TRL and Gaist have launched a partnership with the aim accelerating the development of a national digital twin of the UK’s roads.
Through exploring the detailed case for a digital twin of the country’s roads, using data updated in near real-time, it is thought the initiative could revolutionise how to plan and manage road networks more generally.
The partnership says a digital twin of UK roads could play a pivotal role in managing road repairs, prioritising investments and interventions, and reducing delays and disruption for road users.
It would also help planners and policymakers better understand the useful lifetime of an asset and the demands it is likely to face, the partnership says.
The partnership will strive to solve global roads challenges, shape the road asset data and standards landscape, and explore potential advanced applications of roads data.
It will examine the role of roads data in supporting more efficient, greener, and safer transport infrastructure.
‘Advanced thinking and ambition’
Commenting on the initiative, Andrew Loveless, Gaist CRO, said: “This important alignment between two domain experts marks a milestone in the global application and exploitation of detailed, high-definition roads data.
“Together with TRL, we will present the ‘best of British’ in asset data capture and asset management systems to international customers and work together to push forward our industry and promote UK exports abroad.”
Ryan Hood, head of Digitisation of Transport at TRL, added: “This collaboration underlines TRL’s commitment to work with innovative digitally orientated organisations to shape the future of road asset management and wider transport, both globally and here in the UK.
“The advanced thinking and ambition that Gaist demonstrates, alongside the provision of new data sources and insights, mirrors our own thinking about the future direction of the market.”
Image: posteriori/Shutterstock
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