DIGNITY, a European project to promote a new digital system accessible to all urban mobility
November 26, 2020
Artificial intelligence to increase air safety in storms
December 11, 20203/12/2020
The Data Management Research Group (DAMA-UPC), along with the spin-off Sparsity Technologies, associated with the University, have developed the mobile application Co-Aps, which provides information on passenger density on public transport and helps to manage it, in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Towards the end of December, the first pilot test has been launched to test the app in Barcelona and in the cities of Istanbul, Karditsa and Sofia.
Barcelona is participating from this week in the pilot tests of the Co-Aps project to prevent the spread of COVID-19, along with the European cities of Istanbul, Karditsa and Sofia. The Data Management (DAMA) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) is coordinating the project in Barcelona, which is being developed along with Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and other European participants. The Co-Aps project is funded by EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) that, since January 2019, has been working to bring about positive changes in the way people move around cities to make them more habitable places.
The Co-Aps platform implements mobile technology to gather data from anonymous users in real time. These data provide information on crowds and the density of public spaces that are managed by the transport operators and the cities’ authorities, so that they can help to manage occupancy and avoid crowds during the pandemic. Using this information, passengers can make informed decisions before and during their journey.
During the pilot phase to test Co-Aps, which will last until the end of the year, users of TMB transport networks can contribute to the fine-tuning of the application by contributing occupancy data in real time on their experience while they travel by bus or metro. The most active people on the app will receive compensation in the form of gifts. The pilot test that has been launched in Barcelona is carried out in various central metro stations (on lines L5 and L4).
The coordinator of the DAMA-UPC group, Josep Lluís Larriba, explained that “with this app, cities and public transport operators could provide a better service for citizens and users, by establishing more information about routes for their mobility. This will help to avoid unnecessary crowds and enable users to take alternative, less busy routes”.
How does Co-Aps work?
Co-Aps is available in Google Play for Android and in Apple Store for iOS. When they enter the app, users are asked to provide real time information on public transport, using various games. For example they can answer questions such as: How many people are there in a specific station? What percentage of passengers are wearing masks?
In addition to contributing to reducing the spread of COVID-19, people who interact with the app can accumulate points that could be exchanged for public transport tickets or discounts on services. To be able to opt for a prize, they must complete at least ten of the challenges that are set when the app is accessed.
Together with the information provided for passengers, in this pilot test, data shall be used such as the weight of carriages, the number of passengers in the stations and the data from numerous sources provided by the TMB, which will use this information to plan the frequency of trains.
Technology
Sector
Topic
You want to know more?
Related Projects
- The Centre of Technological Innovation in Power Electronics and Drives (CITCEA) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is leading a European project that redesigns the current energy system to stabilise the power grid in the face of high renewable energy penetration. The proposed solutions involve using the loads that consume energy to help balance the grid.
- A team from the Environment Centre Laboratory (LCMA) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is taking part in a study commissioned by the city councils of la Llagosta, Mollet and Santa Perpètua (in Vallès Occidental), with the main objective of identifying the impact of industrial plants on the generation of unpleasant odours and continuously monitoring air quality in these municipalities.
- Researchers from the Concrete Sustainability and Smart Structures (C3S) research group, part of the Construction Engineering (EC) group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), are leading the CIRC-BOOST project, which aims to promote sustainability, industrial competitiveness and greater resource efficiency in the European construction sector.
- A research team involving the Barcelona Innovative Transportation (BIT), inLab FIB, CARNET Barcelona – Future Mobility Research Hub (CER-AMA), and the Department of Computer Architecture (DAC) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is driving the i-MovE project, which aims to incorporate multisectoral data to provide much more accurate and valuable information for the mobility sector. The project develops four use cases focused on both companies and mobility authorities, covering public and individual transport, using the UPCxels demonstrator.
