Mobility: the greatest challenge of tomorrow


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Mobility is one of the greatest challenges facing cities and there is already a clear shift in the way cities view mobility. According to a recent KPMG study, as the mobility ecosystem evolves, its global value is forecast to grow to more than US$1 trillion by 2030. 

Indeed, purely automotive mobility no longer makes sense from a financial, urbanistic and ecological point of view. In the same way, parking as we know it is neither sustainable nor efficient. Often expensive, it generates traffic jams and a lot of CO2 emissions. In this area, many applications are emerging to make transportation and parking smarter.

Here is a concrete example of smart mobility: smart parking

When you own a vehicle, finding a parking space in urban areas is too often a source of stress and wasted time. In the same way, when managing a parking space, a high occupancy rate is the key to profitability. But many parking places often remain empty. Thus, it’s a wasted opportunity. So-called “Smart Parking” technologies could be the best solution to address these challenges.

How does it work and what are the real interests? Let’s explore this in more detail.

The ‘smart parking’ application guides drivers to a free parking space

Road infrastructure is connected using sensors and computers and smart parking makes use of sensor technology to spot and communicate the occupancy of a parking lot.

A camera system like Spotcam monitors the spaces occupation. The following useful information can be provided: whether the place is free or not, how long it has been occupied, the number plate of the parked vehicles, and – in case of connection with the time stamp system – if the user has exceeded the authorised parking time.

Linked to connected software solutions, all this information allows companies to manage the occupancy rate of the parking spaces and to inform people seeking parking in a certain area via applications. Users of the application receive a notification as soon as a parking space becomes free.

For this, it is crucial to be able to rely on a secure network, which has sufficient capacity and operates without interruption. Optical fiber, 4G, wi-fi and soon 5G provide this connectivity.

Santander: A city with over 12,000 sensors, model of the European smart city

This small to medium-sized town holds the world record for the most intelligent sensors in a city: in total, over 12,000 communicating, fixed and mobile objects, and even “human sensors” (that is to say the inhabitants themselves), who anonymously participate in this network through their smartphone. 

As a result, traffic jams have decreased by 80%. The most impressive thing about this system is the repeaters and other relay stations on streetlights that transmit information in 3G or via the city’s optical fiber network to a large computer data center. This data center aggregates the data, processes it and redistributes it to relevant services. It is the largest Internet of Things infrastructure in the world!

What can DataBroker bring to Smart Cities ?
The growth of the urban world creates challenges in terms of Smart Cities. Both Data Providers and Data Users can benefit from a safe and reliable data marketplace to face those challenges. 

If you have any interest in selling or buying data to improve our Smart Cities' mobility, environment and safety, please drop us a line at: hello@databrokerdao.com