Where do you think you are going?

Yesterday, I attended a one-day workshop discussing 'digital' transport, its challenges and where things may go in the future. The event was called 'Where do you think you are going?', and it was not only very well organised but also very interesting. There were talks from a very varied set of people, and the format (and venue) chosen made sure you didn't end up falling into a coma after a half-day of powerpoint slides. Most presenters only had five minutes to talk and were then 'waved' off by the chair/the audience.

There were a couple of talks discussing datasets, their importance and the problems relating to them (ownership, quality, user-created content). Nick Illsley (CEO Transport Direct) talked about how often data is updated, how setting up a database of bus stops for the UK resulted in 20,000 further bus stops being 'discovered' and the problems resulting from integrating data owned by a large number of companies. Then there were a number of talks about user-generated content/next gen web services and some discussion about where that might lead e.g. in terms of interacting with users of (public) transport, the need for real-time information and the detection of problems such as traffic jams.

My talk was about pedestrian navigation and whether it is a 'solved problem'. I gave a couple of examples why things don't look all that solved if you start looking at the results you get from a standard navigation service for pedestrian navigation. In a way, I think that pedestrian navigation is something like a glue that connects all the other means of transportation, so optimising it and linking it up with other means is essential in making transport in general more sustainable. (I think the slides will end up on SlideShare at some point.)

I hope that some of these issues will be tackled in the context of the Hub for Digital Economy, which will start in Autumn and which has a Transport component as well. The photo shows Phil Blythe giving a brief overview over the Hub - it also shows the venue, which in the time of the industrial revolution used to be a terminal for trains taking materials and goods back and forth between the mill and the Tyne.

Update: The slides are now online at SlideShare.