learning.

For one, in order for computers to be able to train themselves on what constitutes a security incident, they need massive amounts of annotated training data to determine what constitutes an actual threat. While teaching a computer to find a red balloon is easily achievable due to the massive number of free images available on the internet, video clips of security incidents are much more difficult to obtain. In addition, these clips would need to be annotated (i.e., this one is a video of a fight, this is a video of vandalism, this one is innocuous, etc.). Libraries of vast security-specific datasets are rare or nonexistent, and certainly not in a publicly accessible internet location available to solution developers. This problem is compounded by privacy laws, which in many cases would prohibit the creation of these libraries in the first place based on data retention limits.

Sensor Fusion Advances AI

One way the industry can make beneficial use of AI technology today is by combining data from multiple sensors. The concept of sensor fusion involves using multiple sensor types to create a more robust picture of reality that can help detect threats while also providing data used to train AI learning engines.

One company focused on sensor fusion is Oyla, which combines video data with LiDAR to create a 3-dimensional picture of a scene, as opposed to traditional 2-dimensional video feeds. I spoke with Srinath Kalluri, Founder and CEO of Oyla, about how sensor fusion will help advance AI technology.

“Neural network-based deep learning models, when combined with sensor fusion, ‘learn’ the environment and get better with use (data),” Kalluri says. “This enables the user to train the AI to recognize and eliminate false alarms. AI models can also be used to classify the nature of threats, further improving the accuracy of threat assessment.”

Sensor fusion also helps us move beyond a strict reliance on video surveillance as the only data source.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/tech-trends-sensor-fusion-pushes-ai-forward/

New tiny sensor makes the invisible visible

January 21, 2022

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New tiny sensor makes the invisible visible

New tiny sensor makes the invisible visibleA TU/e research group has developed a new near-infrared sensor that is easy to make, comparable in size to sensors in smartphones, and ready for immediate use in industrial process monitoring and agriculture. This breakthrough has just been published in Nature Communications, with co-first author Kaylee Hakkel defending her Ph.D. thesis on January 14th.

The human eye is a marvelous sensor. Using three photoreceptor cells that convert visible light into signals for different colors, the eye gives essential information about the world around us.

"When our brain puts the signals together, it makes a prediction of what the signals mean based on our experiences. For example, a red strawberry is sweet, but a green one is not," explains Kaylee Hakkel, Ph.D. researcher in the Photonics and Semiconductor Nanophysics group at the department of Applied Physics and co-first author of the study.

Size does matter

While the human eye is impressive, it's far from being the most advanced natural light sensor out there. "The eyes of the Mantis shrimp have 16 different cells, which are sensitive to ultraviolet light, visible, and near-infrared (NIR) light," says Hakkel. "And measuring the spectrum in the infrared is most interesting for applications in industry and agriculture, but there's one major issue—current near-infrared spectrometers are just too big and expensive."

Hakkel and her collaborators have solved this issue by developing a near-infrared sensor that fits onto a small chip. And just like the eye of the Mantis shrimp, it's got 16 different sensors—but they are all sensitive in the near-infrared. "Miniaturization of the sensors while keeping costs low was a major challenge. So, we designed a new wafer-scale fabrication process to achieve this."

https://www.civilengineering.ai/new-tiny-sensor-makes-the-invisible-visible/

Lyft and partners launch autonomous ride-share service in Miami

January 21, 2022

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Lyft and partners launch autonomous ride-share service in Miami

Lyft and partners launch autonomous ride-share service in MiamiAs part of an industry-first collaboration, Lyft and its partners have launched an autonomous ride-share service in the Floridian city of Miami, with the service set to expand to Austin later in 2022.

Lyft, Ford Motor Company and Argo AI have announced the launch of an autonomous ride-share service in Miami, U.S., delivering on a shared commitment to deploy Ford’s autonomous vehicles, powered by the Argo Self-Driving System, on Lyft’s ride-sharing network.

The launch of this service marks the first time that autonomous vehicles are available for ride-sharing in Miami as part of the collaboration between Lyft and its partners, which was announced in summer 2021.

An industry-first collaboration

In an industry-first collaboration, on 21 July 2021, Lyft, Argo AI and Ford announced that they would begin working together to commercialise autonomous ride hailing at scale. The unique collaboration brought together all of the parts necessary to create a viable autonomous ride-hailing service, including the self-driving technology, vehicle fleet and transportation network needed to support a scalable business and deliver an exceptional experience for riders.

“This collaboration marks the first time that all of the pieces of the autonomous vehicle puzzle have come together this way,“ said Lyft Co-Founder and CEO, Logan Green. “Each company brings the scale, knowledge and capability in their area of expertise that is necessary to make autonomous ride-hailing a business reality.”

