Smart Urban Biking - Create the smartest concept about cycling in the city

What is it:

• Creathon (a hackathon where not only software but also concepts, hardware or other products will be developed)
• Three days working on innovative ideas and solutions
• About cycle mobility in urban areas, in the broadest sense: from solutions based on data about bicycles untill solutions for cycle sheds, from smart bikes ’till smart traffic observance installations
• Based on existing (open) data, software and hardware

Goal:

• Develop IT-driven products and/or services to improve liveability of our cities by leveraging Dutch cycling culture.

Why should you join:

• Get ideas actual to live in prototypes and perhaps even a start-up
• Work together and exchange ideas with other participants
• Get coached by professionals
• The link with (open) data systems from partners (manufacturers, organisations and government)
• Completely arranged with overnight stay, eating and drinking, working together and relax together
• Professional jury, prize for the best team (500 euro)

Challenge description

Air polution, traffic congestion and obesity. Do you think they belong together?  …Yes, they all belong together and why? Because even more people live in urban areas where fresh air and space become rare and where people get less excited to move actively. Here are some facts:

• In Holland about 3,000 people die some weeks or months earlier because of air pollution according to RIVM. And in Europe about 95% of the citizens are exposed to too high values of polluted substances in the air.

• An average of 58% of the European population suffer with obesity (BMI >25) which will increase in 2030 up to 64%!

• In London, Cologne, Amsterdam and Brussels, drivers spend over 50 hours per year on the road to traffic congestion. This number is even higher in Utrecht, Manchester and Paris: 70 hours!

It’s not only crowded in metropolitan areas, even the mid-sized cities recognize and feel the problems that are just described here above. We think that the Smart Urban Biking creathon can contribute to increase the liveablility from our cities and the side-towns. How? By using our cycle-culture smarter. It’s the most common form of transportation in The Netherlands. According to the Fietsersbond (cyclists’ union), 13.5 million Dutch citizens own at least one bicycle. They are used for 34% of all travel up to 7.5 kilometres. On average, a Dutch citizen makes 300 cycling trips each year, covering 878 kilometres. Can you improve our way of cycling even further, using creative (network) technology and open data?

During the Creathon you could start by exploring the various ways we use our bicycle. How can you improve safety and comfort when cycling to work or school? Or add gaming elements to a cycling trip in order to improve the fitness of children or the elderly in a playful way? And how can you provide the semi-professional middle-aged bicycle racer with exactly the right information for an optimal long-distance training session? And don’t forget that the cargo bike is also an excellent and flexible conveyance to transport people and products from one place to another.

You could also choose for a more technical approach. The thousands of bikes on the road, combined with the multitude of available sensor platforms, form one of the most detailed mobile sensor networks imaginable. In addition, cyclists and their (e-)bikes visit locations that are difficult to reach by car or drone. The resulting data-flows lead to all kinds of insights, which stimulate the development of surprising and innovative applications.

The combination of data from cyclists, bicycles and sensors with open data sets, which are provided by the participating municipalities, enables the development of unexpected possibilities and applications. If you have a golden idea during this Creathon, you might solve a relevant problem in society and even launch a successful new start-up.