Global GIS (Geographic Information System) leaders and users convened in mid-July at the annual Esri User Conference, celebrating technological innovations and exploring how the GIS industry is transforming the future by solving problems, creating shared understanding, and mapping common ground. Wejo experts were on-site and onstage, educating attendees on where smart mobility data fits into the GIS industry.  

Wejo VPs Jim Eaton, Matthew McCann, and Chris Rose joined Senior Product Manager Alan Belniak from the engineering, planning and design firm VHB, in a panel discussion titled, “Smart Mobility Data: Transportation Insights That Make a Difference.” VHB is a Wejo customer who is passionate about the future of smart mobility and connected vehicle data.

Here are the key takeaways from the discussion:  

1. An easily scalable data source

Unique to connected vehicle data is its ability to combine massive quantities of data and wide swaths of coverage with extraordinarily granular insights with high precision and accuracy. For example, a user can leverage that data to look at traffic trends across an entire state or evaluate hard braking at one single intersection – all within the same Esri GIS map-based platform. This is useful for transportation professionals who need data that provides access to big-picture trends like broad impact on road networks while also being flexible enough to perform a detailed analysis of a single point of interest.  

2. Ensuring driver privacy

Wejo’s connected vehicle data keeps Personal Identifiable Information out of the equation and ensures customers meet all necessary compliance requirements. Wejo sources its data directly from leading automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), where the origin and destination of vehicles and driver information are anonymized before any data is shared. In the case of transportation analyses, this is hugely important. Clients are most often federal, state, and local government agencies expected to protect the privacy of their citizens.  

3. Estimating real-time traffic data in less populated areas

Getting accurate and reliable insights on traffic trends in less populated areas is often challenging. This is because road sensors and other infrastructure are often limited or provide information which is too generic. Connected vehicle data solves this challenge by using information generated from actively connected cars in near real-time. Wejo captures data points such as vehicle speed, historic average speed, travel time, volume data, and queuing - all of which are available every 90 seconds. With this granular information, VHB has successfully created an algorithm that can reasonably estimate real-time traffic in all areas including rural, suburban, and urban geographies even when less connected data is available.  

4. Scratching the surface of possibilities

Measuring traffic is just the beginning of what transportation professionals can do with connected vehicle data. With an average of 18.6 billion data points collected per day, Wejo data can provide analysis firms with information such as turn signals and harsh braking events to help them make better decisions to improve roadway safety. By working with an increasing number of global OEMS, Wejo is just starting to see the vast applications of connected vehicle data in the geospatial space. Belniak noted when reflecting on the panel discussion, “VHB is excited for the future growth and use of connected vehicle data, not just in terms of traffic volume applications, but also for planning, forecasting, and safety implications.”

For more on VHB and how they have used smart mobility data to cut down lead time on development projects click here.

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