Two times awarded as Best European Destination, the Portuguese city of Porto is also at the forefront of smart cities, says the Portuguese Smart Cities Index.
Following this innovative environment is Bitmaker, the company responsible for developing Porto’s challenge in the EMBERS Open Call. “The city has an outstanding University and Polytechnic School which results in an impressive pool of well-prepared people for the challenges we have in the company”, says Bitmaker’s CEO, Ricardo Fernandes.
Elected Top 25 Scaleup company in Portugal by the MIT’s program Building Global Innovators, Bitmaker defines itself as a “team” rather than simply a company. “The best reward we can get is to see our clients achieve their goals. We are very happy for being able to help our clients grow. We have an impact on their businesses”, explains the CEO.
As a team, Bitmaker found in EMBERS technology the right path towards an “open source footprint”, explains Ricardo Fernandes – “EMBERS is an excellent opportunity for us to have an impact on the city we are from by making the citizens’ life more pleasant when it concerns mobility and parking”.
In Bitmaker CEO’s opinion, more than a challenge, EMBERS Open Call is a great market opportunity. “Booking a parking slot and payments are somewhat complicated in Porto’s public parking facilities” and Bitmakers’ mission is to ultimately make it a no-brainer question. The final solution is a mobile app for car drivers to book and pay their parking slots. “Our solution will be simple, useful and easy-to-use. We aim to make people stop thinking about it”, adds the CEO.
Currently in a development process, in Fernandes’ eyes, the most challenging part is to meet the Public API tool with drivers expectations. However, EMBERS development tools are giving the right answers for Porto’s challenge.
