Image: Robert Montgomery
The New South Wales government has invited technology vendors to express interest in contributing their ideas to the state’s future transport systems through the Smart Innovation Centre.
The deadline has been set to the 10th June, 2016, as companies are being encouraged by Transport for NSW to contribute their expertise in the areas of improving transport systems to ensure that they become more advanced and reliable.
The state government is dubbing the the Centre that will host all of this knowledge as a ‘world-class’ hub for collaboration, research, demonstration and piloting of emerging transport and road technologies, including connected and automated vehicles and intelligent systems.
Secretary of Transport for NSW, Tim Reardon said the Centre would play a key role in putting NSW at the forefront of applying emerging technologies to improve transport.
“For more than 100 years a road has been a relatively simple piece of infrastructure and a car has been controlled by a driver,” Mr Reardon said.
“Now we’re on the cusp of using our road infrastructure in a much smarter way. That offers some incredibly exciting opportunities for improving the efficiency, accessibility and safety of road travel.”
He said Transport for NSW is determined not to get in the way of innovation – “we want to support and contribute to the next big ideas”.
“That’s why we’re preparing now for the eventual arrival of automated vehicles and working with our federal and interstate counterparts to explore the legislative, regulatory and road design changes necessary to allow the introduction of these types of technologies in the future,” Mr Reardon said.
He said the Smart Innovation Centre will support this process and we’re looking for organisations and individuals who want to work with us to set the agenda and drive change.
Transport for NSW is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from organisations and individuals who are interested in participating in the governance of the Smart Innovation Centre and/or investing and collaborating on technology projects including:
- testing of vehicles and technologies
- pilots and demonstrations for connected and automated vehicles
- collaborative research projects, data simulations or modelling of the outcomes of new transport technologies.
Involvement in the Centre will give partners access to a vehicle testing and demonstration environment at the TfNSW Crashlab facility in Western Sydney and the opportunity to work with NSW Government agencies, interstate counterparts and national automated vehicle programs.
