Three new trial projects from companies with big ideas to help make Manchester city centre smarter are being launched through CityVerve.
The three companies responded to a market consultation exercise that took place in late 2017. The consultation provided an opportunity for companies to address current challenges within Manchester using digital solutions and provide new ideas that will be presented, developed and supported as part of CityVerve. The companies are:
- Retail Sensing - a Manchester-based people-counting and data collection provider;
- Tracsis - a leading provider of transport survey and data-capture services to the public and private sectors across the UK
- Apadmi - an award-winning UK mobile technology provider in Manchester
Retail Sensing is deploying people and traffic-counting sensors along the Oxford Road Corridor, to capture data on density and directional flow of traffic and footfall. The data collected will help inform future infrastructure plans and city centre management.
Tracsis is deploying people-counting sensors at the access points to Albert Square and four of the city’s railway stations - Oxford Road, Deansgate, Piccadilly and Victoria. The data captured on footfall will support future event-planning and enhance understanding of crowd behaviours.
Apadmi have designed a communications app for reporting environmental problems, which will be trialled by Manchester City Council employees working in the city centre. The data captured will focus on the usability of the app as a tool for communication. Results from the three trials are expected in the summer. Richard Elliott, head of policy, partnerships and research at Manchester City Council said: “I’d like to congratulate the three successful firms who have been chosen to become recognised CityVerve suppliers. This is a fantastic platform for them to showcase their business, contribute to the wider CityVerve project and demonstrate how digital innovation can work for Manchester.”