New fleet alert systems provide better driver information

Company Fleet 

Reducing road related accidents and injuries has a great deal of appeal to fleet managers and leasing companies for obvious reasons – reduced injuries to members of staff, reduced vehicle damage, reduced vehicle off road time, with reduced insurance claims as an added benefit.

The number of onboard safety systems has grown in the past decade, partly because of legislative requirements. Even with systems such as autonomous emergency braking and lane keeping assist, the systems all rely on reacting to situations that can be seen or sensed around the vehicle.

But what if technology alerted us to situations around the blind bend ahead or could interpret camera information with better accuracy, so that more accidents could be avoided? What if similar technologies could be used to improve city traffic flow? App and artificial intelligence systems designers are working on these issues right now and some are available today.

!important Safety Technologies , a US-based app developer, already offers an app for Apple iOS and Android mobile phones aimed at providing communication between vehicle drivers and nearby vulnerable road users, such as cyclists and pedestrians. The app is free to download and can monitor the location and movement of vulnerable road users.

Let's assume that a pedestrian with the app is near a road where a vehicle driver with the app is approaching. The pedestrian appears as though they are about to step into the road. The vehicle driver would then receive an alert on their mobile phone or in vehicle display before the pedestrian sets foot in the road, while the cyclist or pedestrian also receives an alert about the approaching vehicle. !important says it is designed to work with other vehicle safety systems, not as a replacement for them. Many fleet drivers will be familiar with warning messages that alert them when on board safety systems are temporarily not working. The !important app is designed to be effective in those situations. Integrating the technology with systems such as autonomous emergency braking is !important's next aim and the company is already in discussions with a range of vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers.

VisionTrack , the video telematics and computer vision provider, in partnership with Humanising Autonomy , a behaviour artificial intelligence (AI) company, is approaching the same problem from a different direction. By integrating Humanising Autonomy's behaviour AI into VisionTrack's Autonomise.ai, Behaviour AI will enable drivers to receive real-time advanced vulnerable road user (VRU) collision warnings earlier than the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) we have today. AI will also help to analyse incident statistics and trends better from incident video footage. The data can then be applied to ADAS system data, driver behaviour monitoring and other systems to try and prevent collisions from happening.





Autonomise.ai, Behaviour AI will enable drivers to receive real-time advanced vulnerable road user (VRU) collision warnings earlier than the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) we have today. AI will also help to analyse incident statistics and trends better from incident video footage. The data can then be applied to ADAS system data, driver behaviour monitoring and other systems to try and prevent collisions from happening.

A mobile app is one of the systems being used in a trial of dynamic traffic signalling systems in Malaga. The plan is to route drivers away from problem traffic areas at peak times or when there are traffic incidents, by using traffic signals, variable message signs (VMS) and mobile apps which will be able to replicate the VMS messages. The system will be able to change the duration of green traffic lights along the designated route according to the traffic conditions. The trials are due to run for two years.

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