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SA start-up heads to UK smart city project

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 28 Jan 2015
Mellowcabs' selection in the Cognicity Challenge shows SA has tech that is relevant to the rest of the world, says founder Neil du Preez.
Mellowcabs' selection in the Cognicity Challenge shows SA has tech that is relevant to the rest of the world, says founder Neil du Preez.

A South African start-up is among 12 finalists taking part in the Cognicity Challenge, a project driven by UK-based Canary Wharf Group as part of its smart city initiative.

So far, Canary Wharf, a London property group, has announced finalists for two of its smart city streams: sustainable buildings and integrated transport systems. In total, 36 companies will be selected to aid it in transforming the Canary Wharf area into a smarter city.

Among those taking part is a home-grown company, Mellowcabs, which is involved in the integrated transport stream. Mellowcabs manufacturers and operates new, electric mini-cabs that provides on-demand, flexible and affordable taxi and transport services in cities.

The Cognicity Challenge, launched on 21 October, comprises six streams, with connected homes and virtual design and construction still open for entries.

Mellowcabs founder Neil du Preez says the opportunity to take part in the smart city project will aid the company "massively". He notes this is "an opportunity to pilot our vehicles in the financial core of London, the financial capital of the world. The pure monetary value of such an opportunity is astounding."

SA has talent

Du Preez says Mellowcabs, which got off the ground thanks to "a lot of blood, sweat and tears," is currently in the tooling phase, with new vehicles set to be launched in April in Cape Town, with the rest of South Africa to follow soon after. This follows its recent prototype phase in Cape Town.

Mellowcabs aims to be a "real, efficient and affordable transport option for the Canary Wharf precinct," says Du Preez. "The cool thing is Mellowcabs can be used in so many ways, from moving people, to cargo and packages."

Du Preez, who initially boot-strapped the project before getting investment just when he wanted to give up, says being chosen as part of the project proves SA "can still come up with tech and ideas that are relevant to the changing world".

Incubation opportunity

Mellowcabs and 11 other companies are moving into the newly opened High Growth Space:24 in One Canada Square, which is operated by Level39. During their 12-week residency, the start-ups will have the opportunity to develop their smart city technology with specialist mentoring and training from experienced Canary Wharf Group executives and other major industry players, including Intel and Nesta. They will also have access to the existing Level39 tech community and mentors at One Canada Square.

Mellowcabs is in the tooling phase, with new vehicles set to be launched in April in Cape Town, with the rest of South Africa to follow soon after.
Mellowcabs is in the tooling phase, with new vehicles set to be launched in April in Cape Town, with the rest of South Africa to follow soon after.

Canary Wharf Group chairman and CEO Sir George Iacobescu says the challenge was launched "to promote the development of smart cities technology and the interoperability of systems in future cities. Welcoming these chosen smart cities start-up companies to Canary Wharf is a natural continuation of the group's original aim to create the cityscapes of and for the future"

The winner of each of the six streams of the challenge will be awarded £50 000 and offered the opportunity to further develop and pilot their technologies within the Canary Wharf Group estate.

Eric Van der Kleij, head of Level39 at Canary Wharf, notes the winning technologies will be piloted within the existing Canary Wharf estate, with the goal of embedding their solutions into the fabric of the new phase of Canary Wharf. The pilot phase for the first two streams starts at the end of April.

All the finalists

The sustainable buildings finalists are:

* 8point3 LED: a cloud-based, intelligent lighting control and data collation system that enables 'plug and play' retrofitting of LED lighting via mains-borne signalling.
* Jooxter: a French start-up that addresses the underutilisation of spaces in large offices, dynamically reallocating spaces and improving the overall building efficiency.
* Pavegen: a company that develops and manufactures flooring technology that converts the kinetic energy from footsteps into renewable electricity.
* Polysolar: a company seeking to prevent buildings overheating while also generating electricity through glass technology.
* Quantum Waste: a vertically integrated management company whose mobile, sustainable, decentralised and aerobic composting system makes waste processing technology more efficient and local.
* Solar Cloth: a UK innovator in the design and manufacture of lightweight and flexible solar panels, including solar power coverings for non-load-bearing roofs and car parking.

The integrated transportation finalists are:

* Alchera Technologies: an intelligent road transport system that draws on data from sensor networks to reduce congestion, improve flow, and increase safety for all users within a city.
* BuzzStreet: a mobile app that improves transport flow by aggregating and analysing data sources across different transportation modes in real-time.
* KnowNow: a company that creates a platform to enhance people's urban experience by analysing the movement of people, making transport more efficient and improving home delivery logistics.
* MellowCabs: a South African start-up that manufacturers and operates new, electric mini-cabs that provides on-demand, flexible and affordable taxi and transport services in cities.
* Pie Mapping: creator of a smart road routing platform for freight vehicles that considers both dynamic and local restrictions.
* Voyage Control: a company helping businesses manage, optimise and track their freight deliveries by streamlining logistics, helping with security and meeting environmental objectives.

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