news

Govt commits $55 million to vehicle tech research in congestion fight

QUT joins iMove CRC project


The Federal Government has announced a $55 million investment over 10 years into digital and evolving vehicle technologies to help improve traffic flow, named the iMove Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).

As part of a $151.5 million pledge towards four CRCs, including iMove, the initiative will deliver practical solutions to problems and produce tangible outcomes - according to the minister for industry, innovation and science, Arthur Sinodinos.

The iMove CRC will aim to exploit new vehicle technologies to create more efficient intermodal connections and offer a real-time choice to travellers and freight operators.

Projected outcomes include reduced congestion, fuel use, along with improved national productivity and competitiveness.

An additional $178.8 million will be contributed through cash and in-kind participant contributions.

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has announced that it has joined the iMove CRC project, one of the 46 partners including leading government, industry and researchers.

iMove CRC bid leader Ian Christensen said: “Transport is the backbone of our economy.  As a country we will fall behind if we cannot move our people and goods effectively and efficiently".

"Our roads are congested and our transport systems are not co-ordinated and it’s getting worse in many cases."

"The establishment of the iMove CRC gives us an immediate opportunity to tackle this situation, by harnessing the power of ‘big data’, developing smarter solutions and engaging with the community to trial and deploy new technologies," he added.

Meanwhile, deputy director of QUT's Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety (CARRS-Q) and one of the lead researchers at the CRC, Andry Rakotonirainy, said the project will help to fast-track the development and adoption of next-generation transport solutions.

"It will pave the way for the smooth adoption of connected autonomous vehicles, development of the next generation of traffic models and support multi-modal transport services," he said.

"The centre will also investigate personal preferences and behaviours to support the development of new solutions for personal mobility and enhancement of public acceptance of new and emerging services."

Chat with us!







Chat with Agent