Patrick Buckley How IoT technology is helping candy producers make sweet profits! From chocolate bars to lollipops, gumdrops to Haribos, the confectionary industry is now worth an estimated 210$ billion worldwide. With the industry experiencing strong growth, it is no surprise...
Olivia Brookhouse When will Robots find a place in the Smart Home? With the mass introduction of smart speakers, smart doorbells, smart fridges and even smart toilets there is a world of possibilities when it comes to innovating our homes. Whilst...
Carlos Lorenzo TOP 5: The 5 most read posts of Synergic Partners Today we have an important announcement, as you know Synergic Partners has been integrated into LUCA, the data unit of Telefónica, and with the aim of continuing to offer...
LUCA The refugee crisis and Syrian Civil War; a humanitarian issue reflected through data When we finish the year we always look to the past to weigh up the good and the bad moments of the year (trying to make the most of...
LUCA Deep Learning and satellite images to estimate the impact of COVID19 Motivated by the fact that the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused worldwide turmoil in a short period of time since December 2019, we estimate the negative impact of...
LUCA Success Story: LUCA Transit and Highways England The transport industry is very receptive to the application of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence strategies, as there are clear use cases that can maximize a companies’ efficiency and...
LUCA Deep Learning and satellite images to estimate the impact of COVID19 Motivated by the fact that the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused worldwide turmoil in a short period of time since December 2019, we estimate the negative impact of...
LUCA Chiemsee-Alpenland Tourism and Telefónica Next Examine visitors to the Chiemsee lake Original post by Cécile Schneider, Telefónica NEXT The touristic region of Chiemsee-Alpenland and our colleagues at Telefónica NEXT used data analysis to examine the profile of visitors to the Chiemsee...
How Big Data helped Stuttgart improve commutes and tackle Climate ChangeLUCA 13 March, 2017 Here at LUCA, we are passionate about harnessing the power of data to tackle problems. Whether the problem is a global threat like climate change or a personal issue like a frustrating commute, LUCA tries to address these problems using mobile data through our Big Data for Social Good initiative. An inefficient public transport system connects to problems both on a global and personal level, so it is an ideal issue for us to address. Figure 1: Improving Stuttgart’s Transit System Can Address Personal and Global Concerns On a global level, the U.N. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform attributes a quarter of all global greenhouse gas emissions to the transport sector. That pollution level is so serious that two of the United Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals involve improving public transport. Goal nine for industry, innovation and infrastructure, and goal eleven for sustainable cities and communities both include the need for sustainable public transport systems. Cities are increasingly looking at their transit systems to address issues such as pollution and cutting carbon emissions. On a personal level, an efficient public transit system also has the benefit of improving citizen happiness through reducing commuter stress. Particularly if the commuter does not have any other options than public transit, an unreliable or overcrowded system can be frustrating. Recent studies have even shown that a bad commute in the morning can negatively impact productivity for the rest of the day, averaging around a 10% drop in productivity. So improving commutes can have multiple levels of returns. Figure 2: The U.N. SDGs involve improving public transit systems But a city’s ability to improve its system is only as good as the information it uses to make those improvements. We have seen how the pilot project in the city of Nuremberg tackles the problem of air pollution from commuter traffic by using data analysis. Similarly, Stuttgart is using data to address the issue of its overburdened public transit system. Through Telefónica NEXT’s partnership with Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO), we are using the current transportation behavior of Stuttgart residents to get a detailed analysis of current use patterns. Figure 3: Stuttgart is Seeking to Address Overcrowded Public Transport Systems Currently, most cities base their transport plans on data gathered through surveys. These surveys are samples of the whole commuter group that are conducted every few years. The problem with relying solely on these surveys, though, is that commuter behavior can drastically change in between survey instances, and they do not capture the whole picture of a commuter group. The surveys can also be expensive and time-consuming. This is what using mobile network data solutions directly addresses. Because this data is tied to user cell phone positioning, it provides real-time data. It also expands the sample of commuters included in the survey to anyone who is a Telefónica customer in Germany. The available data is therefore much larger. It’s also a lot less time consuming and expensive to gather this information, because it uses existing systems. Another neat benefit of tracking commuter behavior with mobile data is the ability to see different journey patterns. For instance, if a commuter uses both a train and a bus as part of their commute, this whole journey can be seen as one complete commute. Normal survey data is unable to precisely connect these two legs of the journey and treats them as separate trips. This big-picture view of commuter behavior can help Stuttgart city planners to identify previously unnoticed commuter frustration points. They can also address current needs along the whole journey, rather than segmented problems. Figure 4: Potential Commuter Journey Path In addition to supporting daily commuters, a public transit system needs to support occasional traffic influx from special events. Using mobile data could also help Stuttgart planners to examine one-time events and other external influencing factors like severe weather. For example, analyzing data from the Cannstatter Spring Festival and the Stuttgarter Weindorf can reveal important behavior patterns. Transportation authorities can then plan better, as well as adjust the plan in the midst of events to meet new needs as they arise thanks to real-time data. Improved commuter behavior data will help Stuttgart and other cities have a better picture of how their citizens actually use the transit system. With this data, improvements and expansions to the system are more likely to address current commuter needs. Through this, LUCA can help commuters have a more reliable, less stressful commute while also helping the city to improve its infrastructure and reduce transport emissions. 96 Normal 0 false false false EN-US ZH-CN AR-SA /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} LUCA Tourism at the Mexico Balloon FestivalAxonix acquire mobile geolocation startup Statiq
Patrick Buckley How AI and Machine Learning help to develop vaccines As Christmas approaches this year, we have all been gifted the great news that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has shown to be both safe and effective in creating an immune...
Patrick Buckley Is AI key to successful Real Estate investment? As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to shape the world around us, in today’s post we explore the impact of AI on commercial Real Estate investment. To what extent is...
LUCA Deep Learning and satellite images to estimate the impact of COVID19 Motivated by the fact that the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused worldwide turmoil in a short period of time since December 2019, we estimate the negative impact of...
Patrick Buckley How should you speak to children about Artificial Intelligence? In previous years, people’s relationship with technology in general, and with artificial intelligence in particular, was based on “text”, usually using specialised programming languages. Today, however, artificial intelligence has...
Patrick Buckley The Smart Train – The key to future sustainable mobility Governments know that a functional and efficient transport system is key to economic growth and social development. Well run transport infrastructure unlocks the productive potential of an economy. Naturally,...
Patrick Buckley COVID-19 Shines a light on the huge possibilities of AI in Education In 2020 remote learning platforms have become essential for students around the world as a result the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these platforms incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology which continues to...