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Organisations can apply for a share of up to £250,000 to develop a traffic management system that can integrate and interact with new transport technologies.

The growth of new mobility technologies such as drones, electric vehicles and self-driving cars will bring new challenges for traffic networks across the country. To meet the potential of this technology, it is essential to design systems that future-proof the UK’s transport infrastructure.

Innovate UK and Oxfordshire County Council have up to £250,000 for organisations to help develop a traffic management system that can accommodate both traditional vehicles and new mobility technologies throughout Oxfordshire.

This is a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition, with funding from the GovTech Catalyst, which helps the public sector to identify and work with innovative businesses.

Find out more about the SBRI and how it works..

An integrated and interactive network

The new system must be able to collect data from numerous sources, including infrastructure owned by Oxfordshire County Council such as CCTV, traffic light control systems and number plate recognition.

To support data gathering, the system must:

• use information from sources on the Internet of Things and share this data with different teams and organisations
• allow Oxfordshire County Council to identify data gaps
• produce data metrics that can adapt to council policies, including changes in performance indicators

Applicants are encouraged to include solutions that:

• enable communication between traffic management and road users
• identify which modes of transport are being used
• explore integration with other council functions, such as emergency planning and social services
• integrate with artificial intelligence and machine learning

A 2-phase competition

The competition will comprise of 2 phases. In phase 1, organisations must develop a feasibility study, including the proposed architecture and estimates of ongoing costs and development. A total of £250,000 has been allocated to phase 1.

In the second phase, successful applicants will develop a test system to be installed at the Oxfordshire County Council’s Urban Traffic Management Control Centre in Kidlington. Each applicant will receive up to £500,000 to develop their prototype and undertake field tests for 1 year.

Competition information

• the competition opens on 4 March 2019 and the deadline for registration is at midday on 10 April 2019
• organisations of any size are eligible to apply
• up to £250,000 including VAT is available
• a briefing event will be held in Oxford on 8 March 2019

Find out more about this competition and apply