Amid an election campaign, it is a natural response to seek out the things that unite – rather than divide us. While there are key issues which our politicians disagree on, each party wants to see Australia do well.
It goes without saying that for business, industry and government to win long term, we need to work together. This applies to innovation, policy and the growth of our economy.
This week I presented at the Roads, Tolling & Technology (RTT) conference in Melbourne. The conference brings together thought leaders and organisations from across infrastructure, policy and technology. Organised by ITS Australia, it was one of the first major in-person conferences for the sector in recent years.
New themes for a stronger future
The impact of COVID on the sector and the desire to create a stronger future was evident. New themes had emerged which were not part of the industry’s vernacular five years ago. For me, industry events like this serve as a barometer for identifying trends and predicting shifts across the sector.
Sustainability was the common thread and focus for most organisations at the event. Achieving net zero emissions, the environmental impacts of infrastructure and policy design, and new modes of travel and transport were discussed at length.
Data for sustainable outcomes
At the heart of each of these discussions was the importance of data – both to aid decision making and the development new data-driven technologies to help businesses and governments achieve more sustainable outcomes.
It was also clear that the industry is looking for previously untapped sources of data to inform their investments. These include GPS signals and mobile phone cell tower information to tackle congestion.
Data is critical to helping us solve many problems. From traffic flows to optimising new infrastructure and building cities and suburbs of the future. It is also the key to lowering emissions.
As outlined in my presentation at the conference, there is no single source of truth, and the best data draws on multiple sources to create the richest picture possible.
Making data impactful
The challenge for industry, and technology companies like Intelematics, is how we combine multiple sources of data from different providers into a format which is impactful. If we do not do this well, data just becomes noise.
At Intelematics we receive one billion data points (IoT) per year, or 2,000 points per second. To analyse and provide insight into data at this scale, requires special models. For example, we analysed data on key corridors in Melbourne. The data showed a 30 per cent decrease in traffic during the 6th lockdown around August 2021. In fact, some areas experienced drops of more than 50 per cent in traffic volume.
Harnessing the power of data
Moving forward, data will play an ever-increasing role in how we travel and the modes of transport we use. New MaaS platforms like Intelematic’s Omniway will support this datacentric approach.
For business and industry to succeed in harnessing the true power of data, we will need to work together and look at how we can share data or insights to achieve better outcomes. And while there may be some healthy competition from vendors, the greatest innovations will come through collaboration.
As we prepare to move past COVID, this is an exciting period in time for our industry and an opportunity to play our part in creating a brighter, more sustainable future for Australia.
