A Rich Cloud Application to Improve Sustainable Mobility

Abstract

Improving the efficiency of public and private transportation systems is paramount to reduce pollution and improve quality of life. GIS and other IT solutions can support Sustainable Mobility in various ways, such as suggesting the most suited mean of transport for a given context, or optimizing the occupancy rate of vehicles by recommending other passengers interested in sharing a ride. In this paper we present a technological demonstrator for a Cloud computing-based platform, suited at favoring Sustainable Mobility. In particular, the proposed system helps users in choosing the most environmentally friendly transport solution, matching his/her needs, preferences, and actual location. From a technological point of view, the proposed platform takes advantage of the Cloud infrastructure, resulting in a Software plus Services solution. This choice is motivated to offer high reliability and to easily scale up as the number of users increase. Many different channels can be exploited to access the service, namely a Rich Internet Application, a Mobile application, or even a plug-in for in-car telematics systems, all based on the Microsoft Silverlight technology. Moreover, the platform also exploits a (geo)social network to improve the users’ confidence in the rides arranged with other passengers. The described platform won the 2010 Italian finals for the Microsoft Imagine Cup student’s contest.