ADEPT’s £22.9m Live Labs programme launched

30/05/2019 | DOMINIC BROWNE

Eight local authority-led projects to develop and test prototypes and applications in highways across smart materials, communications, energy and mobility have been launched.

The projects were each allocated a share of £22.9m in January, funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) under the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport’s (ADEPT) SMART Places Live Labs programme.

The two-year programme is supported by ADEPT’s corporate partners - SNC-Lavalin’s Atkins business, EY, Kier, O2, Ringway and WSP - with the specific aim of introducing digital innovation outside the strategic road network.

The projects represent a trial and error approach to local innovation, with successful schemes likely to replicated elsewhere.

Hannah Bartram, chief operating officer for ADEPT said: 'Live Labs is a really exciting programme for ADEPT. It gives local highways authorities and their partners the opportunity to innovate, test and introduce new applications for emerging SMART technologies across the local road network.

'It is the first of our research and development programmes to attract significant national funding and I want to thank DfT for supporting this project. I also want to thank our corporate partners, without whom the whole SMART Places programme could not have happened. We look forward to sharing outcomes and learning with both local highways authorities and the wider highways sector.'

Giles Perkins, head of future mobility at WSP said: 'The whole SMART Places Programme has provided a significant body of research for the roads sector. Live Labs will bring that research to life through rigorous prototyping and development. We want to see these projects succeed to give local authorities across the county scaleable and achievable innovation, ready to roll-out across the local road network.'

Click here for the ADEPT brochure on the successful bids.

The winning bids in full:

Buckinghamshire £4.49m

Partners: Ringway Jacobs (Contractors), Transport Systems Catapult, Aylesbury Garden Town, Aylesbury Vale Council, Coldharbour Parish Council, Bucks and Thames Valley LEP and Enlight

The council will work with Transport Catapult Systems and an innovative partner to manufacture recycled plastic/composite columns to mount lighting sensors, 5G antenna and large format schemes in public areas. They will also use sensors to collect data across their highway network including the use of a central management data system to collect data on air quality, road surface temperature, ANPR, CCTV.

They will also include the application of gulley sensors at various locations to help improve efficiency in highways maintenance service. In addition they will use new kinetic energy recovery from the carriageway to harvest energy in roadside battery units. The Live Lab will also introduce new solar energy generation including solar roads and footways. The bid includes a new turbine to help harvest energy to power street furniture using the wind. It will also include on-street charging points, a new e-bike hire scheme and a trial at Aylesbury of autonomous pods.

Central Bedfordshire £1.05m

Partners: Ringway Jacobs (Contractors), Morgan Sindall, Jacobs and Vinci

The bid will test solar power in a number of footways to create and store energy. The bid also will install a surface course in Flitwick town centre using solar or kinetic power capability. They would include a “Power Road” solution, already piloted successfully in France, to use geothermal energy connected to water pipes laid just below the surface to de-ice car parks/bus stations in sub-zero weather conditions.

Cumbria £1.6m

Partners: University of Nottingham, University of Central Lancashire, University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia), University of California (USA), MacRebur Ltd and Gaist

To extend Cumbria’s existing trial of the use of plastic roads. The trial will also will produce a guidance document on the use of this new surface material solution and also an APP.

Staffordshire £3.95m

Partners: Amey (Contractor), Keele University and UI

This project addresses the issue of how the concept of a Smart Highways network can be extended from primary roads to a local road network. The project will be developed around the private road network on the “small town” living laboratory of the Keele University campus. The project will develop, test and demonstrate how such a network can be enabled to retrofit Smart Highway design, construction and maintenance to support the use of alternative approaches to both people and freight transport. A control centre to function as an asset and data manager will be integrated with sensor and control technologies.

