The UK’s national mapping body, the Ordnance Survey (OS), has partnered with Intel subsidiary Mobileye to map the UK’s roadside infrastructure.
The ambitious project, which aims to provide precise, accurate data to multiple sectors on road networks and associated infrastructure across the UK. Fleets of vehicles provided by Northumbrian Water Group will be fitted with Mobileye 8 Connect, a camera-based mapping technology developed by Mobileye, in order to deliver a comprehensive dataset to the OS. Data collated by Mobileye software will be stored on a cloud platform to be compared with the OS’s existing datasets; and will be updated consistently as the vehicles capture more data.
Neil Ackroyd, interim CEO of the OS, said: “The initial trials are already delivering a deeper and richer level of data capture which we are confident will bring added value to our customers; and become an important dataset for emerging markets and a building block for Britain’s infrastructure for many years.”
Roadside installations set to be included in the datasets include traffic lights; road signs and markings; bollards; lamp and telegraph posts; drains and manhole covers; and network boxes. OS and Mobileye’s UK roadside infrastructure mapping project has already been trialled in London, Manchester and the northeast of England; with further trials set to take place in more regions throughout the summer of 2019. OS and Mobileye intend to develop more new infrastructure asset monitoring technologies and datasets to be used by consumers across a range of sectors, including infrastructure, energy provision and emerging technology solutions such as 5G connectivity and connected and autonomous vehicles.
Professor Amnon Shashua, president and CEO of Mobileye, said: “A future of smart cities and safe streets is within reach when we equip governments and businesses with high-precision mapping data. We look forward to seeing the continuing progress of our trials.”
