VivaCity develops AI-based traffic monitoring and signal-control technology for cities and transport authorities. Founded in December 2015, the company grew out of a project by co-founders Mark Nicholson, Yang Lu and Peter Mildon to design and race a road-legal solar-powered car at Cambridge. Nicholson is the company’s CEO and co-founder. 3411
Its sensors use computer vision to collect anonymised data on different transport modes, traffic flows, speeds, turning movements and near-miss incidents. Authorities can use the information to assess travel patterns, plan infrastructure and adjust traffic signals to changing demand. The company’s stated priorities include road safety, sustainable transport and making better use of existing road networks. 2311
VivaCity began with UK deployments, including the VivaMK project in Milton Keynes, which installed parking and traffic sensors. It later worked with local authorities in Oxford and Cambridge, and its timeline records live operations in 15 UK cities or regions by March 2020. 4 Its work has also extended beyond the UK: the company reported a New York City Department of Transportation pilot, while a later company announcement described an expansion of the sensor network across the city. 125
A notable project is Smart Junction, which combines sensor data with traffic-signal control. In Cambridge, a pilot with the Greater Cambridge Partnership tested AI-based signal control intended to respond to pedestrians, cyclists and motor traffic; a separate trial took place at one junction in Peterborough. 13 In the West Midlands, VivaCity’s near-miss detection was used in a road-safety project designed to identify dangerous locations and interactions before collisions occur. 11