Both team will receive US$250,000 (RM1.038mil) each as a grant award for their solution trial and implementation in Kuala Lumpur.
CATCH was launched by Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) in February last year with a global call for dynamic and data-driven solutions to address mobility and city planning challenges in Kuala Lumpur.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Numina and KERB, along with four other finalists, had developed their own Minimum Viable Products (MVP) of innovative solutions including demand responsive transit, smart cameras, synthetic data modeling solution, data fusion platform, and parking solution towards improving mobility and city planning.
The MVPs were presented at the final assessment by a panel of eight judges from various fields of expertise.
The entries from Numina and KERB were the best and matched the five assessment criteria of creativity, desirability, feasibility, sustainability and technicality.
In addition to enhancing the quality of life for citizens in the city of Kuala Lumpur, these winning solutions also align with Toyota’s Mobility for All initiative.
In its entry, Numina uses computer vision and Privacy by Design technology to measure how people and objects move in streets and public spaces, and delivers real-time insights from streets to make cities more responsive to human movement and needs.
During the challenge, Numina has deployed their sensors in traffic hotspots in Kuala Lumpur, allowing them to monitor and analyse people and object movement.
The data can be delivered via self-serve web dashboard with a dynamic, queryable, privacy-first dataset of multimodal activity to Kuala Lumpur stakeholders, for making data-driven decisions in terms of city planning and infrastructure improvement during the Winner Implementation Stage.
Numina CEO and founder Tara Pham said: “We are honored that the CATCH partners believe in the impact that Numina can have, by supporting pedestrian safety and turning Kuala Lumpur’s streets into a sandbox for mobility innovation.”
Meanwhile, KERB has deployed its technology to unlock parking spaces that are empty during office hours – thereby increasing the number of parking options available, with zero infrastructure by providing one-touch booking and payment, “hands-free” car park access, and real-time of parking behavior data.
It develops a platform that automates car parking, and enables renting public/ private spaces to customers who need parking space.
KERB also has local operations, and is increasing its presence in Kuala Lumpur.
Through the Winner implementation stage, KERB will increase parking supply around public transport hubs, expand networks, and strengthen the mobility system in improving accessibility in Kuala Lumpur.
KERB CEO and Co-Founder Rob Brown said: “At Kerb, we passionately believe that the “mobility for all” solution developed with fresh and innovative approach for the city of Kuala Lumpur as part of Toyota Mobility Foundation’s ‘City Architecture for Tomorrow’ would serve as a model for any developed or developing city.”
The winning teams will continuously work on implementation of the solution in Kuala Lumpur.
TMF, together with strategic partners including Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), the Malaysia Digital Economy Corp (MDEC) will support the winners until the end of implementation stage.
Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah said: “Kuala Lumpur City Hall is fully supportive of CATCH as it is in line with our goals to make Kuala Lumpur an efficient and environmentally-friendly mobility city focusing on effective and varied mobility and transportation choices.”
MDEC Chief Digital Business Officer Aiza Azreen Ahmad said: “CATCH is testament of the effectiveness of data-driven solutions to empower Malaysia’s digital economy and drive innovations toward efficient, innovative and sustainable cities.
TMF Director of Programmes Pras Ganesh said: “The problem statement was challenging, focusing on data driven city planning and mobility improvements of Kuala Lumpur.
“Though all the Finalists are excellent, both the winning entries are worthy victors of CATCH. In line with Toyota Mobility Foundation’s Guiding Principles, they both offer high tech practical solutions that can deliver immediate benefits to Kuala Lumpur citizens and city planners.
“Furthermore, they also exhibit potential for future-proofing mobility in any large city, and we are excited at the possibilities of our engagement going forward,” he said.
