Variable Message Signs Limited - Smarter Traffic Management Systems

Variable Message Signs Limited are one of the UK's leading integrated traffic management systems suppliers, with over 20 years' experience of producing driver information and public information displays. Their products feature the innovative Rigel LED lens, delivering the highest optical standards for light output and contrast ratio.

RIGEL LED TECHNOLOGY FOR MS4 MOTORWAY INFORMATION SIGNS

VMS's innovative Rigel LED module attracted a Millennium Product Award and a Queen's Award for Enterprise in Innovation. The Rigel LED lens has been a key element in the company's development of the MS4, the UK Highways Agency's new generation of motorway information signs.

These new variable message signs are capable of displaying dual-colour text as well as pictograms, permitting the display of pan-European symbols, which reduce the dependence on language-based messages and deliver critical information more efficiently than text-based messages.

AMI (ADVANCED MOTORWAY INDICATOR) TRI-COLOUR MATRIX SIGN

Pictograms are also a feature of the latest prototype to come out of VMS, the AMI (Advanced Motorway Indicator), which is a tri-colour LED matrix sign. This sign, commissioned by the Highways Agency, is intended to display legally enforceable information and is therefore required to display white graphics.

White is the most challenging colour for LEDs to display but, combined with the VMS Rigel lens design, the AMI has not only exceeded the HA specification for light output and contrast ratio, but also that of the proposed European standard.

MS3 SIGNS AND VARIABLE TOLL CHARGE INDICATOR SIGNS

Recent contract wins demonstrate the breadth of VMS' experience. Following on from the important role it played to the Sydney Olympics, VMS has supplied variable message signs to aid traffic management around the Athens Olympics in 2004. The installation makes use of unusually large MS3-type signs, delivering messages in alternating Greek and English.

MS3 signs have also been installed on the UK's first toll motorway, the M6(T), delivering driver information alongside variable toll charge indicator signs produced by VMS.

UTMC (URBAN TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL)

In the UK, VMS continues to expand its share of the UTMC (Urban Traffic Management and Control) and car-park monitoring sectors, working to UTMC protocols, as well as producing stand-alone custom-designed solutions.

3I-BACKED BUY-OUT: TRAFFIC CONTROL AND RAIL SIGNAL MARKET EXPANSION

Over the past five years VMS have grown considerably, and in 2003 the company announced a successful move to become an independent business, with a 3i-backed management buy-out from Rolls-Royce.

In January 2004, the company moved to new premises in Hebburn, South Tyneside, providing nearly 35,000ft² of manufacturing and office space. With the installation of state-of-the-art optical testing and research facilities, VMS are now poised to expand their activities in the traffic control and rail signal markets, building on the advances they have developed in the application of LED technology.

FUTURE VMS DEVELOPMENTS

For many years VMS have worked closely with the UK Highways Agency, developing new systems to match the latest initiatives. With the pace of change in this market sector not showing any signs of slowing down, VMS are forging ahead with new technological advances and new products. With the introduction of pan-European standards, the market is set to expand further, and VMS Limited are well placed to take a leading role.