From Feet of Clay to Glimpses of Tomorrow I’ve been thinking about a way to alter our perception of a raw material and I started off by pondering the properties of clay. I studied clay during soil mechanics classes at University and learned a lot about how this wonderful material behaves under pressure. I realize that I may have an appreciation of clay that most people don’t have. Clay is a relatively unattractive substance found in the ground and of seemingly little value. I

Smart Vehicles and Smart Cities It is obvious that an important element of a smart city from a transportation perspective will be the use of autonomous vehicles. These will include private cars, transit vehicles and freight vehicles that are able to operate without a driver. It is worth looking ahead to what could be the shape of a smart city that incorporates autonomous vehicles. It seems to me that a possible scenario for autonomous vehicles would be in support of on-demand

For Whom the Bell Tolls What first comes to your mind when you hear the word “Bell”? A call to action, a clear signal that resonates over a long distance or even a warning? Examples that come to mind are church bells, fire alarm bells and the bells that go off when someone tries to violate a toll system. I would like to focus this article on the first definition of a bell as a call to action. Smart Cities I’ve been conducting some research into an emerging initiative known as

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Uberizing Your Toll Road in WAYZ That Would Make You Google! Whether you like it or not Uber, WAYZ and Google have an impact on toll road operations. Your customers are often their customers and they are likely to deliver their services in a way that incorporates yours. Their customers often use toll roads as part of the route. So what? Are the lessons to be learned and insights to be gained from this thought? How should we adapt in the light of t

Uberwhelmed One of the most surprising things that has happened in transportation in the past 10 years, in my opinion, is Uber. Having seen many attempts at ridesharing applications and some really good tries at making ridesharing popular, who would’ve thought that Silicon Valley would’ve come up with an approach to ride sharing that would turn into a compelling multibillion-dollar business? It is also hard to comprehend that a company that can be considered as the largest ta

Smart City - What? and How? Perhaps the first clue you might have on entering a smart city is being stopped at what looks like a tollbooth (and of course the smart city would not have these because of electronic toll collection) and being asked to complete a short IQ test before you can gain entry to the smart city. It’s always been my concern that I might not be smart enough to live in a really smart city. Just kidding! In this article we will do some waterskiing over the en