Skip to main content

DAFNI tests UK road infrastructure resilience

A new computer system is said to offer huge benefits for maintaining transport infrastructure. This is the product of a world-leading computing project and is called Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure, DAFNI. The project commenced in 2017 to provide world-leading research capabilities to help improve the UK’s infrastructure systems, by making them more resilient and effective. DAFNI can help ensure the UK’s infrastructure is sustainable by running detailed simulations that show a range
June 10, 2019 Read time: 3 mins

A new computer system is said to offer huge benefits for maintaining transport infrastructure. This is the product of a world-leading computing project and is called Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure, DAFNI. The project commenced in 2017 to provide world-leading research capabilities to help improve the UK’s infrastructure systems, by making them more resilient and effective.

DAFNI can help ensure the UK’s infrastructure is sustainable by running detailed simulations that show a range of scenarios and outcomes, which allows key decisions to be made.

DAFNI is a national computational resource available to academia and industry, allowing this essential research to be undertaken to ensure stability for the UK’s long-term planning and investment in transport for example.

DAFNI is being designed and developed by STFC’s Scientific Computing Department, the UK facility that provides large scale high performance computing facilities, computing data services and infrastructure.

After two years of development, the DAFNI team are ready to start making a difference to the resilience of UK infrastructure in the face of catastrophic events, with a host of successful pilot schemes already in place.

4035 SCD’s Sam Chorlton, project lead for DAFNI, said: “DAFNI has come so far in the two years since its inception, and it is already having a huge impact in making the country’s infrastructure more resilient and sustainable – as we can see with the already successful pilot projects.

“DAFNI is the tool that the infrastructure industry has been waiting for and it has the power to make a real difference to people’s everyday lives. The team and I are looking forward to working with some of the country’s top planners and policy-makers to ensure we are getting the best systems in place for the future of the UK.”

The powerful computing resource will be able to simulate and plan for the infrastructure demand for services for every household in the UK. It offers innovative software which will allow researchers across academia, UK Government and related industries to study complex infrastructure systems in cities and in the UK as a whole.

DAFNI is funded through an £8 million investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, as part of the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC).

%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external https://www.dafni.ac.uk/ false https://www.dafni.ac.uk/ false false%>
 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • IRF releases policy guidelines on safety in road work zones
    April 9, 2018
    The International Road Federation (IRF Global) has published policy guidelines in an effort to draw attention to the urgent need for coordinated efforts to foster a safety culture on road construction sites. Accidents on road construction sites are responsible for hundreds of thousands of injuries and thousands of deaths worldwide. Work zones present an increased risk for workers who build, repair and maintain roads, bridges and tunnels, as well as for a variety of road users, including pedestrians, bicy
  • T-TRIID competition to improve transport in Africa and South Asia
    July 6, 2018
    Technology groups and agencies have until August 16 to enter the Transport-Technology Research Innovation for International Development (T-TRIID) competition. Under the Applied Research Programme in High Volume Transport (HVT), the competition funds short projects for safer and more efficient transport within low-income countries in Africa and South Asia. The programme is implemented by development and infrastructure agency IMC Worldwide, supported by the Knowledge Transfer Network – a UK agency for p
  • ERIC 2016 - European Road Infrastructure Congress - coming to Leeds
    February 26, 2016
    The European Union Road Federation is seeking abstracts for the largest European Roads Infrastructure event in 2016 to be held 18-20 October. Leeds, a city at the heart of the UK’s Northern Powerhouse Corridor, has been chosen to host the first European Roads Infrastructure Congress, between the 18th and 20th of October, 2016. The European Roads Infrastructure Congress – ERIC 2016 – will provide the opportunity for industry experts and political leaders to discuss current issues affecting the industry
  • Launch of landmark IRF Vienna Manifesto on ITS at World Congress
    November 1, 2012
    The culmination of extensive deliberation and work over the past few years by IRF Geneva’s Policy Committee on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), The IRF Vienna Manifesto on ITS – Smart Transport Policies for Sustainable Mobility will be the object of a high-profile launch during the forthcoming 19th ITS World Congress, to be held in the Austrian capital from 22-26 October 2012. The Manifesto brings together key policy arguments for investing in ITS as well as a set of supporting policy recommendations. I