- Aston University and Agilysis Limited enter Knowledge Transfer Partnership to develop a unique predictive software tool to aid city planners
- The partnership will transform the company’s opportunity for growth by creating a sophisticated air quality model for transport planning applications
- Aston University academics will gain better understanding of machine learning techniques in relation to AI
Aston University has teamed up with transport safety specialists Agilysis Limited through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) to create a sophisticated predictive Air Quality (AQ) tool.
This tool will use live data to promote safe and sustainable travel with improvements in air quality, by allowing road authorities to strategically plan and assess the benefits of network improvements.
Air pollution has a significant effect on public health, with poor AQ being the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK, with costs of health impacts likely to exceed estimates of £20 billion a year (Royal College of Physicians). This project will help to improve transport planning decisions by being the first to apply predictive models to estimate the impact of interventions - such as low traffic neighbourhoods and school zones - on reducing emissions.
A KTP is a three-way collaboration between a business, an academic partner and a highly qualified researcher, known as a KTP associate.
Agilysis Limited is an award-winning specialist consultancy in transport safety and road-user behaviour. They work with clients such as local authorities, police forces and transport operators to understand the impact of road-user choices on traffic volumes, road risk and safety outcomes.
The Aston University team will be led by Dr Maria Chli, reader in informatics and digital engineering at Aston University whose research is in the Artificial Intelligence field, with particular interest in applying machine learning techniques to intelligent agents and multi-agent systems with a focus on smart cities applications. She will be supported by Dr Lucy Bastin, senior lecturer in informatics and digital engineering, who focuses on urban ecology and green infrastructure and its impact on quality of life in our cities.
Completing the team will be Dr George Vogiatzis, senior lecturer in informatics and digital engineering, who has expertise in machine learning techniques, including deep learning neural networks and deep learning methodologies for indexing large video and image collections.
Daniel Campsall, executive chairman at Agilysis Limited, says: “This partnership with Aston University allows us to adopt the latest research and expertise from a world-leading academic institution to develop a novel sophisticated air quality model and develop commercially viable applications. We are looking forward to establishing a close working relationship that will bring an exciting skillset to our company.”
Dr Maria Chli, reader in informatics and digital engineering at Aston University, says: “We are very excited to get started on this KTP with Agilysis. The project will allow us to leverage our expertise on deep neural traffic modelling and control. The key objective, a powerful predictive AQ model, will be of great benefit as a tool for improving living conditions in our cities. It will also hopefully unlock exciting research avenues on new smart cities applications.”
- Notes to editors
A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a UK-wide programme that helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is a leading KTP provider, ranked fourth in terms of volume by Innovate UK, the National body.
This project is co-funded by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.
Watch our short film to see how it works and visit our website for examples of KTP in action at Aston.
To find out more about how your business can benefit from working with Aston University, please email rke@aston.ac.uk or call 0121 204 4242
About Aston University
Founded in 1895 and a university since 1966, Aston is a long-established university led by its three main beneficiary groups – students, business and the professions, and the West Midlands region and wider society. Located in Birmingham at the heart of a vibrant city, the campus houses all the University’s academic, social and accommodation facilities for our students. Professor Aleks Subic is the Vice-Chancellor & Chief Executive.
In 2022 Aston University was ranked in the top 25 of the Guardian University Guide, based on measures including entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality and graduate prospects. The Aston Business School MBA programme was ranked in the top 100 in the world in the Economist MBA 2021 ranking.
For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Nicola Jones, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44) 7825 342091 or email: n.jones6@aston.ac.uk
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