Barcelona City Council is inviting tech companies to help it sort out a sound problem, by funding and testing their solutions in the Spanish city.
Urban mobility is responsible for much of the city’s noise pollution - an estimated 85% of total noise levels.
In the latest challenge from Barcelona Innova Lab Mobility (Bilm) - which is designed "to spark innovation and attract disruptive solutions related to the mobility sector" - firms will come up with potential fixes, first by providing more data on what's causing the noise in the first place.
"While the City Council has some data on the issue, there is a significant potential for improvement in capturing and processing mobility-related acoustic signals," the challenge blurb says. "This emerging field offers opportunities for innovation, providing valuable data to enhance decision-making and improve the city’s acoustic quality."
€200,000 in prizes is available: potential solutions must use "innovative methodologies" and "achieve significant and measurable outcomes by demonstrating clear, quantifiable results with long-term benefits".
They will need to be implemented in vehicles or infrastructure associated with road traffic in the city, thus ensuring they are integrated with urban mobility systems.
The winning entry will also have a maximum duration of 18 months from implementation to monitoring.
To participate, submit your proposal via email here by 24 March, 2025.
Click here for terms and conditions.
The Bilm initiative is supported by BIT Habitat and Fira de Barcelona, which hosts the Smart City Expo.
