Worldsensing starts FastPRK-2 project

Worldsensing is a technology company based in Barcelona and London that develops wireless sensing technologies for both the Industrial and Smart Cities sectors. It has recently received co-funding by the EASME agency (European Commission) under the Horizon 2020 programme (agreement no.726607) to start a novel and ambitious project named “FastPRK-2”.

This project was applied for within the SME-Instrument programme within the topic: “Small business innovation research for Transport and Smart Cities Mobility”. This programme is very competitive (4,835 project proposals presented since 2014) and Worldsensing was rewarded for the quality and professionalism of its proposal with an overall score of close to 99%.

The European Community is seeking innovative technology to improve the transportation sector and to realise its Smart City vision in Europe. Indeed, the migration of the global population to urban areas is straining resources of cities worldwide. To address these challenges, governments are looking at Smart City solutions to provide sustainable infrastructures that meet the needs of citizens.

The FastPRK-2 initiative focused on Smart Cities, specifically on smart parking systems. It will improve the usage of regulated parking spots with occupancy sensors that provide additional features and services to parking management companies. Such technology will also support drivers by reducing time spent looking for parking and will improve air quality by reducing traffic volumes.

FastPRK-2 is an innovative and comprehensive smart on-street parking solution with enhanced services that will be enabled with a new generation of occupancy sensors with accuracy of close to 100%. The proposed system architecture is composed of cutting edge sensor technology and software tools that optimize transport management through innovative applications, which analyse diverse parking related data, minimizing maintenance costs and streamlining operational processes.

FastPRK-2 focuses on efficiency and aims to improve the current commercial version of the Fastprk solution. Fastprk is a smart parking system that reduces the time drivers spend searching for a parking space by up to 30% and it also improves air quality in cities thanks to the reduction of CO₂ emissions. Fastprk has already been successfully deployed in cities around the world, including Barcelona, Miami and Dubai.

Through the implementation of the FastPRK-2 platform, Worldsensing will be able to provide innovative solutions to its clients. The most notable innovations are: specialized software for Big Data Analytics and Business Intelligence, a new infrastructure to create a more comprehensive Quality of Experience model and providing a solid basis for future improvements, such as Artificial Intelligence algorithms for automatic recommendation and predictive applications.

“The FastPRK-2 project is a fundamental element in our strategy. We appreciate the trust of European Commission and the EASME agency. We’re proud of the work of our Innovation team and we are fully confident about the value that FastPRK-2 will deliver: it will be one of the most advanced on-street parking management solutions” said Ignasi Vilajosana, CEO of Worldsensing. “We’re enthusiastic about making our world more efficient and improving mobility in our cities.”

About Worldsensing

Worldsensing (www.worldsensing.com), a technology company founded in 2008 in Barcelona, is a leader in the world of wireless sensing technologies for both the Industrial and Smart Cities sectors. It provides two ranges of solutions: Industrial Solutions, turn-key monitoring solutions for Civil Engineering, Oil & Gas, Environment and Natural Hazards, and Mining; and Mobility Solutions for Smart Cities.