DG Cities leads autonomous and connected vehicle reasearch initiative in London

Smart Mobility Living Lab : London

The Smart Mobility Living Lab: London (Vehicles) is an Innovate UK and industry collaboration that is building a state-of-the-art test bed for Connected Autonomous Vehicles. Situated in the heart of London, with facilities in Greenwich and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, this will offer advanced real-world testing and development of future mobility solutions.

The project is led by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), with consortium partners including Cisco, Transport for London, Cubic, London Legacy Development Corporation, Loughborough University and DG Cities. Bringing technology, infrastructure and transport experts together, SMLL will allow clients and partners to test, develop and deploy a wide range of solutions related to CAVs in the real world.

DG Cities is leading the design and build of the facilities, defining connectivity infrastructure requirements to support the operation of the test bed and interfacing with the Local Authorities to deliver the test bed.

Find out more about the world-leading project here.

DG Cities are an urban innovation company specialising in the integration of ‘smart city’ technologies and approaches to maximise their benefits for cities and optimise the use of resources, infrastructure and services. 

They have particular expertise in ‘smart mobility’ such as Mobility as a Service, e-Mobility and Connected and Autonomous Vehicles. 

We champion an integrated and holistic approach that incorporates new technologies into the design of cities and neighbourhoods.

Kerlink and Smart Traffik Create LoRaWAN® Instore Retail-Analytics Solution

Plug-and-Play SmartBoxes Enable Retail Outlets to Create Personalized Shopper Experience & Build Brand Loyalty Kerlink , a specialist in solutions dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT), and Smart Traffik, a retail-analytics solution provider for brick-and-mortar merchants, have built a responsive end-to-end LoRaWAN® system that enables retail outlets to create personalized shopper experiences and build brand loyalty, by improving visitor in-store journey and improving the phygital transformation of the point of sale.

Combining its Wirnet™ iFemtoCell-evolution indoor gateways and its Wanesy™ Management Center with Smart Traffik’s instore data analytics solution, which includes a plug-and-play SmartBox, based on Kerlink’s Low Power IoT Reference Design, the two companies built a Wi-Fi tracking anchor that anonimously collects store visitors' smartphone signals in real-time. The system then modelizes shoppers’ journey in stores, including time spent at specific displays or in various sections.

Its combination with other data provide store owners and managers with valuable retail intelligence that can be used to increase foot traffic and sales, as well as measure effectiveness of marketing campaigns, thus increasing loyalty. “Many studies have shown that today’s customer wants to be valued and recognized,” said Smart Traffik CEO Laurent Simonin. “More than three out of four shoppers like it when they receive product offers or promotions based on their purchasing history from a retailer, indicating a desire for a more-personalized shopping experience.

This new retail-analytics solution designed and built with Kerlink will empower retailers to get the smart data they need to better engage with their customers.” The system, which was announced during the LoRa Alliance® Members Meeting in Amsterdam, is an upgrade of Smart Traffik’s existing in-store analytics IoT that was based on the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard.

Like that system, the new solution created by Kerlink and Smart Traffik is fully compliant with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). “Working with Kerlink helped transform the solution into an IoT LoRaWAN® solution, bringing cost optimization and more flexibility and allowing it to be future-proof and scalable with the possibility to flexibly add additional use cases in the mid-term,” Laurent Simonin said.

Guillaume Boisgontier, Kerlink’s innovative products & solutions marketing manager, said the system developed with Smart Traffik is part of Kerlink’s strategy to complement its hardware portfolio with end-to-end software-and-hardware solutions that serve concrete use cases and allow customers to quickly improve ROI. “We launched that strategy last year with the introduction of four dedicated end-to-end solutions – smart facility management, smart tracking & logistics, smart asset monitoring & smart building – with the help of several partners. Smart Traffik is a new partner with which we work jointly on the design of a future-proof solution that is unique and positions Kerlink in a new and promising vertical, smart retail.”

Source: Kerlink

Ericsson and VodafoneZiggo unveil 5G Hub in the Netherlands

On January 30, 2020, Ericsson, together with VodafoneZiggo, Brainport Development and High Tech Campus Eindhoven, announced the launch of an all-new 5G co-creation environment in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Located in High Tech Campus Eindhoven’s building 25.3, the 5G HUB features a testing laboratory, training facilities, and a demo studio with 5G and IoT capabilities to offer companies, startups and students the chance to explore the new technology of 5G in practice.

Supported by the latest Ericsson Radio System products and running on a VodafoneZiggo network, the 5G HUB will let visitors experiment with next-generation test applications, define new business models, and explore live test cases and pilots (including those related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, and artificial/virtual reality). VodafoneZiggo and Ericsson have worked together for a number of years exploring how to make the most of 5G and cellular technologies in the telecom industry. Now, in Eindhoven, the next step in their collaborative efforts has come to fruition. 

The Radio Communications Agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate has granted a frequency space for the 5G HUB, enabling Ericsson and partners to utilize the 3.5GHz frequency long before the spectrum auction takes place, expectedly in September 2022. This spectrum is needed for a fully-fledged 5G mobile experience for services with a social impact in the area.

Currently, one such service project is piloted as ‘connected ambulance’ developed by Philips, VodafoneZiggo and Ericsson in cooperation between the local GGD ambulance service and the city’s Catharina Hospital. These parties are researching how 5G can be leveraged to support the ambulance team with performing an onsite ultrasound to examine the patient with remote assistance from a physician in the hospital. It is in the benefit of patients to start the right treatment as soon as possible.

Corporations, private companies, start-ups, governments, and knowledge institutions are all welcome at the 5G HUB to take part in an environment of innovation and exploration together. 

Eben Albertyn, Chief Technology Officer VodafoneZiggo, says: “With our high-performance networks, we are a leading force in 5G developments in the Netherlands, and, together with Ericsson and our other partners involved, we are excited to be involved in driving this development forward through the 5G HUB. The 5G HUB gives us direct access to the evolving 5G technologies and competences that will serve critical functions in the societies of tomorrow. This is an excellent opportunity to facilitate the exploration of new applications with stakeholders in a very real way.” 

Ericsson continues to ramp up its investment in Europe following the opening of a new Research & Development center in France in January, adding to them currently employing 15,000 engineers in Europe: 60 percent of their total R&D staff. The company has 19 R&D centers in Europe including Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Sweden. 

Arun Bansal, President and Head of Europe and Latin America, Ericsson, says: “With the 5G HUB, the doors to experiencing 5G applications firsthand have been opened in Eindhoven. As the first of its kind in the Netherlands, the 5G HUB will bring real value to students, companies, researchers, and end users alike with the chance to engage with 5G and IoT innovations in a unique way. At Ericsson, we’re truly pleased to be a part of this project together with our new and long-term partners.” 

Source: Ericsson