Startup Argaleo has won an important national innovation competition with its “Crowd Safety Manager” concept. The competition called for an innovative idea to manage crowding in cities. Argaleo’s solution is to measure, analyze and predict pedestrian flows in a digital 3D map of the city, with the goal of improving COVID-19 safety. Argaleo wins a cash prize that will be used to roll out and further develop the solution in three Dutch cities.
To prevent COVID-19 infections, it is important that crowding in the city is spread out and people encounter each other as little as possible. One solution for this is, for example, one-way pedestrian traffic. However, the first step is to measure where it is crowded and where adjustments are needed. Argaleo’s solution is to visualize sensor information in a 3D dashboard to provide the right insights and recommendations.
Startup in Residence
The competition is part of the StartUp in Residence Intergov innovation program. A program in which government bodies, in this case the Ministry of the Interior, the Province of Zuid-Holland and the Municipality of The Hague, collaborate with a startup. The jury selected Argaleo’s solution from many entries because it offers added value for society and is also feasible and scalable. It had to be a solution that any Dutch city could use in the short term. The application does not use personal data, making it privacy-proof. Initially, three cities will use the system, but other cities can register immediately as well.
Digital Twin
The solution is based on Argaleo’s existing 3D dashboard, the so-called Digital Twin, in which various data sources are connected and visualized. The focus of this concept currently lies with pedestrians. However, expanding to live information about cycling, car and public transport traffic is a straightforward step. The plan is therefore also to work together with the three cities toward a complete mobility dashboard that can also be used after the COVID-19 era. For example, during events in the city, when they are allowed again. “The smart linking of existing systems and data in our dashboard creates new insights that any city can use in the short term in the fight against COVID-19,” says Jeroen Steenbakkers, Director of Argaleo.
Innovation in government
The project is guided by Future City Foundation within the City Deal ‘Creating a Smart City, Here’s How’ of the Agenda Stad program by the national government. In Agenda Stad, cities, civic partners and the national government collaborate to strengthen innovation in Dutch cities. Argaleo’s application is a prime example of this.
Would your municipality also like to participate in the innovation program and the pilot?
“Together with three pilot municipalities from the City Deal, we are building a tool that is also shareable and scalable to other municipalities. And that can also be used after the COVID-19 era. The new insights this process yields are shared again with the other partners in the City Deal.”
Jan-Willem Wesselink, program manager of the Future City Foundation and pioneer of the City Deal.
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