back to article Cambridge wheels out latest smart city platform, ready for devs

Brainbox greenhouse Cambridge has rolled out the latest stage of its smart city network, the Intelligent City Platform, which talks to the city’s existing LoRaWAN Internet of Things network. The platform centralises data gathered from sensors already deployed around the English city, ready for later analysis. It is operated in …

  1. Red Ted
    FAIL

    Finding a problem to solve?

    "Examples suggested by the Smart Cambridge organisation include predicting bus arrival times"

    I think they'll find that a majority of bus stops in Cambridge already have led-matrix displays indicating the next bus arrival time, and have done for some years.

    1. ganymede io device

      Re: Finding a problem to solve?

      If you've waited at a Cambridge bus stop at congestion times you will know that the matrix displays show the predicted timetable arrival time of the next 2 or 3 buses in minutes until arrival time, then a hopelessly optimistic "due", and finally the predicted bus vanishes into thin air as it approaches the bus stop coinciding with its entry vanishing off the top of the display.

      No buses are ever shown as "delayed" or "cancelled".

      .

      1. Richard 81

        Re: Finding a problem to solve?

        @ganymede io device

        That's certainly my experience. At least the ones that report their arrival time in minutes have an outside chance of turning up. The ones that appear as a specific time are imaginary.

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Finding a problem to solve?

      The led display is not designed to show complex values. It definitely has a problem with the imaginary component which is common in the Stagecoach operated ones and mandatory in the Whippet ones.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Finding a problem to solve?

      I treat those matrix displays as electronic timetable viewers. They never appear to have any relation to actual buses.

  2. Swarthy
    Happy

    Litterally

    A solution looking for a problem.

    1. Richard 81

      Re: Litterally

      I've got one: Stagecoach.

      1. Arthur the cat Silver badge
        Unhappy

        Re: Litterally

        I've got one: Stagecoach.

        Stagecoach isn't just a problem, it's a problem looking for more problems to breed with and flood the world with problem offspring. Classicists believe Stagecoach was one of the things Pandora found in the box.

  3. Rich 11

    Hmm...

    Do they have anything which can detect puddles of sick on a Friday night and help drunken students navigate safely around them?

    1. Korev Silver badge
      Flame

      Re: Hmm...

      Is the Van of Life still around?

      1. Richard 81

        Re: Hmm...

        Is that like a hurry-up wagon?

      2. cshore

        Re: Hmm...

        Of course. Still in the usual place. As is Gardies.

    2. smudge
      Pint

      Re: Hmm...

      Do they have anything which can detect puddles of sick on a Friday night and help drunken students navigate safely around them?

      Some sort of chemical (but not radioactive!) marker in the beer, together with sensors for detecting it? Personal sensors would have be mounted well away from the wearer's head, to avoid false positives from the wearer's exhalations.

      1. Rich 11
  4. Korev Silver badge

    Up the A14?

    I'm pretty sure Norwich used to have display board which displayed on late buses in 2000ish. Always handy when you want to "go up the sit-ee"

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon