“Data analysis has enormous potential for cities when it comes to optimising their fleet management”, explains André Droux, Director of Hymexia. The company, which was founded in 2009 and is based in Châtel-St-Denis, specializes in the management of utility and municipal vehicles. According to Mr Droux, “Road sweepers spend a lot of time in traffic jams and their deployment is determined more by custom and practice than by actual need on the ground.” At the end of November 2016, Hymexia management launched Cortexia, a spin-off specializing in big data. “We are in the process of teaching our machines to recognize objects like leaves and cigarette butts.” Eventually, public vehicles like buses will be fitted with cameras that can detect rubbish, which will in turn make it possible to organize the road sweeping schedule more efficiently. Another winner will be urban planning, initially the siting of litter bins. The results of this project, which enjoys the backing of several major towns and cities around the world, are expected by the end of 2018.

→ www.hymexia.ch