HERE technologies has announced its next-generation Real-Time Traffic service which utilises connected car data to improve the accuracy of traffic conditions.

Live data is fed into HERE’s service from sensors built into compatible Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz vehicles with traffic probe information. The company says the use of the sensor data provides ‘significant’ improvements to its traffic flow data, especially on arterial roads.

“This is the world’s first traffic service to...

The UK government has announced its plan to integrate IoT devices with the national grid to improve sustainability and reduce consumer energy costs.

By working alongside manufacturers, the UK government is aiming to create standards for a smarter and more flexible energy system. This could mean some devices are switched on when costs are at their lowest, and others switched off when the grid is under stress.

Examples include a smart washing machine which switches on when electricity is particularly cheap, or...

South Korea is best placed for Internet of Things (IoT) implementation in the Asia Pacific region, according to the latest note from IDC.

The report, which excludes Japan from its analysis, also heaped praise on Singapore and New Zealand.

South Korea, according to IDC, scored ‘extremely highly’ on all measures, from business readiness to technological preparedness, as well as rating well on IoT spend as a percentage of GDP, meaning the country’s future plans are just as assured as the...

In the ongoing fight to become a dominant wireless standard for the IoT, an update to Bluetooth has provided mesh networking capabilities.

"By adding support for mesh networking, the Bluetooth member community is continuing a long history of focused innovation to help new, up-and-coming markets flourish," said Mark Powell, executive director for Bluetooth SIG, Inc. "In the same way the connected device market experienced rapid growth after the introduction of 

The Fairhair Alliance, a confederation of leading companies from lighting, building automation and technology, has framed three draft specifications covering resource modeling, resource discovery, and security in a move to bring the Internet of Things (IoT) to commercial buildings.

The specifications have undergone an external review, and the feedback received will help Fairhair to make further enhancements.

Fairhair is dedicated towards making a set of technical specifications that will define a set of...

A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has shed light on which global cities are best equipped to become smart – with Singapore at the top of the tree.

The research looks at 10 cities – Barcelona is analysed but not given a score as the analysis is still a work in progress – across four continents, with each area being ranked out of 10 in areas such as unmanned transport, smart healthcare, and infrastructure readiness among others.

Singapore scored 62% in total, with London (59%) and...

Automation, IoT, robotics and above all, smart cities are hot property. However, as with all hot topics, taking the concept from initial stage potential, through to its flawless roll out can be a bumpy ride. The University of Reading found earlier this year that fewer than half (47 percent) of UK cities even have a definition for ‘smart city’. Just over one in five (22 percent) have a smart city action plan.

A smart city is one that uses data and technology to better serve the needs of the public,...

Washington DC, Phoenix and San Diego are among five cities which are now part of the Smart Gigabit Communities (SGC) programme, US Ignite has announced.

Albuquerque, New Mexico and Jackson, Tennessee complete the latest entrants who will be joining the SGC network as part of their commitment towards the adoption of next generation smart city technologies.

The SGC programme brings municipalities, network carriers and other corporate partners, non-profit organisations, and the university research communities...

Ocado has demonstrated its vision for driverless grocery deliveries with a prototype van powered by Oxbotica’s driverless technology.

The vehicle spent two weeks on a two-mile circuit in a semi-pedestrianised area of Greenwich, south-east London to demonstrate the kind of environment Ocado believes its driverless vehicles will operate in once deployed.

CargoPod is an electric vehicle which helps to reduce its environmental impact. The vehicle’s top speed of 25 MPH makes it suitable for urban...

Car manufacturing giant Volkswagen is partnering with NVIDIA to harness their AI knowledge and use it for applications beyond in-car technology.

Volkswagen explores the possibilities for AI in their dedicated Munich-based Data Lab which opened back in 2014. One example of their current work involves new procedures for optimising the flow of traffic in cities where overpopulation and the need for individual vehicles is causing severe and increasing congestion on the roads.

"Artificial intelligence is the...