INTERVIEW WITH INCINITY

Incinity is an established software company based in the Czech Republic. What sets them apart is a high level of specialization. The company’s main and practically only product is the Invipo integration platform, which is designed for smart city and ITS projects. All the efforts have been directed towards the development and operation of this platform since 2015. Or rather a few years longer, since Incinity was founded by spinning off the development team from CROSS Zlín, a leading global manufacturer of road traffic management technologies. With this move, they became independent and the platform was opened to all technologies, their manufacturers and suppliers.

Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?

INCINITY: Our areas of interest are cities and their infrastructure, as well as the technological component of highway and road networks. All over the world. When it is said “Smart City” or ITS (Intelligent Traffic System), it is a project for us. We rely on advancing digitization, which pervades all areas of our lives, and specifically in cities and transport, this progress is palpable. There are a large number of different systems on the market that facilitate the operation of the city, its management and administration, take care of the information, safety and comfort of the residents, and make transport easier and faster. We connect these diverse systems and integrate them into one environment, process their data, present integrated views and enable their mutual interaction. All in one platform, in one user interface.

E.E: What’s the news about new products?

INCINITY: We implement five to ten new projects a year. These are generally very complex matters, which are often spread over several years in terms of implementation. Such projects do not lack a long-term vision, and thus our product also advances. We see clear trends, both in the field of new technologies and in terms of newly created needs in cities and on roads, which are related to rapid development.

We are constantly expanding our support for required standards, offering open APIs to integrate ever new devices and systems, bringing full automation through different technologies and connecting them to each other. We place great emphasis on a unified and intuitive user interface, as well as on all the outputs we generate in the platform. So that everyone can quickly find their way around – the operator in the control centre, the city councillor, and the average citizen.

The last major innovation is the introduction of artificial intelligence. It can take over a number of routine activities, design and prepare smart scenarios and, last but not least, guide the users of the platform.

E.E: What are the ranges of products?

INCINITY: Given the history of the company, our first domain was transport. In all its forms, from traffic control at traffic lights, to parking, public transport, monitoring traffic volume, evaluating alternative routes. That and on the road network and motorways in general. After all, traffic is the pain point of every city and the entire adjacent agglomeration and is typically the first area that the contracting authority wants to address.

Hand in hand with transport was the area of safety, which has gradually moved from the environment of roads and communications to other areas. A common application is, for example, the connection of CCTV systems and, more recently, various warning systems.

Current trends that we are prepared for are applications for the environment and energy savings (e.g. in the form of smart street lighting), waste management, we routinely integrate meteorological systems, we have connectors for monitoring and management of smart buildings and eGovernment.

In terms of urban and road protection, let us mention one of the telematics applications, namely weighing vehicles while driving (weigh-in-motion). Especially trucks and the possibility of diverting or stopping them if they are overloaded or exceed some other limit.

E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?

INCINITY: At the beginning of the millennium, people started talking about Smart Cities. Many cities have already started down this path, many are still not ready, but in recent years we have seen a significant shift and investment in digitalisation. And digitalisation means having data and with legally interpreted data means having information. Without accurate information, it is very difficult to make the right decisions and plan further development.

Invipo is a platform for collecting disparate data, validating, aggregating, evaluating and then presenting it. In real time and in the form of aggregated reports and analyses.

Fortunately, many have already understood that quality contextual data from different areas are the basis for effective management of the city and individual verticals, help in planning the development of the city and road network, are the basis for proper investments and at the same time are the starting point for serious discussions in the field of automation of various processes. In practice, these applications are already happening and Invipo can do them.

E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?

INCINITY: It is said that we are experiencing a transition from a traditional industrial society to an information society. Some call it the digital revolution. Perhaps everyone has been in a situation where they have felt at least a little bit lost. It’s a moment when we realise that we need tools to help us navigate.

We have fast networks, it’s virtually no problem to connect anything, cheap sensors are available, all of which generate incredible amounts of data. But data is not primarily what we want. We want information and we want the activity that data initiates. Ideally automatically, without external intervention. But we want to be in full control.

And we also want it to save us time and money, to eliminate errors, to protect the environment, to make our lives more comfortable. Let someone – or something – do it for us. This ushers in an era of software that is able to learn and find ways to optimize itself.

E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?

INCINITY: It’s our Invipo. It may sound rather immodest, but we always try to stay one step ahead. And the people around us think so too, because we’ve won a number of awards. Even one of the most prestigious – the Intertraffic Innovation Award for the most innovative product. We’re proud of that.

We have designed a simple and open architecture that allows us to develop further quickly and efficiently. We have an open API for simple system integration, we came up with a unique visual communication that allows us to deliver the platform as an all-in-one solution. We have applied predictive maintenance features, even for integrated devices and systems. We support full automation with AI elements. Every new project, every city or highway takes us further.

E.E: What estimations do you have for 2023?

INCINITY: In general, we expect many times more integration requirements in our industry. For many cities and organizations, this is becoming a necessity as the number of individual systems in operation continues to increase.

We expect a record number of new projects for Incinity and our Invipo platform, which is clearly indicated by the number of orders already for the first quarter of this year. We would also like to implement a project at the national level, which we are already working on.

Website: https://www.incinity.cz/en

Product website: https://www.invipo.com