One of the first to test and develop their AI-powered technology at CitCom.ai’s facilities is a Belgian company with a history that pre-dates both the personal computer and the television. Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Macq has plenty of experience in adopting new technologies and is now investing in AI across its product range, hoping CitCom.ai can offer proof of a new concept for safer roads.
Macq is a key player in supporting municipal decision-makers with insightful data and analytics through the instalment of advanced sensors and cameras. Their platform is designed to be both modular and user-friendly, simplifying the deployment process. The cameras provided are not only high in performance but also easy to use and versatile in their functionality – they are also at the heart of the latest AI-testing in CitCom.ai’s Northern Supernode.
Through a partnership with DOLL Living Lab, which offers mobility test infrastructure in Albertslund, Denmark, they are now testing the fusion of data from their latest QCAM cameras and Qsense-Air, an environmental sensor. When combined they can provide unprecedented, detailed analyses of specific areas in a wide range of categories, from air quality and weather conditions to vehicle types, speed and traffic flow - down to details such as if front passengers are using their mobile phones or even wearing seatbelts.
But it's the potential impact of their highly accurate speed detection technology that is currently catching an interest with local authorities and city planners. By monitoring vehicles along a chosen entry and exit point of a road, they can obtain the average speed of each individual vehicle, and thereby empower the local public administrators to issue fines for drivers who would otherwise; literally, go under the police radars spot-checks, who typically only focuses on the worst offenders.
“We don’t want a spot fine cash cow, but a real change of behaviour – this is what municipalities get with section monitoring. It offers them a powerful and holistic tool to fusion data from a variety of sources to reduce the environmental impact from traffic and increase the safety in selected areas,” says Jean-François Coppieters, account manager at Macq.
We don’t want a spot fine cash cow, but a real change of behaviour – this is what municipalities get with section monitoring. It offers them a powerful and holistic tool to fusion data from a variety of sources to reduce the environmental impact from traffic and increase the safety in selected areas, says Jean-François Coppieters, Account Manager at Macq.
The system can also predict different scenarios in a city, for example, traffic density, depending on what sensor data is available. And even when sensor data is lacking, from smaller roads in the network for instance, the algorithm can still predict with a high accuracy the likelihood of traffic spill-over to the rest of the road network.
European regulation is a major obstacle to the homologation of new technology, and so far, Macq has had the blessing from the authorities in Belgium and Lithuania so far and hopes to finalise the procedure with Austria, Poland, Slovenia and Switzerland before the end of this year.
"Through our partnership with DOLL and CitCom.ai, we can enhance our ecosystem presence and increase our market reach. By leveraging our 25-year legacy in mobility and our innovative use of AI to augment our comprehensive offerings, we also show our commitment to integrate more diverse data and models," he says.
About Macq
The Belgian company Macq specializes in the development and production of advanced data-driven solutions for police departments and smart cities and roads. Their product portfolio includes intelligent AI cameras and smart sensors, as well as software solutions to monitor and manage traffic on roads and in urban environments.
Macq's solutions focus on improving traffic management and public and road safety by integrating advanced technologies such as AI recognition features and data science. These systems are often used by road authorities, transportation companies, police departments, and cities and communes to optimize traffic flow, reduce congestion, enhance safety, and facilitate monitoring of roads and public areas.
More stories about the company
Macq Explores Opportunities with CitCom.ai TEF for Market Expansion
Author: Hanne Kokkegaard - DTU Compute, March 2024
In the ever-evolving landscape of technology and mobility, the family-run tech company Macq, based in Belgium, wants to leverage CitCom.ai to contribute to the evolution of smart mobility and data-driven solutions.
When the TEFs were gathered in Berlin first in March 2024 for the All TEFs Open for Business event the company was represented by Account Manager Jean-François Coppieters and Data Solutions Business Advisor Jean-François Delplace. They shared Macq’s perspectives on the possibilities presented by CitCom.ai TEF and the other TEFs, shedding light on their company's goals and market trends.
After the presentation, they summed up the CitCom.ai TEF vision for Macq.
Expanding Market Horizons
Macq delivers smart mobility and data-driven solutions. The company specialises in developing and producing advanced data-driven solutions for police departments and smart cities and roads. Their product portfolio includes intelligent AI cameras and smart sensors, as well as software solutions to monitor and manage traffic on roads and in urban environments.
”To Macq CitCom.ai can be a platform to establish new, interesting partnerships, develop innovating solutions and expand the market horizon to deploy our smart mobility solutions globally, says Jean-François Coppieters:
“CitCom.ai serves as an opportunity to showcase our products, services and expertise, understand the needs of the market, and connect with potential partners and customers to find out how we can improve mobility via AI together.”, Jean-François Delplace adds.
Having AI solutions on European testbenches should also foster discussions on EU regulations towards usage guidelines.
"So besides all the other opportunities, CitCom.ai also allows us to participate in the conversation around the protocols, new kinds of framework, legislation, regulations, and everything the European Commission can generate around mobility and technology. That's a perfect place to be for a company such as ours," Jean-François Delplace says.
Navigating Market Trends and Harmonizing Data Fusion for Smarter Cities
In response to market dynamics, Jean-François Delplace highlights the importance of initiatives like CitCom.ai TEF in aligning diverse players in the mobility sector.
"It's moving on fast, but there is a trend to focus and organize to move everybody in the same direction. In today’s market, we see too many separate initiatives, where a city wants to develop its standard, which in our view is not always the best idea. But with initiatives, like this, we can ensure that everybody is participating in the same developments. And I think that's probably a change of direction over the past few years,” Jean-François Delplace says.
This aligns with the broader goal of creating a common platform for the development of smart cities and shared standards in the European market, Jean-François Coppieters adds:
“Here the CitCom.ai TEF can be a catalyst for initiating projects with cities looking to enhance their smart mobility solutions. By synthesizing data from various sources onto a common platform, Macq aims to contribute to more efficient and regulated systems."
"We hope to initiate some projects with smart cities that really see the benefit of our solutions in terms of data fusion and bring that expertise to more, to other cities in Europe and say, okay, this may be the right way to achieve something together."
