The research, which will be undertaken by Mapflow with its co-sponsor, the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO) is being funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and aims to establish whether satellite technology can be used to correctly calculate road usage in the Dublin city.

This study is to be carried out under the ARMAS (Active Road Management Assisted by Satellite) project to develop a 'virtual' road toll system. ARMAS is a system that uses in-vehicle black boxes and global satellite positioning data to help determine the exact route a driver has travelled, so that a fair and precise toll can be calculated after each journey.

Electronic tolling based on satellite technology is good news for both motorists and traffic managers. Eliminating the need to stop at tollbooths will dramatically cut traffic tailbacks and significantly reduce the requirement for costly and ugly roadside infrastructure.

The satellite system offers increased flexibility to traffic managers who can use the technology to manage congestion with variable toll charges based on time of day or levels of congestion.

Mapflow has worked with ESA on the application of space technology to road tolling since 2003 when investigated the feasibility of using satellite technology for virtual tolling.

"Mapflow has developed significant experience and knowledge about the application of satellite technology to various aspects of road tolling through participation in ESA projects such as ARMAS. Improving this technology and using it, especially in built-up areas, has taken substantial investment in technology by Mapflow. We are excited to see them extend these technology trials to Dublin." remarked Rafael Lucas Rodriguez, Head of Navigation Applications and User Services Office at ESA.

Mapflow has completed trials on satellite technology in a number of urban areas, including London, where they evaluated GPS accuracy for Traffic for London, the organisation that manages the London congestion charge.

"We believe that the low-rise nature of buildings in Dublin will make it significantly easier to track cars in Dublin, and that this technology will eventually lead to the elimination of toll booths in Ireland," explained Harvey Appelbe, Mapflow CTO.

John Henry, CEO, Dublin Transportation Office welcomed the feasibility study as a potential first step towards radically overhauling the way the road tolls are collected in Ireland.

"The use of satellite technology to track road usage makes it possible for us to greatly improve the way that the road tolling system currently operates. The satellite system is perhaps the most innovative way of collecting tolls without impeding motorists. I'm sure that the benefits of not having to filter through toll plazas and of being able to automatically pay roads tolls would be widely recognised by motorists were the available technology to be used to that end".

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