ITS Equant, a project managed by a consortium between Valerann and Excelerate Technology and funded by the European Space Agency’s Space Solutions, has been selected to deploy the jointly developed innovative solution with Milton Keynes Council.

The space technology will be used to enable local traffic authorities to efficiently manage local road traffic surrounding the Milton Keynes (MK) Stadium for the duration of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022.

‍The UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 is taking place in the U.K. in July and is expected to have a record-breaking attendance of 525,000 visitors. Four of the prestigious sporting event matches, including the highly anticipated semi-finals, will be hosted at the MK Stadium.  

‍Large-scale planned special events, such as sporting games and concerts, attract significant numbers of pedestrians and passenger vehicles resulting in substantial nonrecurring road traffic congestion. Properly managing movement and anticipating and managing traffic bottlenecks in real time during these events is crucial for travel safety, efficient mobility, and CO₂ emission reduction. Achieving this is restricted by the current telecommunication capacity and the prohibitive costs of deploying widespread terrestrial communication infrastructure on demand.

‍The benefits of using active traffic management systems, such as Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS), have been widely proven, showcasing 20% reductions in congestion and 35% reductions in accidents. However, deployments are limited due to the costs associated with their roll out that can amount to over £100,000 per km.

‍The ITS Equant consortium brings to the market a new generation of cost-effective satellite-enabled ATMS solutions suitable for a wide range of deployments – from roads around busy stadiums to highways serving communities in the remote Highlands of Scotland. Designed and produced by Excelerate Technologies, satellite communications-enabled CCTV cameras are a reliable source of critical primary road traffic information. A powerful AI-driven real-time traffic analytics platform, Lanternn by Valerann™ enhances this data with additional datasets (including satellite-derived positioning data) taken from floating cars, social media, mobile apps, and legacy sensors delivering the most comprehensive overview of any road in real time.

“It is an honour to have the opportunity of working with our partners and Milton Keynes Council on this exciting project.” – says Gabriel Jacobson, CEO of Valerann. “We are pleased to see the use of space technology combined with our advanced real-time data analytics platform to enhance security and efficiency in road traffic management for this landmark sports event.  This is an important milestone for all of us in bringing this innovative and cost-efficient solution to the market.”

“This is really exciting, showing the way forward in managing our transport networks. We especially want to see how we can make our roads safer and to help manage congestion so that we see a positive difference in our local environment. Well done to all our partners in making this a reality,” said Brian Matthews, Head of Transport Innovation at Milton Keynes Council.

“The solution proposed and implemented by Valerann is an excellent showcase of how integrated connectivity and data analytics can deliver innovation and help solving burning issues of municipalities and citizens. Increasing road safety, reducing congestion and emissions are challenges that are even more pressing on the occasion of events like the UEFA Women’ s Euro 2022. The success of Valerann Intelligent TransportSystem in this context is a promising step towards future green and smart mobility.” – Rita Rinaldo, Head of the Partner-led and ThematicInitiatives Section, ESA Space Solutions at the European Space Agency.

Also commenting, Chief Operating Officer, Bethan Evans at Excelerate Technology said: “We are delighted to be working with Milton Keynes Council and Valerann to deliver smarter and safer roads through the advancement of enhanced technology and resilient and reliable connectivity. By leveraging both satellite communications and GPS technologies, the system is both scalable and — crucially — available as an off-grid solution and will help manage any disruption proactively ahead of UEFA Women’sEuro2022.”