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Leading Australian traffic management software up for grabs

Technology

The rights to a state-owned traffic management system used in many parts of Australia will be sold off to allow the further development of the software and potential international rollout.

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Addinsight was developed by the South Australian Transport Department in 2012 and provides real-time and predictive updates on traffic movements and congestion by using beacons installed on the road network to identify movement of devices, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

The Bluetooth sensors were developed and installed across Australia by South Australian company Sage Automation.

In 2016, it was developed into an award-winning app for public use, letting users assess congestion and time delays on their chosen route.

Its creator, former Transport Department engineer James Cox, welcomed the move to commercialise the software.

“I just don’t think the Government’s a good place for software to be commercialised – it’s not geared up for doing marketing and I think that the system’s essentially stagnating being in government, because it’s not being promoted,” he said.

Cox said the software was originally developed as a planning initiative for Adelaide’s North South corridor, but has since moved under the purview of the Traffic Management Centre.

“The system’s essentially just grown and grown,” he said.

“At the moment it’s essentially used all over Australia, but it hasn’t really expanded out of Australia, because of that whole word of mouth thing … it needs a bit of investment in trying to get a deal done overseas.”

The South Australian Government today released an Expression of Interest to the market for the future development of the Addinsight software.

South Australia Transport Minister Stephan Knoll said there was an opportunity to “turbo charge the service AddInsight provides by allowing private sector expertise, capital and creativity to further develop this technology”.

“Addinsight is an innovative approach to traffic management and the fact that it is now being used by other traffic management centres across the country is a testament to those involved in its development,” he said.

“Addinsight is operating in a dynamic and rapidly emerging market and the state government does not believe taxpayers should continue to fund the development of this technology… there are potential options to use and expand the program into other markets, including logistics or queue management.

“It could also integrate with smart cities or other traffic and planning initiatives, or further synergise with other traffic management products, which should be explored to maximise its use and potential.

“As such, the future of Addinsight technology, software and uses extends far beyond core government business.”

The software captures data that is de-identified, aggregated and utilised by the Traffic Management Centre to monitor and improve traffic flow.

Knoll said the Government remained “open and flexible as to the potential structure of AddInsight through this process” but would “seek conditions that will retain data security provisions as well as guaranteeing continued use of the Addinsight data for the betterment of the state”.

“The government will also seek to provide ongoing support to the potential third party by way of enabling the Adelaide network to be used as a test-bed for ongoing enhancements to the software,” he said.

“Addinsight will continue to operate as normal and the Government is committed to providing the same level of service that is currently provided to existing customers.”

This story was originally published on news website InDaily.

This is a Creative Commons story from The Lead South Australia, a news service providing stories about innovation in South Australia. Please feel free to use the story in any form of media. The story sources are linked in with the copy and all contacts are willing to talk further about the story. Copied to Clipboard

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