Teralytics, a Zurich-based specialist in Big data analysis for the telecommunications industry, is participating in a pilot project to calculate the amount of air pollution using mobile data. The project was launched in Nuremberg Germany and will be rolled out to other cities if successful.
As part of a pilot project, Telefónica Germany, South Pole Group, Teralytics and the city of Nuremberg are endeavouring to find a better solution for air pollution, which the city of Nuremberg is currently struggling with. Before deriving a suitable solution, participants are required to collect precise data, which indicates where the pollution is particularly high. This data will be collected using mobile data.
As Germany’s largest mobile communications provider in terms of costumer base, Telefónica Germany provides the anonymized mobile data. On behalf of Telefónica, Teralytics converts this data to flows of movement using their specifically developed algorithm in Telefónica’s data centres, from which the Swiss South Pole Group derives the extent of pollution.
“Anonymized mobile data provides us with previously unknown insights into the population’s flows of movement. With the pilot project we want to demonstrate that analyzing this large amount of data enables us to contribute both an economic as well as a social added value”, says Georg Polzer, CEO and founder of Teralytics.
Mobile data helps protect the environment
Mobile Data will be used to derive traffic flows and the extent of pollution. This will include data s about how people travel, the distance they cover and the means of transport they use. All information will be generated automatically using mobile devices when devices communicate with the mobile communication cells of Telefónica, while making calls or when browsing or sending texts. Customer data remains fully protected during this process. Telefónica Germany will anonymize the exploited data using a three-stage procedure and removes any reference to individuals. Conclusions can thus only be made regarding larger groups of people.
“The accurate measurement of CO2 and short-lived air pollutants in cities is a complex task. Through our pilot project, we can develop an entirely new approach to assist in this task not only cities like Nuremberg, but also cities in emerging countries, which are faced with rapidly increasing emissions. This new method could significantly contribute to ensuring better climate protection in the urban space” commentsRenat Heuberger, CEO South Pole Group
Markus Haas, COO of Telefónica Germany adds, “A large number of data is available to us through our standard business processes, including a large percentage of data that is only produced for us as a network operator, for instance mobility data. This pilot project shows that we can contribute to climate protection by analyzing data. We plan to realize further projects in the future for which our mobility data can provide added value for society.”
This research project is funded by Low Carbon City Lab (LoCaL), an EU programme of Climate-KIC whose aim is to reduce 1 gigatonne of CO2 by 2050. The project is being launched in Nuremberg and is planned to be expanded to further cities at a later point.
About Teralytics
Teralytics is a specialist in the data analysis for the telecommunications industry. Their technology analyzes large amounts of Telecom data. The startup generates value-creating information about motions flows, demographics and interests of the population. It also assists companies in the financial, retail and transportation branches to develop better products and services. Teralytics together with its telecom partners closely follows the respective regulatory and legal frameworks. Teralytics is a strong partner of leading telecom companies in the monetization of their data in North America, Europe and Asia.
(Picture: Telefónica)
(RAN)
Please login or sign up to comment.
Commenting guidelines