BY SPENCER SUTHERLAND
FOSTERING NEXT-GEN
ENTREPRENEURS
COLLABORATIVE CROSS-DISCIPLINE PROGRAMS HELP BRING STUDENT IDEAS TO LIFE
There’s nothing more frustrating than hitting red light after red light. In the spring of 2014, Mark Pittman was waiting at yet another traffic signal. But instead of just complaining about his bad luck, Pittman decided to do something about it. He contacted the city traffic engineer to find why the lights couldn’t be better coordinated to speed up the commute. He learned the city just didn’t have the technology to make it happen. And that’s when Pittman came up with a $10 million idea. “The initial idea was to create a technology to help traffic engineers synchronize traffic lights in real time,” said Pittman, who founded a Blyncsy about a year later. The tech company developed sensors that can be placed on traffic signals to track cell phones or any other signalemitting device. Since most people carry such a device in their pocket, Blyncsy can monitor the majority of the population in real time. Though Blyncsy has already been used to improve both pedestrian and vehicle traffic in Utah, Pittman said the technology has much more to offer. “While we’re still working on traffic problems, we’re also working on a larger big data problem,” he said. “We deploy sensors throughout the traffic grid and collect anonymous, aggregated data on habits and trends in traffic, but the potential applications transcend traffic engineering.” Cities can use Blyncsy’s data to optimize everything from mass transit schedules to the snowplows clearing city streets. “There is a massive ecosystem that surrounds the growth and vitality of a city that runs through the traffic system, and it very squarely influences economic development,” Pittman said. “We’re trying to touch every part of government to help it operate more effectively by using data and technology to create smarter, more effective cities—which are also, in large part, more transparent.” 48
UTAH GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
