It's one of this year's novelties: Smartphones are developing applications to help users travel not only better, but also easier.
Such is the case of the latest eco-driving application, VEVco, presented by the Virtual Vehicle Company at the recent Cleantech Open Conference. A GPS records driving habits in order to suggest the "clean" car that best suits the driver's travel needs, whilst encouraging the use of other modes of transport for short journeys.
A technological solution reminiscent of Nomadic Solutions' Eco Gyzer : also via a GPS system linked to a mobile phone, this application literally offers the user eco-driving training by providing real-time and tailor-made information on his/her driving style. Furthermore, its vocation is also to act as a tool for increasing awareness on environmental challenges among the general public, by informing each user of the quantity of CO2 emitted during his/her journeys.
From real-time information to augmented reality
In the field of public transport, these new mobile technologies offer users the possibility to become key players in their own mobility. From the CheckMyMetro application for the Parisian Metro, to Roadify, for the public transport network from Brooklyn to New York, social platforms aimed at exchanging traffic information in real time are being developed.
And finally, the coming trend is augmented reality! Augmented reality applications are conveying a totally new dimension of urban areas by providing hitherto inaccessible information via a mobile phone screen. For example, the Bionic Eye application, which relies on mapping and satellite navigation, can inform on the nearest metro station.
An innovation that has recently been adopted by the Guide du Routard. Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Marrakech, Brussels, Paris and New York: a number of destinations now accessible via integrated mapping, offering practical travel and tourist information, at a glance.
And although most of these applications are yet in their test phase, they bear witness to the great potential offered by information and communication technology in rapidly proposing new functionalities. A movement that would appear to be sustainably establishing new modes of urban transport.
