innovITS ADVANCE - The International Centre for Connecting

Plans have been announced for ‘innovITS – ADVANCE’, a futuristic research and development centre to be based in the UK. The new facility will enable customers from the telecommunications, automotive and electronics industries, as well as highways authorities and operators, to develop, test and validate future transport technologies in a safe highly controlled environment. By facilitating innovation in cooperative vehicle, highway and telecommunications technologies, innovITS – ADVANCE aims to reduce accidents, improve environmental efficiency and help to alleviate traffic congestion through the efficient and intelligent interaction of vehicles and highway infrastructure.

The new R&D centre is the result of a collaboration between innovITS, the UK centre of excellence in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and technologies for sustainable mobility, MIRA Ltd, one of the world’s leading automotive test and development organisations, who will host the new centre at its headquarters in Warwickshire, and TRL, the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory. A detailed design and planning study is underway and is due to be completed in August 2008 prior to the start of construction of the first phase of the development. The entire innovITS – ADVANCE project represents an investment of approximately €30m over five phases, the first of which is scheduled to open for business in late summer 2009.

News releases

innovITS – ADVANCE encourages dialogue with potential Japanese customers - 21 May 2008

Design student finds top gear with winning logo for new €30 million vehicle technology research facility - 7 May 2008

Testing infrastructure a crucial enabler for next generation transport technologies - 16 April 2008

New R&D centre to accelerate next-generation transport technologies - 31 March 2008

Pictures of the plans
(high resolution copies available on request):

1. Aerial view of the innovITS – ADVANCE site at MIRA

2. Possible layout of the innovITS – ADVANCE ‘city’ circuit due to open in the late summer of 2009

Opportunities for involvement

As mentioned in the press release innovITS-ADVANCE is currently undergoing detailed design and planning study and innovITS would particularly like encourage potential customers of the centre to contact them now to share their aspirations and requirements of the facility.

For further information please contact Nick Clare who is the Programme Manager for innovITS-ADVANCE. Contact details: innovITS, John Eccles House, Oxford Science Park, Oxford, OX4 4GP, mobile: 07834 954616, email advance@innovits.com

Contact information

For more information about innovITS - ADVANCE and to get involved please email advance@innovits.com or contact Nick Clare (07834954616) or Sharon Surridge (07528732331)

ITS Knowledge Transfer Network

A presentation giving further information about innovITS -ADVANCE is available to members of the ITS Knowledge Transfer Network (ITS KTN).

Intelligent Transport Systems

The ITS KTN, also lead by innovITS , provides a platform to bring together industry thinking, to stimulate collaborative working across ITS industries and services, and to inform the direction of ITS research and development.

Membership of the KTN is free - please complete this registration form to join.