i-MOTORS - Intelligent Mobility for Future Cities Transport Systems

Cars on UK roads will soon share data with each other and with traffic control centres through a cloud computing platform that fuses vehicle sensors with road environment information. This matters because current traffic management relies on fixed sensors and historical data, which cannot respond to real-time conditions like sudden congestion, accidents, or roadworks. The project addresses the fundamental problem of knowing exactly where vehicles are—especially in tunnels, urban canyons, or other areas where GPS fails—by combining satellite navigation, inertial measurement units, cameras, and LiDAR into a single positioning system. If successful, the platform will generate dynamic maps and near-real-time alerts transmitted back to vehicles, helping drivers avoid delays. It will also power an intelligent traffic management dashboard for stakeholders, allowing them to reduce congestion and improve traffic flows. As a proof of concept, the team will demonstrate vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity for car platooning—where vehicles travel closely together at constant speeds to save fuel and reduce emissions. The project is applied engineering with clear practical outcomes: smoother journeys, lower emissions, and more efficient use of existing road infrastructure.