Monday, February 11, 2008

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Monday, February 11, 2008 -- ISSN 1529-1057

AVIATION

1) DARPA Extends Robot Air Traffic Control Research
Link to story in Flight:
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/02/11/221469/darpa-extends-robot-atc-research-for-uavs.html

ELECTRONIC TOLLING

2) Indian Commuters Not Buying Electronic Toll Tag Idea
Link to story in The Times of India:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/Commuters_not_buying_tag_idea/articleshow/2771876.cms

3) Electronic Tracking at Ohio River Bridges Means No Booths
Link to story in The Courier-Journal:
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080209/NEWS01/802090480/1008/NEWS01

4) As Toll Dodgers Get Creative, Eyes of E-ZPass are Watching
Link to story in The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/nyregion/11ezpass.html?ex=1360386000&en=d557a3a21025ac90&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

GPS / NAVIGATION

5) LORAN Saved, but Money Questions Remain
Link to story in GPS World:
http://uc.gpsworld.com/gpsuc/Utilities+%26+Communications+News/LORAN-Saved-but-Money-Questions-Remain/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/490245?contextCategoryId=33826

6) GPS Isn’t the Only Tool for Location
It’s the most accurate, but others will stay part of the mix.
Link to story in InformationWeek:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206105934&subSection=All+Stories

7) University of Massachusetts Student Designs GPS Helmet
Would call for help if wearer is knocked unconscious.
Link to story and video report on WSHM-TV:
http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/15454246.html

8) Nokia Aiming to Banish Paper Maps
Company has launched navigation tools designed to make the paper street map obsolete for pedestrians.
Link to BBC News story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7230686.stm

OTHER

9) Biometrics Registry Proposed
Standards registry would enable interagency sharing of biometrics.
Link to story in Government Computer News:
http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/45802-1.html

10) Reporter’s Access to North Carolina Board of Transportation Meeting Limited
Link to story in The News & Observer:
http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/929116.html

11) EU Commission Plans New Rules on Car Advertising - Report
Link to Thomson Financial story:
http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=59886876521231

RAILROADS

12) Railways to Jump Onto Wi-Fi Bandwagon, Project to be Launched in Shatabdi, Rajdhani Trains
Link to story in The Economic Times:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Railways/Railways_to_jump_onto_Wi-Fi_bandwagon_project_to_be_launched_in_Shatabdi_Rajdhani_trains/articleshow/2774693.cms

13) Trains in Europe Offering Wi-Fi
Link to story in the International Herald Tribune:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/10/business/trains11.php

SAFETY / SECURITY

14) FCC’s Safety Spectrum May Not Get Buyer
Link to story in The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020803594.html (may require free registration)

15) EU Weighs Traveler Biometric Requirements
Link to story in Washington Technology:
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/32253-1.html

TELEMATICS

16) Perfect Partners
Automotive and electronics industries have long traveled a similar path but those paths now often converge.
Link to story in The Engineer:
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/304495/Perfect+partners.htm

17) Software Gets Smart Cars Talking
Link to story in ICT Results:
http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm/section/news/tpl/article/BrowsingType/Features/ID/89520

TRANSIT

18) The Buzz is Over iBUS
Link to story in Business Line:
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2008/02/11/stories/2008021150070300.htm

19) Philadelphia-Area Transit Lines Seeking Smartest ‘Smart Card’
Link to story in The Philadelphia Inquirer:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20080211_Transit_lines_seeking_smartest_smart_card.html

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

20) High-Tech Traffic System Coming to Wichita
Link to story and video report on KSNW-TV:
http://www.ksn.com/news/local/15452811.html

21) Traffic Camera Data Gives Complex Picture
Police, Californian analysis tell different tales of collision rates.
Link to story in The Bakersfield Californian:
http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/359284.html

22) Fog Detectors Could Prevent Crashes, County Says, but Florida Budget Tight
Link to story in the Palm Beach Post:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/02/10/s1c_ROAD_FOG_0210.html

23) Researchers Try Tracking Traffic Using Cell Phone GPS
Link to story in the San Jose Mercury News:
http://www.mercurynews.com/traffic/ci_8215860

24) Commuter Feed: Track Traffic Reports with Twitter
Link to story in Wired:
http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2008/02/commuter-feed-t.html
Link to Commuter Feed: http://www.commuterfeed.com/


News Releases

1) Navteq Announces Navteq Traffic in Europe
2) SkyWay and Ford Team Up to Provide Ford Owners with Integrated Security Options
3) Motorola Launches Mobile TV Device with Advanced Navigation Capabilities
4) ITIS Starts Trial with Telefonica for Real-Time Traffic Information in Barcelona
5) CSX Transportation Launches Online Carbon Calculator
6) Sanef Consolidates Its Two Subsidiaries, Webraska and masternaut, to Build a Telematic Mobility Unit of European Dimension
7) Webraska Announces the Launch of the 1st Hybrid GPS Navigation Worldwide


Upcoming Events
TRB Webinar - Fast Lanes on the Transportation Information Superhighway: Tips for Efficient, Comprehensive Internet Research – February 27
http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8698


Today in Transportation History
1808 **200th anniversary** – Anthracite coal is first used in the US as a domestic heating fuel. In later years it was used as an important fuel for steam locomotives.
http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/inspector/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=476157

=============================================================================================

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe send an e-mail to: TCNL-subscribe@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe send an e-mail to: TCNL-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
TCN archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

Questions, comments about the TCN? Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.
© 2008 Bernie Wagenblast