Helsinki's testbed for smart mobility solutions.

The technology can alert drivers even if the pedestrian is located behind an obstacle and the driver can’t see him. The incident data can also be used by the city itself to improve the city road safety infrastructure. Jätkäsaari Mobility Lab supports the pilot by helping in finding test users to use the application which is available both for Android and iOS. The application also utilises Helsinki’s open data to map whether road crossings are done at crosswalks or traffic lights. 

Key functionalities:

Pedestrian mode

– Road safety behavior stats to improve on-road behavior
– Real-time alert in case the user watches the smartphone when approaching a road
– Volume control – Adjusting headphones volume near roads

Driver mode

– Collision detection alert – Alert drivers on possible collision with pedestrians, even when the pedestrian is behind obstacles and the driver cannot see him
– Alerting drivers in possible collision situations
– Real-time notification when entering crowded pedestrian areas

City road safety dashboard

– Aggregated and statistical data for the city for better planning the physical infrastructure for pedestrians’ road safety (e.g. crosswalk planning, bicycle trails, traffic light optimization)

The project’s influencing methods are co-created with residents. At the same time, the project creates tools for both residents and data collection, thus facilitating local-level city planning.

The overall challenge is that measuring, analysis and dissemination of air quality data in any given location is very complicated and contaminated with error. Lack of real-time and reliable high resolution data has led to a situation where finding targeted interventions that take into account our citizens and their needs while also targeting specific pollution concentrations is missing for all European cities.