The transport network is the life blood of our economy and our society. And yet, with increased traffic comes increased congestion, noise and pollution. Research indicates that congestion costs the UK economy £20 billion every year, a figure that looks set to rise to £30 billion by 2010. Aircraft noise has the potential to affect the quality of life of at least half a million people in the UK. Cars, lorries and aircraft currently account for about 30% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions, and the resulting pollution affects millions of people who suffer from respiratory illnesses.

New technologies could help reduce the social, economic and environmental costs of transportation. From designing concepts for a virtually silent aircraft and developing the technology for a new generation of sentient “congestion aware” vehicles, to producing ultra-light weight materials that could help manufacturers reduce vehicle emissions - the Cambridge-MIT Institute has funded research in a range of areas that will prove crucial in the search for tomorrow’s transport solutions.

Aircraft design for tomorrow delivers benefits today

The Government acknowledges that noise can be “one of the most objectionable impacts of aircraft development,” resulting in communities blighted by disturbed concentration and sleep. With air travel set to grow exponentially in the UK, our Silent Aircraft Initiative has been discovering ways to reduce aircraft noise dramatically, to the point where it would be virtually unnoticeable outside the airport perimeter. In addition to working on radically new concept designs, the project team are also testing new descent trajectories and protocols that could help reduce the noise created by existing aircraft and deliver real benefits to people living near airports today.

Making Ultra-Light Metals

Working closely with our industrial partners, Volvo and Fibretech, a Cambridge-MIT Institute funded research group have developed and patented an ultra-light metallic sheet material, which could help manufacturers lower vehicle body-weight, and reduce fuel consumption and pollution.

Jump Starting the Connected Car

A group of communications experts funded by the Cambridge-MIT Institute has been developing the technology required to realise the next-generation of sentient vehicles. Able to continuously gather and relay information, these "connected cars" could have a profound effect on our often clogged-up transport system. Potential applications include mapping pollution at road level, verifying digital receipts in road pricing schemes, assessing congestion and prompting driver action, providing insurers with road usage information, and monitoring driver health and behaviour.

Sharing data and mapping pollution

Our researchers have developed a sophisticated motion tracking software programme that could help monitor and assess traffic congestion. In addition, we have joined with Imperial College and invested in the National Transport Data Framework, which is working to build the middleware necessary to handle massive amounts of transportation data collected from an increasingly wireless world, and turn it into usable information for operators, passengers, government departments and other interested parties.

With our help, the TIME project is working with former finalists of the Cambridge University Entrepreneurs business plan competition - Owlstone Nanotech - towards developing wireless button-sized pollution sensors with a Global Positioning System (GPS) capacity. These sensors will be used in 2007 by pedestrians and cyclists in Cambridge, and it is hoped that this test bed could lead to a nationwide service, providing real-time information for asthmatics and people with respiratory problems on the location of pollution hot-spots.

Fewer Men at Work

Maintaining the transport infrastructure frequently requires road and rail closures for vital manual checks. Smart Infrastructure – a team of researchers from Cambridge University and MIT - have been developing and testing innovative new sensor systems for monitoring the condition of infrastructure such as tunnels, roads and bridges that could reduce the need for site manual checks and help target maintenance work more effectively, leading to less disruption to the transport system.

CASE STUDY : THE SILENT AIRCRAFT INITIATIVE

In the three years since its launch, the Silent Aircraft Initiative has brought together a unique community of interested parties, including regulators, airport operators, airlines, aerospace manufactures and representatives of community groups.

These partners are working collaboratively to reduce aircraft noise, not only because it will directly advantage communities situated close to airports, but also because it will provide a major boost to the UK aerospace industry, and help UK airlines and airports to operate more productively.

There are over 30 partner organisations in the project, including British Airways, Boeing, the Civil Aviation Authority, Cranfield University, Marshalls Aerospace, National Air Traffic Services, and Rolls-Royce. Another partner is Luton Airport - one of the UK’s fastest growing airports, serving over 7.5 million passengers per year.

"We are delighted to be involved in a project of this global importance and prominence," said Neil Thompson, Airport Environment Manager at London Luton Airport. “At London Luton we are always anxious to be a good and responsible neighbour to the local community. We have seen a 400% increase in demand for flying in the last decade alone, and although the targets of the Silent Aircraft Initiative are long-term, we can see a time when major changes in aircraft configuration and operations would directly help us in meeting passenger demand whilst also meeting our commitment to reduce the environmental impact of that demand."

Brüel & Kjær, industry pioneers in sound and vibration measurement for over 30 years, have been working with project researchers in the open jet wind tunnel at the Whittle Laboratory at Cambridge University. Their noise monitoring solutions have been installed in over 200 airports all around the world, from Norway to New York to Osaka. The company supplied valuable specialist equipment and expertise to Silent Aircraft researchers to measure and analyse the trailing-edge noise that will come from the wing of the concept aircraft.

“Innovation drives the aerospace industry, so working on the acoustics of the future generation of aircraft is a key factor for Brüel & Kjær,” said Wim Buyens, Aerospace & Defence Director of Brüel & Kjær. “Increasing the quality of people's lives is part of our mission. Exterior aircraft noise is a vital element in the growing demand for global mobility and we are delighted to be involved in this exciting project."