14 / 84
14 l New-Tech Magazine Europe
Latest News
mobility services may be the order of
the day, but Helsinki Region Transport is
equally drawn to innovations designed
to go in the cabin space,” says Reijo
Mäkinen, Director of the Transport
Services Department at Helsinki Region
Transport.
In addition to the Helsinki region, the
City of Tampere is also participating in
the project, exploiting the results in its
own public transport development.
The project supports the creation of
new services for transport service
users and providers, and the business operations of
companies are promoted by accelerating the cost-effective
introduction of new solutions. The Living Lab Bus acts as
a display window for showcasing Finnish expertise, while
also increasing the attractiveness of public transport and
cooperation between various players, as well as producing
new research information on the needs of public transport
users and service developers.
Identifying utilisation interests and needs of various players
associated with implementing and using
the development platform and setting
some common rules for the operations
are scheduled for spring 2016. After
that, the project will be expanded by
bringing in new players, who will utilise
the platform in their development
activities.
The three-year Living Lab Bus project
comprises the projects of Ajeco (secure
multichannel communications), Cinia
One (cloud services and interfaces),
EEE Innovations (smart transport ICT solutions), Foreca
(weather and road weather services), iQ Payments
(mobile payment solutions) and Linkker (electric bus),
as well as the supporting research projects by VTT, Aalto
University, University of Tampere and Tampere University
of Technology. The enablers, supporters and utilisers of the
project are Helsinki Region Transport, the City of Helsinki,
the City of Tampere and Tekes – the Finnish Funding
Agency for Innovation.
Vodafone Germany, in cooperation with Cisco and Chemring
Technology Solutions, has completed a trial demonstrating
how smartphone users can more easily access the Internet
via a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection, thanks to a new
intelligent mobile access solution solution.
This innovative solution aims to ensure that customers
always use the best available access technology. To achieve
this, the solution can switch between the mobile and Wi-
Fi networks, depending on which provides the best user
experience, based on time or location, as well as the load
on the mobile or Wi-Fi networks. This also avoids common
issues when logging into portals, as well as slow or inactive
Wi-Fi connections. This approach will make poor Wi-Fi
connection a thing of the past.
Selection of the best access technology is based on
intelligent algorithms and rules which take into account
location, time and current measurements on the customer’s
smartphone. Furthermore, it includes historical data, which
makes it possible to make a decision based on congestion
trends. Customers are also able to set preferences to, for
Intelligent Mobile Access Simplifies Smartphone Use for Vodafone
example, connect automatically to his or her preferred Wi-
Fi at home or in the office.
The pilot ran in three German cities, leveraging Network
Intelligence Software from the Cisco Policy Suite and
intelligent device software for Android and iPhone
smartphones from Chemring Technology Solutions. The
intelligent device is responsible for applying the policy
rules, as well as ensuring the connection quality by running
performance measurements of potential Wi-Fi and mobile
networks in the background. These measurements report
back to the network in order to identify trends for the
different hotspots. Furthermore, the intelligent device
takes care of the login process to Wi-Fi hotspots.
This helps Vodafone, a provider of fast, high-performance
fixed and mobile networks, push ahead with the integration
of its mobile and Wi-Fi infrastructure. Customers would
benefit from simpler, trouble-free use of their devices while
maintaining the same high, stable connection quality.