Definitions of Smart Mobility, like Smart Communities, are never crystal clear and agreed to, however, for the purposes of this blog, let’s use the EU Commission’s definition of a Smart City as … a city seeking to address public issues via ICT-based solutions on the basis of a multi-stakeholder, municipally based partnership. By extension, the related focus on Smart Mobility refers to ICT Supported and Integrated Transport and Logistics Systems, prioritising clean and often non-motorised options for urban areas. The result of such a smart mobility focus would benefit the community by enacting public policies supporting ICT-enabled strategies creating “sustainable, safe and interconnected transportation systems, such as trams, buses, trains, metros, cars, cycles and pedestrians in situations using one or more modes of transport. [But it would also] support relevant and real-time information, accessed by the public in order to save time and improve commuting efficiency, save costs and reduce CO2 emissions, as well as network transport managers to improve services and provide feedback to citizens.” Similarly, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are defined as “the application of advanced and emerging technologies (computers, sensors, control, communications, and electronic devices) in transportation to save lives, time, money, energy and the environment.”

Startups are doing their part to make sure children know how to code - not just to prevent a shortage in the labour market, but for the sake of democracy.

Sweden's tech sector keeps expanding, and Stockholm is drawing in the lion's share of talent from abroad to work at its innumerable startups.

The $1.5 billion expansion of Australia’s largest air force base at Amberley near Ipswich has triggered a local property boom with a new $350 million masterplanned community set to capitalise on the nearly 2,000 new base staff and their families moving to the area.

On completion the Waterlea community will comprise of 1,500 homes across eight neighbourhood pockets with a population of about 4,500. Each community pocket will be connected by parks, hiking and bike trails, with community areas for concerts and vast green spaces all available for residents to enjoy.

Urban transportation and efficient logistics is at the heart of vital, thriving metropolitan areas. Unbridled growth can result in congestion, pollution and undesirable daily stress which can evolve into impoverished environments leading to inefficiencies, unproductive land-uses and a diminished quality of life. Solving the mobility challenges of moving people, goods and services is one of the most pressing issues in modern and growing cities around the world, especially given that by mid-century three-quarters of the world’s population will be living in urban centres. With our cities ill-prepared for this massive migration, mobility and its impacts: social, economic, environmental and political, will all need to be addressed before it is too late to save our cities as liveable ecosystems. Mobility challenges impacting trade and the attraction and retention of investment and talent can seriously undermine the sustainability of the city and region from an environmental, fiscal and social perspective. This series of blogs will look at international smart technologies which aim to manage urban assets and systems to improve efficiencies, increase transport productivity and harness enhanced mobility options. These blogs will also look at city examples from around the world of a more holistic approach we refer to as intelligent communities that aim to solve transportation, sustainability and liveability issues.

If you're creatively minded and looking to push the boundaries of electric vehicle technologies, there are more than a few ways to do it. You could build an 18-rotor personal flying machine, for example, or whip up some electric off-road rollerblades. Or you could develop a pair of electric motorbikes and then ride them all the way around the world. This was the challenge taken up by a group of 23 students from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, who have today rolled into town bringing a momentous 80-day journey to an end.

Waterloo, Ontario chemical imaging company P&P Optica will be led by CEO Olga Pawluczyk at the Google Demo Day – Women’s Edition on November 2 in Palo Alto, California, as the company showcases its Smart Imaging technology, aimed at revolutionizing the food processing industry.

PPO was chosen, along with the other companies presenting at the event, from more than 800 applicants in over 65 countries.

A team of Ottawa researchers is getting ready to launch a new series of clinical trials following a significant investment from the private sector.

On Wednesday, Turnstone Biologics Inc. announced it had received a $41.4 million dollar investment from venture capital firms in the United States. The start-up was launched last year by a team of researchers after about 15 years of research into viral therapy for cancer patients.

Eliminating particulate matter from underground car parks in the city center of Eindhoven can result in local reductions in the concentration of these particles of up to 50%. Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) came to this conclusion on the basis of air flow models and computer simulations of the city center. The simulations prove the effectiveness of an initiative by the environmental innovation company ENS Technology to use underground car parks as air purification sites, or 'lungs of the city.'

FREDERICTON –Ignite Fredericton and Planet Hatch, in conjunction with Knowledge Park, have formed a soft landing zone partnership with Walnut Accelerator. The agreement is the first of its kind between an organization in Atlantic Canada and Western China.

Walnut Accelerator is a Chengdu-based incubation/acceleration organization focused on supporting the growth of high-tech companies and innovation. The agreement will enable start-ups and growth stage companies to locate within each other’s respective acceleration spaces, creating a more supportive environment for trade and investment activity. The partnership commits both organizations to make programs, services and preferential rates available to each other’s companies.

The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal to build a “green” energy park in the Shalun area (沙崙) in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁) to attract NT$1.2 trillion (US$37.93 billion) in investment in the renewable energy industry.

The 22-hectare park near the Taiwan High Speed Rail’s Tainan Station will comprise a 5-hectare joint research center and a 17-hectare testing facility that will be operated by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Economic Affairs.