SMART PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS

Initiative details

Pedestrians are one of the most vulnerable users of the urban environment, especially now with the new forms of travel that put them in danger: Personal Mobility Vehicles. The year 2023 ended in Spain with a balance of 118 pedestrian deaths. The most common type of accident they face is run over, which is more common in cities than on interurban roads.PROIN's Intelligent Pedestrian Crossing alerts drivers to the presence of a pedestrian in the vicinity of the crossing with the intention of crossing it. Our system is capable of detecting pedestrians at a distance of more than two hundred meters, simultaneously activating a set of vertical and horizontal warning signs for drivers. The vertical signage is made up of two high-brightness HI LED type signs that operate at slow flashing and minimum brightness while there are no pedestrians in the vicinity, increasing their intensity to the maximum when they detect the pedestrian. Horizontal signage delimits the passage through reflectors or LED plates, reinforcing the alert to drivers. It is a preventive, sustainable system with low energy consumption, improving mobility by reducing accident rates.

Initiative date

Who was/is your target audience?

Public authorities

Topic

Provide alternative solutions

Organisation details

PROYECTOS INTEGRALES DE BALIZAMIENTO, S.L.
Enterprise
Spain
CABANILLAS DEL CAMPO (GUADALAJARA)

Contact name

PATRICIA CÁMARA EXPÓSITO

Telephone number

+34699566307

Project activities

Please describe the project activities you carried/are carrying out and the time period over which these were implemented.

For the design and development of this project, a technical and economic feasibility study has been carried out, as well as a schedule with different execution phases, which final result has been an effective and safe product. The Smart Pedestrian Crossing was presented as a solution to the challenge posed by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility within the Innovation Public Procurement Program for the protection of especially vulnerable users.It is also designed to improve mobility in smart cities, its effectiveness having been proven in the points where it is installed through the reduction of accidents due to run overs. It has been presented at various national events, such as the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona or events of the Smart Cities Network, and international events, such as Intertraffic Amsterdam. Monitoring through our IoT platform has played an important role in the execution of this project. We are currently working on the introduction of improvements to our proposal, such as the inclusion of a camera to identify vehicles.

In terms of implementation, what worked well and what challenges did you need to overcome?

The main challenge that the company overcame was the allocation of human and financial resources to the Project.Sometimes, the same people in charge of innovation carry out other tasks, which leads to time and work overload problems, affecting their creativity. Hiring new experts or technologies related to innovation is expensive, involving an economic effort for companies that can affect their economic viability. A large part of the resources come from the companie's own funds. The projects of Research and Development do not always produce economic returns in the desired period, implying a lag between the investment made and its recovery, provided that the product is accepted by the market. The regulations established by the authorities regardings roads are not very flexible, which is a barrier to innovation in the sector.

If you work together with external partners, list the most important partners and briefly describe their role.

We are trustees of the Center for Intelligent Infrastructure Innovation (CI3), a non-profit foundation of general interest, whose purpose is to contribute to the promotion and development of Information Technology (IT) applied to infrastructures. Our aim is to become a national and international reference in research, development and innovation of products and services for advanced infrastructure projects, both in urban an interurban environments.

Evaluation

Please summarise how you have evaluated the initiative’s impact (e.g. social media reach, survey, feedback forms, statistics).

The initiative's impact is evaluated through the reduction of accidents at the points where our Intelligent Pedestrian Crossing is installed, reducing to a minimum the number of pedestrian accidents. Monitoring of the system allows us to obtain complete traffic data and statistics (vehicule's number, typology, speed, etc.), as well as the condition of the equipment (batteries, etc.). We are part of the Smart City Cluster formed by more than 200 companies and authorities whose objective is to develop efficient, sustainable and comfortable cities, improving our project the protection of vulnerable users through prevention and digital transformation. There are no two pedestrian crossings alike. For this reason, we have our own website with configurator aimed solely at designing specific solutions to the needs of each client, always looking for the best option for the eventualities of each crossing.

What has been the effect of the activities?

The Intelligent Pedestrian Crossing contributes to the reduction of pedestrian accidents, both in urban and interurban environments. Through prevention, we alert drivers sufficiently in advance so that they take extreme precautions while driving, which helps to reduce accidents to a minimum in the points where it is installed. Our target market is mainly smart cities, including several municipalities in Spain with our solution.But not only that, at an international level, we have also exported our proposal in countries such as Italy or Chile, always adapting to the regulations of each country. We are committed to an eco-sustainable system, operating with solar energy and with minimum consumption, protecting the environment through efficiency and reducing the impact of the carbon footprint.

Please briefly explain why your initiative is a good example of improving road safety.

Our Smart Pedestrian Crossing is an example for the improvement of road safety because it is based on accident prevention, alerting drivers well in advance of the presence of a pedestrian in the crossing with the intention of crossing it. The combination of different technologies makes it possible to reinforce the warning through vertical and horizontal signaling elements, reinforcing the message in the driver's mind so that he/she slows down and/or increases the safety distance. In this way, we reduce pedestrian accidents and protect the lives of pedestrians.Monitoring is a competitive advantage because, while we can obtein the information on our own loT platform, we can also communicate with other alternatives, such as Sentilo and Fiware.

How have you shared information about your project and its results?

We have our own website specialized in this product. We have presented the initiative in many national events such as Smart City Expo World Congress Barcelona or Smart Cities Network, as well as international events (Intertraffic Amsterdam). We are part of Smart City Cluster, providing a safe solution for pedestrian protection.

Supporting materials