Projects / Programmes
DriveGreen: Development of an ecodriving application for a transition to a low-carbon society
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 7.00.00 |
Interdisciplinary research |
|
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S220 |
Social sciences |
Cultural anthropology, ethnology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.04 |
Social Sciences |
Sociology |
ecodriving, Southeast Europe, driving habits, socio-cultural aspects, mobile application
Researchers (13)
Organisations (3)
Abstract
The main goal of the project is the development of a user-friendly mobile application DriveGreen which will encourage ecodriving and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The application will be innovative on a global scale, because it will be the first application that takes into account the social and cultural factors that shape the driving habits. Since the application will be affordable and widely available for use on smartphones, it will be primarily intended for end-users in the markets on Southeast Europe with a lower purchasing power. This way we will encourage ecodriving in the region even among people who cannot afford the latest vehicles with integrated solutions for reducing exhaust fumes and fuel consumption.
The DriveGreen application will be designed on the basis of a multi-sited ethnographic study which will determine which approaches to encouraging ecodriving are the most appropriate for four urban centers: Ljubljana, Belgrade, Budapest and Istanbul. Southeast Europe was chosen because vehicle fleets in this region are rather outdated, few vehicles are equipped with modern propulsion systems (e.g. hybrid, electric) and few drivers utilize telematics solutions for route optimization and reduction of CO2 emissions. In addition, the driving habits observed in the region are somewhat specific and differ substantially from those in other parts of Europe.
Ethnographic study will be supplemented by quantitative measurements of driving styles. Telematics solutions will be used to measure fuel consumption, calculate CO2 emissions and track the key elements of a driving style (e.g. acceleration, breaking, idling). This way we will gain a comprehensive overview of the driving habits present in the chosen locations.
Our research will provide a basis for development procedures; the findings will tell us which elements of the DriveGreen mobile application will need to be adjusted for the driving habits in Southeast Europe. They will also influence the design of the user interface. This way we will be able to create an application with a major advantage over other similar technologies: it will help the user choose the optimal motivational approach for ecodriving. The approach will be determined by the individual’s driving habits, traffic infrastructure, the number of vehicles on the road and other socio-cultural and technological factors.
The DriveGreen application will be developed for smartphones running the Android operating system. It will be widely available, easy to use and intended for a broad target user group. An important part of its development will be devoted to safety, because we are highly aware of the potential dangers that using a mobile phone while driving poses. That is why the application will be designed in a way that will allow the mobile device to function as a tool for tracking driving habits (similar to the popular navigation devices) rather than as a communication device.
The next applied output of the project will be a community of eco drivers – the DriveGreen Community. It will bring drivers together within a network where users will be able to share their achievements with one another either directly or via on-line social networks (e.g. Facebook). Another applied output of the project will be a list of ecodriving recommendations tailored for the region, which will prove useful in educating drivers and in preparing both national and international awareness-raising campaigns.
The success of the project is guaranteed by an interdisciplinary team of experts. Researchers from the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts will address the socio-cultural factors that need to be taken into account in order to achieve a balance between people, technologies and the environment. Researchers from the Laboratory for Telecommunications at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, will design and test the user interface. The deve
Significance for science
For the purposes of this project, information about driving habits in five urban centers, i.e. Ljubljana, Belgrade, Budapest, Durham and Newcastle, were collected. Since this subject, i.e. driving habits, has never before been fully addressed in anthropology with any in-depth studies, not only where it concerns Slovenia but the world as a whole, the project thus managed to fill a void in anthropology of everyday life. The project also contributed new knowledge to emerging fields in anthropology (fields which deal with traffic, energy and sustainable development) and proved its importance for future development of Slovenian and European applied anthropology. The project was also important for the development of methodology. It included quantitative approaches (driving style measurements) in anthropology and at the same time enriched the field of telecommunications with qualitative (ethnographic) approaches. The project demonstrated that the ethnography-based research can be important or even crucial in developing user-friendly products and services and that the humanities offer a competitive advantage to Slovenia and Europe when it comes to the development of people-centred and environmentally responsible technologies. The project offered a multifaceted view of the methodological and content point of view and opened up new possibilities and opportunities for finding new insight and solutions that could contribute to a more secure and sustainable-oriented driving habits on the road.
Significance for the country
The smartphone app, created during the project, assists in the implementation of Slovenian energy efficiency measures and in reaching national and international goals on greenhouse gas emissions. The project supports the EU strategic traffic management plan, according to which greenhouse gas emissions produced by traffic are to be reduced by 60 per cent by 2050 without reducing the current level of mobility. The project results help reducing other harmful emissions produced by road traffic that increase the death rate from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The smartphone app also supports a dynamic lifestyle (e.g., walking instead of commuting by car) and therefore helps preventing chronic and degenerative diseases, which are often a consequence of lack of movement. In addition, it has an impact on sustainable traffic management, especially since the researchers tried to recommend the optimal ways of supporting sustainable mobility in different urban settings. The applied nature of the project has proven important for the Slovenian business sector, especially for the development of simple and efficient smartphone solutions, designed for supporting the active lifestyle and reducing use of passenger vehicles. The project will have a long-lasting effect on Slovenian society, since the knowledge obtained by the research has been transferred to study programmes and since the project team members have encouraged students to conduct their own studies into sustainable mobility. In that way, a critical research and expert development core of researchers who will generate new information about the ways in which a transition to a low-carbon society could be created. Finally, the project helped promoting Slovenia in the international community. The researchers highlighted the development potential of Slovenia and encouraged cross border cooperation in creating new, innovative technologies that could influence how people change their values in the transition to the low-carbon society.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2014,
2015,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2014,
2015,
final report
