You already know we’re here to develop a new and sustainable mobility concept. Well, together with the University Pierre and Marie Curie (UPMC), we’re currently looking for developers and software companies to implement solutions to three specific and actual challenges in Porto, Cologne and Trikala.

Three times considered European Best Destination, the city of Porto (Portugal) has experience on what is called “Smart City” technologies. Considering its fast growth and aspiration for better traffic management, Smart Parking is the challenge to be solved in the Portuguese city. Participants must develop a solution that not only gives a better overview of parking spaces available in the city centre but ultimately provides better services for drivers – pre-reserving parking spaces and an app-based payment possibility for parking.

Beyond Portugal, the Open Call Challenge encompasses another well-known European city. Cologne (Germany) challenges applicants to have in-depth knowledge of Smart Bicycle Traffic. Known as the fourth largest city in Germany and the Carnival’s capital, promoting new means of transport is one of the leading priorities for its local authorities. How to create a unified cycling community that shares insights on hazards and possible road obstructions is the core question of this challenge.

Last but not least, Trikala (Greece) provides the challenge Smart Parking that integrates parking occupancy data from their parking facilities. The goal is to extract relevant insights for decision-makers about the actual usage of the available parking spaces. Developers must use real-time information to provide the best parking service for citizens and tourists in one of the oldest cities in Europe, with a history that goes back to 3,000 BC.

To accomplish all these challenges, EMBERS back-end technology provides mobility data, all documentation for each city, open interfaces and ready to use SDKs. Proposals must be submitted until February 16th through the online submission portal PLACE, accessible here.

If you’re interested in participating, please don’t hesitate to reach us!

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1. ‘Personal data’ definition will change

Any company that handles personal data of an EU citizen, either B2B or B2C, GDPR will apply crosswise. While the GDPR is technically an EU initiative, it will have a global impact, regardless of the UK’s Brexit decision. Personal data definition will also be broader. Starting May 25th, according to its description, any data that can be used to identify an individual, such as business contact data, genetic, mental, cultural, economic or social information.

2. Data Protection Officer

If your business schedule implies processing data on a larger scale, you will need a Data Protection Officer (DPO). It is not the size of the company that matters, but the amount of data it handles on a regular basis. In simple terms, this means that SMEs and small businesses may need to hire someone to ensure that personal data processes, systems and storage are in accordance with the GDPR regulation.

3. Privacy Impact Assessments

Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) are part of a preventing step that will be introduced to businesses to mitigate the knock-on risk to individuals. If you run projects that involve personal data, a PIA must be carried out, while the DPO will then have to make sure they comply with the GDPR during the project.

4. More evidence of the ‘valid consent’ process

The data that the platform wants to collect from an individual must be clear and simple, under the GDPR norms. More than that, companies must communicate how it will be entirely processed. Valid consent from a user also needs to be obtained, rather than by an assumption that it has been given.

5. ‘Right to be forgotten’

To reinforce the ethical best practices, businesses under GDPR will not be able to hold or retain any data for longer than what is necessary. Subscribers, users or clients can request the ‘right to be forgotten’, where the organisation must entirely delete the information about an individual. In addition to this, companies will not be able to manipulate data from what it was initially agreed for. If they wish to do so, they must obtain a new and updated consent from their users. If this is too much information, do not worry! Talk to us; the EMBERS team is already working on ethical and privacy principles suggested by the GDPR to turn our Mobility platform fully-compliant!    

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More than a need, car-based mobility is almost an independence statement, an achievement of modernity, as well as the driving force behind the development of local structures. However, that statement has seriously damaged cities workflow and environment across time. According to an MIT research, transportation accounts for 28% of US energy and 34% of US greenhouse gas emissions, the majority coming from light-duty vehicles making personal trips – people commuting to work, driving to social events, and performing errands in cars and light trucks. [1] In fact, besides reducing noise, congestion and pollution, for some cities, the act of cleaning up traffic can be a financial incentive. A recent study found out that in Lima-Callao, a Peru region, cost-effective investments in the sector could generate as much as $1.1 billion in annual energy savings. Banishing cars from city centres implies a structured investment in the mobility network, supported by public and environmental-friendly transportation systems. This is a common philosophy in some European cities, such as London, for example, which has heavy congestion charges on private vehicles entering the city centre during peak hours. Amsterdam and Copenhagen are also closing some private vehicles corridors to bicycles and electric public transportation. That’s another issue: electric cars. Believing they are the future of sustainable mobility, MIT found out as well that electric cars could take over most of the tomorrow´s driving needs. Nevertheless, and ironically, they’ll need the help of internal combustion engines to do it. However, as the report states, its limited battery life and market value (for now), makes this type of vehicle not the first choice for most citizens. In conclusion: will cars become extinct? James Cascio, the senior fellow at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, says no! Cultural issues behind, it is really hard for cars to be substituted in a medium term. Although, in cities that conceive mobility as a public good, cars can be integrated with other forms of transportation to create a versatile and flexible system of transportation [2]. That’s why Uber and other car-sharing services and apps are so well succeeded. Have you ever tried this kind of services? Let us hear your thoughts. We hope you have enjoyed this post.   [1] Electric cars could drive the future – The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/15/electric-cars-internal-combustion-engines-mit-report [2] A Future Without Cars? – The European. http://www.theeuropean-magazine.com/felix-creutzig–2/6280-a-future-without-cars

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Oh, travelling, such an enjoyable experience, right? Taking long walks just to get to know the city, and its corners and, of course, to improve your fitness and feel proud of it. Calling a taxi? Renting a car? No way! Subways and buses are more eco-friendly and time-efficient, as well as an excellent way to understand local people’s routines. Speaking of which, do we really have an actual idea of what these routines truly look like? Imagine dealing with crowd and traffic. Imagine having to leave one hour before your workday starts when the actual distance is just 20 km – only to realise that you won’t be at home at a good time to shop for fruit and food… Maybe it’s better to buy online, right? It might be a relief, but what about the shipping company? Thanks to slow traffic, road signalling and traffic lights, it’s sometimes impossible to deliver everything planned for one working day. Now that we left you anxious as well as eternally thankful to shipping companies let us just say this is quite difficult to manage because of some political issues. All these problems have been reflected by many researchers, being the primary objective to find the best path towards an organised urban logistics plan – so that things like traffic can be more fluid, organised and less complicated. One solution that has been studied and recently implemented in some cities is called Urban Consolidation Center (UCC). It aims at integrating all deliveries from different shipping companies in one single forwarder who would be responsible for delivering at a town from a UCC. Long-term speaking, pollution levels should be reduced (noise and gas emissions), and the full motion within the city should be more fluid.