The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), with a budget close to 30 million euros, has begun its 2021 activities promoting the Knowledge Innovation Communities (KIC) consisting of stakeholders from academia, research and industry with the aim of promoting cooperation to find solutions to global challenges, like the urban mobility KIC.

In this context, two new projects have begun involving the UPF Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC) via the NeTS research group led by Miquel Oliver.

Safer towns and cities for pedestrians and cyclists

According to the European Transport Safety Council, while the figures for fatal accidents in motor vehicles have gone down by 24%, accidents involving pedestrians have only decreased by 19% and deaths of cyclists remain unchanged.

Promoting green modes of transport, like cycling and walking, is a priority of many governments and transport authorities due to the positive impact on public health, air quality and reduced traffic congestion in towns and cities. The WalkCycData project seeks to tackle the need to make towns and cities safer for pedestrians and cyclists. The project’s main goal is to supply a pilot framework to integrate and analyse data related to mobility by bicycle and on foot to improve safety and the experience of vulnerable users of town and city roads. 

Integrate and analyse data related to mobility by bicycle and on foot to improve safety and the experience of vulnerable users

The project WalkCycData: A data infrastructure for vulnerable road users is part of the urban mobility KIC’s Innovation programme; with a consortium led by University College London (UCL), with the participation of UPF, Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research, city of Munich, Skoda Auto, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Municipality of Tel Aviv – Yafo, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, PowerHUB and the City of Ostrava.

Blockchain technologies in urban mobility initiatives

The Blockchain for Urban Mobility project offers an analysis of the use of Blockchain technologies in town and city management and in the car industry. This initiative is led by UPF and includes partners from various European towns and cities.   

The goal of the project is to form and define criteria for use to take advantage of Blockchain technologies in urban mobility initiatives

The project will establish an educational programme, in the form of nanoMOOCs as part of the mobility KIC Academy. The goal of the project is to shape and define criteria for use to take advantage of Blockchain technologies in urban mobility initiatives.

Training materials are to be prepared, directed at the main stakeholders of the Urban Mobility Knowledge Innovation Community through week-long courses, focusing on a skill or competence as an efficient educational format. The project will provide a methodology for identifying and analysing a set of urban mobility criteria for use, to explore whether the criteria efficiently address the challenges of the city or take advantage of emerging technologies.

The consortium that will carry out the project is led by the researcher Miquel Oliver, and involves Technische Universität Braunschweig - Niedersächsisches Forschungszentrum Fahrzeugtechnik (NFF), CARNET-Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the company Factual, and the PowerHUB research centre.

Since last year, UPF has been actively involved in the accelerator programme of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology through UPF Ventures, giving support to the creation of startup-type companies in this field.