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Argo AI and Ford are responsible for deploying self-driving cars, with safety drivers, on the Lyft network as part of a network access agreement, with passenger rides now operational in Miami and due to launch in Austin later in 2022. As vehicles are deployed, Lyft users within the defined service areas will be able to select a self-driving vehicle to hail a ride.

This initial deployment phase will lay the groundwork for scaling operations, as the parties are now working to finalise agreements aiming to deploy at least 1,000 autonomous vehicles on the Lyft network, across multiple markets, over the next five years.

The collaboration is designed to scale autonomous vehicle deployment using market and safety data that helps to define where self-driving technology can safely serve consumers. As part of the agreement, Argo AI will use anonymised service and fleet data from Lyft to overcome the challenges faced by other autonomous vehicle companies by focusing on where they can build a sustainable business and validate deployment through localised safety data.

https://www.civilengineering.ai/lyft-and-partners-launch-autonomous-ride-share-service-in-miami/

Why IoT Sensors Need Standards They could improve performance and spur development of new applications

January 20, 2022

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Why IoT Sensors Need Standards They could improve performance and spur development of new applications
Why IoT Sensors Need Standards They could improve performance and spur development of new applicationsSensors traditionally have been used for camera imaging, as well as communicating information about humidity, temperature, motion, speed, proximity, and other aspects of the environment. The devices have become key enablers for a host of new technologies essential to business and to everyday life, from turning on a light switch to managing one’s health.

Several factors are fueling sensors’ growth, including miniaturization, increased functionality, and higher levels of integration into electronic circuitry. There are also greater levels of automation being incorporated into products and systems, such as with Internet of Things and Industrial Internet of Things applications.

Prominent users of sensors include the defense, energy, health care, and transportation industries. The global sensor market is large and growing fast. By one estimate, it is projected to reach US $346 billion in sales by 2028, up from $167 billion in 2019.

SAFE AND RELIABLE APPLICATIONS

As the sensor industry races to take advantage of market opportunities, the need to ensure the devices will operate safely and reliably is a growing concern.

In the energy industry, for example, drill rigs for oil and gas exploration are now equipped with sensors to achieve optimal, safe performance at the lowest cost possible. The sensors must operate under harsh environmental conditions. Their failure could result in a rig being taken out of service, leading to significant, costly downtime.

In industrial applications, worker safety would be compromised if gas sensors fail to detect the presence of toxic fumes. If the light detection and ranging remote-sensing system lidar fails in semiautonomous vehicles, they will be unable to function properly. Lidar is fundamental to advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS).
https://www.civilengineering.ai/why-iot-sensors-need-standards-they-could-improve-performance-and-spur-development-of-new-applications/

New method aids water prospecting and dam security

January 20, 2022

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New method aids water prospecting and dam security

New method aids water prospecting and dam securityScientists from Skoltech and St. Petersburg State University have proposed a mathematical method for interpreting data on underground water flows. The new technique is more efficient and provides more accuracy in imaging fluids for planning construction works, inspecting dams for integrity, and locating water reservoirs for agriculture and private consumption in dry areas. The study came out in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

Detecting subsurface water flows is important for construction safety, dam monitoring, and groundwater prospecting. Underground fluid flows constitute a hazard for the foundation elements of buildings and subway systems, as well as an early warning of an impending dam breach. In dry climates, such as in Spain, Israel, Australia, or the south of Russia, knowing where water flows under the ground offers a way to tap into this resource for agricultural, industrial, and private needs.

The past decade has seen the rise of a new approach to underground water flow imaging: self-potential mapping. The underlying premise is that as water seeps through porous rock, it generates electrical potential, which indicates its presence.

The main challenge with self-potential mapping is that while researchers can reliably pick up these electrical signals, making sense of them and localizing actual underground flows has proved tricky. Until now, no satisfactory mathematical method has been available for processing large amounts of self-potential data for areas with rough terrain.

In a recent paper in IEEE TGRS, a Russian research team from Skoltech and St. Petersburg State proposed such a method. It is capable of rapidly processing many measurements and precisely accounting for the complex geometry of the studied domain. The latter is particularly important for identifying dam breaches, because dam geometry strongly affects the electrical potential.

“The ultimate result is that the method greatly improves the quality of geophysical interpretation,” the study’s first author, Mikhail Malovichko of Skoltech, commented. “Technically speaking, we are increasing the accuracy of the inverse problem. Considering the improvement in subsurface imaging, we believe this approach has great potential within the industry.”

*****

Skoltech is a private international university located in Russia. Established in 2011 in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Skoltech is cultivating a new generation of leaders in the fields of science, technology, and business, conducting research in breakthrough fields, and promoting technological innovation with the goal of solving critical problems that face Russia and the world. Skoltech is focusing on six priority areas: artificial intelligence and communications, life sciences and health, cutting-edge engineering and advanced materials, energy efficiency and ESG, photonics and quantum technologies, advanced studies. Website: https://www.skoltech.ru/.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/new-method-aids-water-prospecting-and-dam-security/

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