The Geospatial Commission and Innovate UK are to put up £2 million to support projects using location data for smart mobility solutions.
They have announced a competition, open for entries until 4 November, for private sector bodies with a UK public sector organisation as a strategic customer.
The money comes from the Small Business Research Initiative and will be divided among up to 30 projects. The most promising to emerge from the first phase could receive up to a further £1 million for prototype development in a second phase.
Four themes have been outlined for the competition:
- Mobility as a service - to help better integration of transport modes.
- Active travel - creating safer ways to enable active travel.
- Supply chains - helping better distribution, storage and delivery.
- Boosting capacity - increasing efficiency of transport networks.
Projects should also demonstrate reasonable use of geospatial data and technology, such as Earth observation data, algorithms applied to spatial datasets, internet of things sensors, 3D laser scanning and advanced geographical information systems analysis.
The bodies also highlighted examples of projects that would be considered, including: the use of sensors to support safer transport; near-miss identification tools to identify risk early on; geospatial tools to inform infrastructure investment for social and environmental outcomes; and apps that integrate a range of location data sources.
Improve services
Minister for the Cabinet Office Lord True said: “Location data and technology will help improve transport services, enabling the efficient delivery of new networks and transport corridors.
“Location data helps connect people with the jobs they need, the goods and services they want, and the places they want to go. This competition will help position the UK as a global science superpower and start to unlock £2 billion of economic value per year in our transport sector.”
Image by Andrew, CC BY-SA 2.0
