Welcome to the fifth edition of OptiPEx’s Spotlight Series! In this edition, we sit down with Dr. Jani Väre, Director, Innovation at Teleste HQ to explore his organization’s role in the OptiPEx project.
Thank you for speaking with us today. Could you start by introducing yourself?
Dr. Jani Väre, Director, Innovation. I’m based in Teleste HQ, Littoinen, Finland. Teleste has three organizations taking part to Optipex. Teleste Oyj, Teleste Information Solutions, and Teleste Video Networks. However, in a few months Teleste Oyj tasks will be transferred into a new organization called Teleste Networks. Teleste Oyj and Teleste Networks are based in Littoinen/Turku, Finland. Teleste Information solutions is based in Tampere and Teleste Video Networks is based in Wroclav and Cracow, Poland. All three organizations are committed to same focus areas and goal; Optimized public transport solution with emphasis on different video technologies and passenger information solutions. Our core competence is in different applications on the public transport and safety domains.
Can you tell us about your general experience with public transport in your city?
Public transport is commonly used in all three locations. Trams are very new an yet actively used in Tampere. It can be considered very modern and convenient. In Turku/Littoinen we do not have any trams. Buses are actively used mode of transport generally in Finland. In Poland, both trams and buses are commonly used mode of transport. While public transport is generally advanced and widely used, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Based on this, why is a project like OptiPEx necessary?
Optipex aims to improve and optimize passenger experience from operators and passenger’s point of views, especially with focus on passenger with challenges and different impairments.
What role does your organisation play in the OptiPEx project?
We bring in our video and passenger information technologies and platforms, which we aim to develop further to maximize our capacity to reach Optipex project goals.
What will a successful contribution to the project look like for your organization?
Successful contribution means that we can build novel solutions which can be validated in real environment.
What do you see as the biggest challenge for the project?
Implementation of the field tests in real environment without violating any GDPR laws and regulations.
What does your organization hope to achieve between now and month 18 of the project?
Clear set of use cases and plans to implement comprehensive solution to resolve the challenges posed by the use cases.
Can you describe OptiPEx in three words?
Smart, safe and smooth.
