Aston University researchers have teamed up with a specialist transport planning, traffic engineering and parking consultancy to develop technology to improve UK roads, resulting in reduced emissions and fewer accidents, as well as financial savings for local government.
The research team and Smart Transport HUB Ltd will work together in a new Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) to capture highway asset information and road conditions using hardware integrated with sophisticated machine vision and machine learning to analyse camera feeds in real-time and relay information to highway contractors.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, funded by Innovate UK, are collaborations between a business, a university and a highly qualified research associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is a sector-leading KTP provider, ranked first for project quality, and joint first for the volume of active projects.
This novel technology will improve road network conditions and traffic management, enhance highway maintenance operations by enabling timely repairs and increase productivity while reducing costs through automated surveys over larger geographic areas instead of manual site-specific surveys.It will also lead to better traffic conditions and improved health and safety, resulting in fewer accidents, as well as reduced emissions and lower pollution levels.
By combining sector-leading academic and industry expertise, the KTP will create a world-first mobile technology for real-time traffic monitoring that can function in busy city environments and in all weather conditions.
Nicola Mastini, principal consultant at Smart Transport HUB, said:
“Aston University is right at the forefront of research in AI and deep learning for traffic simulation. The KTP gives us a unique opportunity to integrate some of that knowledge and use this as a basis for upscaling our team, boosting our productivity, and developing a very unique and attractive commercial product.”
Dr Maria Chli, reader in applied AI & robotics at Aston University’s Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Application, said:
“Developing a smart mobile traffic monitoring and management system that harvests data from multiple vehicles and updates our traffic simulator is going to require a lot of innovation. We have the expertise to share with Smart Transport HUB, and together with their unique data-driven approach, I’m excited about the benefits we can bring to the transport sector.”
Aston University has a global reputation for developing cutting-edge AI that is directly applicable to addressing smart cities’ challenges. The KTP project’s academic team is an acknowledged leader in traffic signal control using AI, and works at the forefront of AI-driven, accurate traffic simulation and traffic actor modelling. The team will draw heavily on the unique Aston simulation model, Traffic 3D, to deliver the project utilising their broader capabilities in machine learning, deep reinforcement learning, object detection and action recognition.
For more information on the KTP visit the webpage.
Watch our short film to see how it works and visit our website for examples of KTP in action at Aston.
To find out more about how your business can benefit from working with Aston University, please email ktp@aston.ac.uk.
The KTP is led at Aston University by Dr Maria Chli, Reader in Applied AI & Robotics at the Aston Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Application (ACAIRA). Dr Chli’s team developed the 3D Traffic software, which leads the field of smart traffic control globally and is already being applied in real-world settings.
Dr Chli is supported by Dr Luis Manso, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at ACAIRA. With expertise in active perception, assistive robotics and modelling, Dr Manso will support the KTP team in developing the machine learning capabilities of their system and will supervise a KTP associate who will work across both organisations to lead the project.
The team also benefits from the expertise of Professor Abdul Sadka, Director of the Aston Digital Futures Institute and Professor of Visual Media Technologies. He is providing high-level technical guidance on AI-enabled visual media technologies, bringing 27 years of experience in research leadership and business engagement.
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