The city of Ajaccio and the Urban Community of Ajaccio Country (CAPA) have installed sensors in their streets and car parks to provide motorists with real-time information about available parking spaces. In schools and day care centers, the sensors provide valuable information about the air breathed in by children. This means that air quality can be better controlled, and a healthy environment maintained for the well-being of the occupants and children's learning.

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Improving environmental impact and traffic flow

Take motorists who are annoyed by having to drive around for too long to find available spaces. Add to that the environmental challenge of relieving congestion and reducing carbon emission, and you'll understand why some cities are taking this issue head on.

"At any given time in Ajaccio, a third of the vehicles are not moving from point A to point B, they are driving around looking for parking spaces," confirms Tamia Maury, Head of the Digital Development Department – Urban Community of Ajaccio Country (CAPA). This led the local authority to turn to Orange Business for an effective and sustainable solution.

Three types of sensors and an application for motorists

Working with the Smart Cities experts at Orange Business, the CAPA has installed three types of sensors to implement its smart parking system:

  • Sensors on the ground in parking spaces
  • Smart cameras for image analysis
  • Cameras for detecting license plates

By combining these three tools, the city of Ajaccio and its conurbation will be able to obtain data in a centralized platform. The key: real-time visualization of available spaces. This information can now be found directly on the Capamove application. Users can easily access it on their smartphones to find out the number and location of available parking spaces – a major step forward for the environment and peace of mind for drivers.



Our in-house departments took a liking to this available data, which is centralized and accessible directly from their computers. So, we extended our Smart Cities project to other areas.



 

Tamia Maury, Head of Digital Development for Ajaccio and Urban Community of Ajaccio Country

Improving well-being in day care centers and schools

Enthusiastic about this first parking project, the CAPA teams did not stop there. "Our in-house departments took a liking to this available data, which is centralized and accessible directly from their computers. So, we extended our Smart Cities project to other areas, hence, the subject of air quality sensors in Ajaccio’s schools and day care centers,” explains Tamia Maury.

In concrete terms, 250 CO² sensors have been installed by Orange Business in these establishments. These devices also measure humidity levels and temperatures. Here too, all the information is fed into a platform accessible to internal departments. This provides them with valuable data to guide their environmental choices.

When IoT helps decision-makers target their actions more effectively

"Ajaccio can prioritize its investments in buildings, such as the purchase of air purifiers or the installation of air conditioners in pre-schools," explains the head of the digital development department. Thanks to the platform, the local authority has also been able to identify heat sinks and is taking appropriate action to reduce its energy consumption – further proof of the many ways in which IoT (Internet of Things) can be used to optimize spending.

For the city of Ajaccio and the Urban Community of Ajaccio Country (CAPA), these projects are already leading to others, again with the help of Orange Business teams. "We have a strong bond with the Orange Business team who works with us, we regularly discuss our needs," indicates Tamia Maury. "The next project on which Orange will support us is our cybersecurity project." The date is set.

250
CO² sensors installed in all Ajaccio municipal schools and day care centers