Moravian-Silesian Region and the City of Ostrava are introducing smart technologies

Several of the projects presented in augmented reality focused on health care. The Moravian-Silesian Region has taken a long-term and comprehensive approach to developing the e-Health concept. One of the outputs of eHealth development is, for example, the First Responder, a system which calls a trained rescuer through a special application and provides professional first aid before an ambulance arrives. The project of high-speed data network will change the existing availability of services and the quality of eGovernment services. In the first phase, regional healthcare facilities will be able to send high-volume data safely.

"The introduction of smart technologies is a necessity. Smart concepts save time and money and also offer a certain level of comfort. Cities and towns have a lot of experience with smart solutions, because innovation leaders and various start-ups come with new products or interesting ideas. They will all be able to enrich or inspire each other at the fair, which is definitely beneficial. Examples of specific solutions can help to develop smart concepts", said Ivo Vondrák, Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region.

The City of Ostrava has presented its smart solutions in the areas of transport, water management and air protection using greenery. As the first city in the Czech Republic, it has made it possible to pay in public transport by means of payment cards via smart terminals installed in the vehicles. Exhibition visitors could see a card payment simulator.

The latest innovation in urban transport is "smart stops", which provide passengers with the necessary waiting comfort, information and services. The current form of the stop can be decided by the citizens themselves. The Ostrava Transport Company will ensure the implementation of the winning design.

"Ostrava Transport Company is gradually and systematically building the state-of-the-art city carrier in the country, which has been greatly facilitated by "smart solutions".  I am pleased that it is far from being the only innovator among our city companies. The City of Ostrava itself is not lagging behind. At this fair, we will publicly introduce for the first time the Clairo project, which was appreciated by the European Union, when it awarded a grant to support the most innovative projects in Europe to Ostrava as the first city in the Czech Republic and only the fourth in Central Europe. We will cooperate on the project with the Moravian-Silesian Region and regional universities. The project relates to the systematic reduction of air pollution by means of sophisticated planting of special greenery", said Tomáš Macura, Mayor of Ostrava.

However, the Moravian-Silesian Region does not focus its attention only on health care. "Smart solutions also have an important role in transport. Public transport becomes more attractive and comfortable, and also saves the environment. The Moravian-Silesian Region is gradually deploying ecological low-floor and air-conditioned vehicles. Passengers will soon be able to pay with a contactless payment card, connect to Wi-Fi or use a USB charger. We will also intensively focus on the development of hydrogen technology", said Jakub Unucka, Deputy Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region for Transport and Smart Region, adding that he will present his hydrogen transport plans at the Brno Exhibition Centre.

Koordinátor ODIS, a company which has been running the successful ODIS card transport system for eight years, is preparing more smart solutions in public transport.

"Paying the fare with a payment card with optimized final price will soon be expanded throughout the region, including a search engine for connections with the possibility of purchasing a QR code ticket. We are also preparing the establishment of the ODIS Central Dispatching Centre, which will use modern technologies to communicate not only with carriers but also with passengers and users of passenger cars. At present, Koordinátor ODIS is a data administrator of about 200 electronic information boards in the whole region, through which we communicate to passengers not only current information about the operation of public transport lines, but also information about news, changes and traffic closures", said Aleš Stejskal, an executive of Koordinátor ODIS.

Ostrava is working to ensure that in the future public transport in the city is not only low-emission (by 2020 it will use only low-emission buses), but that it is also completely emission-free.

"In Ostrava, we launched a regular, electric bus line with ultra-fast vehicle charging, and this is just the beginning. We started preparing the purchase of hydrogen buses and a public hydrogen filling plant, which will be put into operation in 2021. In the same year, the first ten hydrogen buses will be deployed in Ostrava. In the future, we would also like to apply smart solutions to traffic safety systems. We are already preparing the application of anti-collision systems, alcohol testing equipment and camera system improvements", said DPO Director Daniel Morys.

The Moravian-Silesian Region should deploy other hydrogen buses in 2022 in the Havířov region. The ambitious plan will continue with the introduction of three hydrogen-powered trains between Ostrava, Český Těšín and Frýdek-Místek in 2027. The Region also plans to expand the network of charging stations for electric cars and e-bikes.

The Ostrava presentation also included smart technology used by the waterworks company OVAK. Its "smart metering" offers a convenient and fair control of current consumption due to remote meter readings, which can even alert customers about water leakage or excessive consumption.

The joint exposition of the Moravian-Silesian Region and the City of Ostrava also included Dustee, a co-exhibitor which received an award under the Smart Idea project with its air pollution measuring stations. The trade fair exposition also includes a presentation of ProFure Technologies s.r.o., which was in charge of the augmented reality.