TechStars, the third startup accelerator in the world, founded in America in 2006, kicked off its first European acceleration program at Ogr Tech in Turin by choosing the first 11 small new businesses to grow in Italy through a call dedicated to new ideas for smart mobility. The projects were selected internationally among hundreds from 55 countries around the world including Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, India and Russia.
Thanks to the collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and with Turin City Lab, TechStars, starting from last January the Piedmontese capital, with its 'smart road' infrastructure, was chosen as an urban test area for the implementation of projects that will concern the movements of the future. Four of the 11 startups chosen through the Techstars tender dedicated to smart mobility – three American and one English – aim to develop technologies to improve the sustainability of mobility in the city.
The four projects that the startups are developing in the city are:
- Complete Curb Management (project by automotus based in Los Angeles). It is an analytics software that works with cameras that capture images of parking lots and road traffic to capture data and monitor all forms of mobility (including buses, passenger cars, delivery trucks, ride-sharing vehicles, scooters , bicycles and pedestrians). The startup will carry out a test which involves the integration of the Automotus video analysis software with an existing camera managed by 5T - an in-house company of the Municipality of Turin for the supply of infomobility services - and the subsequent technical comparison between the data disposition with respect to the reference area. (www.automotus.co );
- Mobility Data Platform for Smart Cities (project by the American company Urban SDKs) is a platform for cities that transforms mobility, transportation, sustainability and security operations through real-time analytics tools. Urban SDK provides a software as a service platform to simplify complex data reading, decision making and planning through a modern user experience and predictive analytics tools. The platform allows you to index data, predict outcomes and automate workflows. Urban SDK will be accompanied by 5T – the in-house company of the City of Turin for the provision of infomobility services – as a partner of Torino City Lab and also by the local public transport company GTT as an observer. www.urbansdk.com;
- SPOT Smart Parking On Demand Technology (project by the US Parkofon) is an intelligent parking and parking management platform based on a patented IOT technology. Its peculiarity is the elimination of obsolete and cumbersome equipment and infrastructures to be installed on the road such as parking meters and static sensors. Embedded directly inside cars with a low-cost navigation transponder, Parkofon guides users to vacant parking spaces, enables location-based automated bookings and payments, and informs EV owners which charging stations are available nearby. In this experimental framework, Parkofon, will be accompanied by 5T – the in-house company of the City of Turin for the provision of mobility services – as a partner of Torino City Lab and also by the local public transport company GTT as an observer. The Municipality of Turin, through its Mobility Department, will observe and evaluate the activities. www.parkofon.com;
- PowerMarket for Smart Cities and Smart Grids (project developed by PowerMarket, start-up based in Oxford, UK). Considering that 15% of the world's countries are setting strict carbon dioxide emissions targets and investing in solar energy as a result, PowerMarket has developed a centralized platform able to locate, thanks to the use of satellite data, the best sites for solar energy plants, identifying the relative financial and environmental impact. The solution, aimed at Smart Cities and Smart Grids, is oriented on the one hand to support cities, governments, grid operators and utilities in optimizing grid management and energy trading, and on the other to help referents politicians and real estate managers to identify the best sites for the installation of solar energy systems. During the testing phase, the proposer will be supported by IREN spa, which manages public buildings and related electrical systems in Turin and Partner of Turin City Lab. www.powermarket.net