The living laboratory will be adjacent to a proposed public transport hub to enable rapid roll-out of development The Highways and AV living laboratory base at Keele University will focus on the development, testing and demonstration of Smart infrastructure and its interaction with new service propositions, CAVs and people and alternative fuels with a particular focus on rural and small community roads. The objective will be to develop new approaches to: instances of congestion and incidents; improved user / customer experience / perceptions and health; improved real-time network understanding (assets and their use); improved citizen engagement; optimisation of network assets and whole system performance and improved air quality through the development of carbon reduction approaches.

To deliver these objectives the project will establish a new control centre to act as an asset manager and data broker between different services and provide the platform to which new technology can be tested, as far as possible in a plug and play approach. This will be integrated with the deployment of a number of different sensors across the Keele Campus road and energy network to establish what is required for a minimum viable product.

Kent (£3.95m shared with Staffordshire CC)

Partners: Amey (contractor), University of Birmingham, MAP16, UI and Rezatec

The project is a local highway asset management technology incubator and would create a centralised digital hub for all asset management data. This will link to dynamic network sensors which are linked to assets such as drainage, winter service (gritters) and gulleys. It should lead to more efficient highways maintenance service and allow funding to go further.

Reading £4.75m

Partners: Siemens, University of Reading, 02 Telefonica, Peter Brett Associates, Wyra, Smarter Grid Solutions, Wokingham BC, Bracknell Forest Council, West Berks Council, Slough Borough Council, Royal Borough of Windsor Council, Thames Valley LEP and Shoothil

The proposal will utilise existing infrastructure and smart communication technology. Existing sources of data from traffic signal detectors will be fused with mobile phone data in order to provide a multi-modal view of real time movement across the Thames Valley. This will link with air quality data to produce a public health exposure model. The data is expected to inform transport, environment and planning projects throughout the Thames Valley region.

Suffolk £4.41m

Partners: Kier Infra (Contractor), Kier Housing, University of Suffolk, Proving Services and Future Highways Research Club, CU Phosco, Telensa, enLight, British Telecom, British Standards Institute (BSI), Institution of Lighting Professionals and HEA

Adapt or replace lighting columns to make them suitable for use as charging points or Wi-Fi hubs. Plus trialling sensors from multiple suppliers to see which work best in various conditions. All trials to be scalable so suitable for rolling out nationwide.

Solihull and Birmingham (part of Transport for West Midlands) Joint Bid £2.65m

Partners: Hanwha Corporation, T.I.S (Mansfield Ltd), 4sight Imaging, University of Birmingham (along with Walsall Borough Council, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council

TfWM will support and lead the collaboration. The team would take data from video analytics pilots in 10 selected local road corridors, collect, analyse and model it. The pilots would build up a picture using video analytics to work out point to point vehicle journey times during different time windows. Analytics will also learn journey times. As well as number plate recognition it will identify other features and colours from vehicles such as e.g. logistics company brands.

Further lines of investigation may include monitoring of cycle usage and pedestrians, which would be of benefit in programmes such as the West Midlands rollout of Next Bike regional bike share schemes. The team will bring analytics through to push messaging via existing applications like WAZE, City Mapper and Google who would help target messaging; as well as vehicle manufacturer navigation systems (OEMs) and variable-message signs on local roads. The messaging would enable people to make travel decisions with a higher degree of accuracy.

The result would be to re-mode, re-time, re-route or remove their journey. Video analytics would enable the team to monitor the impact of the messaging around areas of planned disruption. At the same time the project would look at human behaviour– using ethnographic and market research along the selected corridors and seeing how people react and take action as a results of the messaging. This would build out from a piece of work on personas undertaken by Exploring Intelligent Mobility.

