Expertise

Factual is an innovation and strategy firm focused on mobility. Based in Barcelona but with a genuine “glocal” mindset, Factual liaises with a wide range of stakeholders, public and private, and supports them in understanding and effectively adapting to a complex, interconnected, dynamic mobility ecosystem, providing strategic advice, highly specialised training, innovation methodologies and tools, and outreach support. Factual staff members are mobility specialists accumulating an outstanding track record of participating in mobility related and EC-funded projects. Factual brings in their background and knowledge, adapting to our customers’ requirements with a more flexible, sharp, and focused approach than more traditional consultancies. Following are the 7 strategic pillars and areas of work:

Foresight Research Factory Venturing Training Hack! Outreach Factual use to follow the innovation cycle of Research: starting with foresight and consultancy projects where we identify the needs and requirements from private and public companies in terms of mobility. After an internal brainstorming, we develop the ideas during the EU funded projects in order to transform those ideas into mobility services thanks to our Factory in a go-to-market stage. A couple of good practices are NE-MI, an on-demand bus platform which is currently running in different countries and RIDEAL (under development), a micro-subsidy/incentives calculation engine which can be plugged on to any MaaS or Transport Service Provider platform. Both services have been developed/piloted in R&D projects at European level.

We keep a keen eye into the big picture and so we follow global trends (re)shaping future mobility from the smart combination of autonomous, electric and shared features transforming the automotive industry for the better, to disruptive, new mobility paradigms, such as Mobility as a Service (MaaS), redefining how mobility is consumed from a brave new customer-centric perspective, setting a playing board where cities, public transit operators, automotive companies, big tech firms and burgeoning start-ups interact.

Participation in EU Projects and International Activities

Recent involvement in EU Research ARIADNA: Awareness Raising and capacity building Increasing ADoption of EGNSS in urbaN mobility Applications and services (CSA) Dec 2019-Nov 2021. Funded by the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) and coordinated by Factual, with the main goal to educate stakeholders in the public transport domain worldwide in the benefits of European GNSS (Galileo) to improve their operations, and achieve better performance, and stimulate the adoption of this technology.

MOLIERE: MObiLIty sERvices Enhanced by GALILEO & Blockchain (IA) Dec 2020-Nov 2021. FACTUAL is the project coordinator. The main goal of the project is to enhance urban mobility services and citizen safety through the integration of the following digital technologies: GALILEO, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Cloud Computing and Blockchain (DLTs). MOLIERE will build the world's best open data commons for mobility services, a Mobility Data Marketplace (MDM) underpinned by blockchain technology.

DIGNITY: DIGital traNsport In and for socieTY (RIA) Jan 2020-Dec 2022. Factual is leading the Barcelona metropolitan pilot. The main goal of the project is to analyse the digital transition from both user and provider’s perspective by developing a digital inclusive travel system that will provide a unique framework for analysis and action to: support public and private mobility providers in conceiving mainstream digital services that are accessible to all, regardless of their income and social situation.

E-CORRIDOR: Edge enabled Privacy and Security Platform for Multi Modal Transport (IA): The main goal of the project is the development of a flexible, secure and privacy-aware framework aimed at ensuring the safety and security of multimodal transport systems. It will design a framework for the security of passengers and transportation operators. Collaborative policy-aware edge-enabled information sharing, analysis and protection-as-a-service will form the basis of the new framework. Factual will develop a pilot in Barcelona to test the RIDEAL micro-subsidy calculation engine.

NUMIDAS: New Mobility Data and Solutions Toolkit (RIA) Jan 2021-Dec 2022: Funded by the European Commission. The main goal of nuMIDAS is to bridge the knowledge gap between big data analysis using AI techniques and its integration at the mobility planning, by providing insights into what methodological tools, databases, and models are required, and how existing ones need to be adapted or augmented with new data. Factual is leading Communication and Exploitation work package and air quality & big data use cases.

COMMINSAFE (RIA): Commuting with shared mobility COVID-free (Jul 2020-Dec 2020). Funded by the EIT Urban Mobility, the project develops and introduces to the market a technological solution consisting of a mobile application for shared mobility services (carpooling, ridesharing and demand responsive transport) accompanied with a data management system of disinfection facilities and users’ profile. Factual was the leader of Barcelona pilot. In April, it will start an additional 1-year project about Demand Responsive Transit in the EIT Urban Mobility framework.