Intelligent transportation systems that use embedded technology in infrastructure and in connected vehicles are the future and will improve safety and mobility. In urban areas where there is limited land available for road expansion, managing traffic through technology is the only viable solution as interest for living in cities continues to soar. Vivacity Labs has built an AI-powered traffic signal system and network technology that reduces congestion, decreases pollution, increases vehicular, pedestrian, and cyclist safety, and provides municipalities with actionable data for urban planning. The company’s sensors and platform are designed with privacy in mind as all data is anonymized and cannot be used for nefarious purposes. London TechWatch caught up with CEO Mark Nicholson to learn more about how the company’s use of technology reimages our relationship with traffic as a society, the experience of building a startup whose customers are governments, the company’s future plans, and latest funding round from investors that include Mobeus, Downing Ventures, and London Co-Investment Fund.
UrbanTech
HumanForest Raises £1.8M for its Free Shared E-Bike System for London
HumanForest is the first free shared electric bike system. The first twenty minutes are free, supported by the rider viewing ads on the HumanForest app and each additional minute is only 12 pence. London TechWatch caught up with Head of Growth and Cofounder Caroline Seton to learn more about how shared mobility is improving life in London, the company’s plan to deploy 2K e-bikes this year, and the company’s recent funding round from investors that include Juan de Antonio, Vicente Pascual, and Stefan Tilks.
Adverttu Transforms Private Vehicles into OOH Ad Inventory and Lets Drivers Earn
OOH has been a growing segment of the ad spend but traditionally there has been very little attribution to understand ROI. Adverttu is taking personal vehicles and turning them into OOH ad inventory that can be tracked, understood, and analyzed. Nearly 20,000 drivers are already on the platform earning by having their cars wrapped with brand collateral. CEO and Cofounder Artjom Jekimtstev share more about the UK’s fastest-growing transit media platform.
NASA Prepares the Nation for Flying Taxis?
Autonomous eVTOLs (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing systems) are coming sooner than you think.
CES 2020: A Smart City Oasis
Like the city that hosts the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) there is a lot of noise on the show floor. Sifting through the lights, sounds, and people can be an arduous task even for the most experienced CES attendees. Hidden past the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) is a walkway to a tech […]
Tackling Sustainability and Urbanization With AI-Enabled Furniture
At the turn of the twentieth century, the swelling populations of newly arrived immigrants in New York City’s Lower East Side reached a boiling point, forcing the City to pass the 1901 Tenement House Act. Recalling this legislation, New York City’s Mayor’s Office recently responded to its own modern housing crisis by enabling developers for the […]
5 Exciting Technologies That Need Your Execution Help
As a business advisor and technologist, I often think about the large array of opportunities for entrepreneurs as technology seems to be evolving faster and faster. Yet I still too often hear the question, “Can you give me a really sure-fire idea for starting my own business?” My standard answer is that ideas are a […]
Machines That Smell Trouble
Abruptly, I enter the cab escaping the arctic weather to confront something worse than freezing rain – body odor. Luckily, another taxi pulled to the curb and I continued my journey to last Tuesday’s RobotLab forum on Cybersecurity & Machines. Moderating a panel at the new Global Cyber Center, with John Frankel of ffVC and Guy Franklin of SOSA, I […]
The End Of Parking As We Know It
A day before snow decapacitated New York commuters, researchers at the University of Iowa and Princeton demurred the growth of urbanization as the leading cause for catastrophic storm damage. Wednesday’s report stated that the $128 billion wake of Hurricane Harvey was 21 times greater due to the population density of Houston, one of America’s fastest growing cities. […]