Ranplan Wireless has received £300,000 funding over a two-year period from Innovate UK to develop a data analytics platform that can be used to predict and manage congestion in smart cities.

Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation funded by the government to drive productivity and economic growth through new ideas and technologies.

Ranplan previously developed the world’s first 5G combined in-building and outdoor wireless network planning tool for urban environments. The company’s chief executive Alastair Williamson commented: “As urbanisation is set to intensify, causing issues in congestion and commuting delays, we need to better understand how citizens interact within their communities to improve public services, particularly during peak times.”

This research project led by Ranplan will see collaboration with the University of Sheffield, Jinan University, and East China University of Science & Technology, along with telecoms operator China Unicom.

The aim is to develop machine learning models and techniques to create a data analytics platform that will provide town planners and managers will real-time intelligence on how people move around their cities.

By being able to identify patterns of movement, vehicle movement and peak traffic times, planners will be able to predict where and when traffic congestion will arise and make decisions on how to improve the efficiency of public transportation. For example, data collected can be used can be used to faciliate smart mobility in urban areas such as traffic light control and scheduling, public transportation and preventative policing.

Williamson added: “Smart cities are all about people and 5G is a core enabling technology to empower society – the results of this research project will enable us to commercialise a new smart mobility solution to complement our existing in-building and outdoor network planning tools and offer cities a robust 5G and IoT planning tool.”

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