REAL-TIME MEASUREMENT OF urban loading zones

We're pleased to say that Signals was recently chosen to be a part of a pilot for measuring urban loading zone usage by Forum Virium Helsinki, the innovation company for the city of Helsinki. For the pilot, we're currently running four battery powered Signals units in Annankatu in the center of the city.  The data is then automatically processed and anonymised on-device after which it is transmitted to our server where it is visualised for city personnel doing urban planning and forming a new long-term strategy for loading zones in the city.

“The primary goal of the pilot is to gather information on the utilization rates of existing loading zones in the city center and to evaluate the functionality of battery-powered monitoring devices in a real urban environment,” says Matias Oikari, Project Manager at Forum Virium Helsinki.

​Picture by Jussi Knuuttila, Forum Virium Helsinki.

As part of the pilot, the sending of real-time loading zone usage information directly to logistics drivers is also being tested. The real-time usage data is sent to Tietorahti Oy‘s Maps4Cargo application, which is used daily by over 20,000 professional drivers in Finland. The real-time information on the availability of loading zones, produced by Signals is visualized real-time in the map application, allowing drivers to monitor the availability of equipped spaces and use this information for route planning.

​​Picture by Jussi Knuuttila, Forum Virium Helsinki.

The pilot was also picked up by Finnish press, with the following articles having been published:
​https://www.is.fi/kotimaa/art-2000011139210.html
https://www.iltalehti.fi/autouutiset/a/b133b1a9-8946-4b30-9c6d-12f9446da90a
https://www.verkkouutiset.fi/a/helsingin-keskustaan-ilmestyi-mustia-motikoita-tasta-on-kyse/#99c0b6e8