In Nairobi, garbage trucks are 'data collection ants': a very cool traffic tech solution for African cities

IN November 2013, IBM opened its first research lab in Africa, in Nairobi, Kenya.

It was only IBM’s 12th full-scale, industrial laboratory in the company’s 70-year history, intended to combine fundamental science with applied research. Choosing to launch it in Africa was a reflection of the continent’s rising status as the go-to place for anyone looking for opportunity and innovation.

One of the first problems the lab had to tackle was the mess that is Nairobi’s traffic congestion. Two years prior, the city had been ranked the fourth most painful city for commuters, in a survey of 20 cities around the world.

So IBM got down to the job of designing a data-driven traffic management system that could ease the gruelling commute. Many other cities crunch data gathered by cameras and sensors to predict and manage traffic.

But after tinkering with some designs for a while, the Nairobi researchers quickly realised that they were going to have to re-conceptualise the whole project. read more: mgafrica.com