Highways InProfile

latest magazine issue
Highways jobs

Senior Civil Engineer - Major Projects x 4

£45,894.00 - £54,952.00
We are looking for experienced engineers to help us progress a number of key projects and programmes Glasgow, Glasgow City
Recruiter: Transport Scotland

Technician - Maintenance

£31001.0000 - £36471.0000 per annum
Essex Highways is responsible for managing and maintaining one of the largest highway networks in the country
Recruiter: Essex County Council

Highways Contract Engineer

£46,731 - £49,764
The team helps provide a safe road network that operates efficiently and effectively.  Northamptonshire
Recruiter: North Northamptonshire Council

Principal Transport Planner

£46,731 - £49,764 (pro-rata)
We are looking for an experienced professional to join us on a six-month temporary contact as a Principal Transport Planner. Kettering, Northamptonshire
Recruiter: North Northamptonshire Council

Highways Maintenance Operative

£Competitive
We have a fantastic opportunity for a Permanent Highways Maintenance Operative Broughton, Brigg
Recruiter: Amey

Head of Highways Contracts & Network

£81,803 progressing to £90,664 per annum
The team includes approximately 60 directly employed HCC people Hertfordshire
Recruiter: Hertfordshire County Council

Principal Construction Manager

£Competitive
We are excited to offer a fantastic opportunity for a Permanent Principal Construction Manager Yorkshire and the Humber
Recruiter: Amey

Quality Technician

£Competitive
We are excited to offer a fantastic opportunity for a Permanent Quality Technician Yorkshire and the Humber
Recruiter: Amey

Senior Highway Engineer (Development Management)

£42679.0000 - £50211.0000 per annum
Senior Highway Engineer (Development Management)Permanent, Full Time£43,960 to £51,718 per annum*Location
Recruiter: Essex County Council

Project Manager (Major Projects)

£44,711 - £47,754
Are you an experienced project professional or engineer with looking to take the next step in your career? Halifax, West Yorkshire
Recruiter: Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council

Senior Civil Engineer - Roads

£45,894 - £54,952
Are you an experienced engineer looking to support the Scottish Government’s national objectives. Scotland
Recruiter: Transport Scotland

Senior Civil Engineering Technician

Grade 7 £29,093 to £32,654 per annum
We are looking for a flexible individual who has the ability to meet targets and analyse and resolve complex technical problems and formulate a design Durham
Recruiter: Durham County Council

Project Team Manager

£55,147 to £60,676 per annum
We are pleased to be able to offer an opportunity for a role as Design Team Manager Norwich, Norfolk
Recruiter: Norfolk County Council

Clerk of Works

GRADE 08 (£37,938 - £41,511)
Warrington is one of the most successful towns in the country Warrington, Cheshire
Recruiter: Warrington Borough Council

Assistant Projects Engineer

GRADE 06 (£29,093 - £32,654),GRADE 07 (£33,366 - £37,035), GRADE 08 (£37,938 - £41,511)
Warrington is one of the most successful towns in the country Warrington, Cheshire
Recruiter: Warrington Borough Council

Principal Engineer - Traffic Management

£45,718 - £48,710 per annum
At Bath & North East Somerset Council we have one overriding purpose – to improve people’s lives. Bath, Somerset
Recruiter: Bath & North East Somerset Council

Vehicle Technician - Improver

£28,624 - £30,060
Transport Services is responsible for all aspects of transport and related services Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Recruiter: Kirklees Metropolitan Council

Programme Delivery Office Administrator

Grade 9 £31,344 - £33,253 per annum
At Derbyshire, we have been on a journey to transform the way we deliver highway services to make them fit for the future Derbyshire
Recruiter: Derbyshire County Council

Support Officer - Highways Asset Management Systems

£31,586 - £34,314
We are a forward-thinking organisation dedicated to maintaining and improving our highway infrastructure. Lincolnshire
Recruiter: Lincolnshire County Council

Principal Transport Planner (Strategy)

£46,731-£49,764
We are looking for an experienced professional to join North Northamptonshire Council as a Principal Transport Planner (Strategy). Sheerness House, 41 Meadow Road, Kettering moving to Haylock House, Kettering Parkway, Kettering NN15 6EY, United Kingdom
Recruiter: North Northamptonshire Council
SUBSCRIBE NOW

Latest Video

Subscribe to Highways today to ensure you keep your finger on the pulse of everything happening in the UK road network throughout the year.

SUBSCRIBE NOW