A Front-Runner in Smart City Transportation Technology: LocoMobi World Inc.

 “We continually look for ways to help companies meet their smart city security and transportation goals.”

LocoMobi World Inc. is a cloud-based smart city technology company specializing in parking, tolling, transit, storage, asset tracking, and threat management solutions. It provides pioneering technology to government, institutional and parking management clients throughout North America and has a growing platform of transportation infrastructure patents.

The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.

Interview Excerpt: Grant Furlane, CEO of LocoMobi World, Inc.

Q. As a company, how do you break the ‘sucking sound of the core’? And what strategies are in place to encourage innovation in your company?

For over 15 years, my focus has been to address one critical problem—congestion. The core plan was to develop the first cloud portal (WorldStream Cloud Portal) to manage transportation infrastructure. Being the first innovator to develop a system from the top-down allowed us to break the “sucking sound of the core” and paved the way for further product development. We have been able to offer innovative solutions that allow vehicles to be connected everywhere they travel. We were the first company that developed the first patented mobile phone app for transportation (PassagePass) and the first cloud-based licence plate recognition (LPR Express) system. We concentrated on finding opportunities that matched our WorldStream Cloud Portal and invested millions of dollars in developing all the linking apps and equipment. We then hired Brian Storrie as our president to lead the rollout as execution is always the most challenging aspect of a startup. For the past two years, we have decided to finance through ourselves to control our future and ensure our employees retain value and are part of the rewards. We want to control our destiny but realize we are at a size where we will need equity investments. We are also fortunate to have a great lender and the very best staff.

Q. How uniquely do you address your clients’ pain points, given that LocoMobi  World is one of the sought-after smart city, parking, and transportation technology companies that manufactures and delivers innovative enterprise hardware and cloud-based software solutions?

We always place the customer first, listen to their requirements, and develop solutions for them. Our clients want to invite visitors to an office or condominium tower effortlessly and frictionlessly. They want to prevent unauthorized people and vehicles from entering into garages and stealing cars, goods, or causing random acts of vandalism. They want to eliminate congested travel for their tenants and customers. We try to make each person's journey comfortable so that our client’s pain points are eliminated. We do this by using object AI and Licence Plate Recognition powered by our WorldStream Cloud Portal, ensuring only the right people access the building. It recognizes tailgaters and trespassers, sounds an alarm, and at the same time tells them to leave by voice. We also have the first software that monitors equipment problems to solve them before they become an issue.

Q. What can you tell us about your revolutionary licence plate recognition system?

LocoMobi World is the leader in all-in-one licence plate recognition (LPR) transportation management systems. Powered by our WorldStream Cloud Portal, our systems allow clients to control all activities, hardware, and system add-ons from their property in one central location in real-time while providing analytical reports. It can link properties, roads, and other arteries to offer a real-time experience.

It is the only LPR system providing not just access to a building but many other enhancing features such as:

• Touchless access – licence plates act as virtual permits.
• No parking attendants are required – eliminates the requirement for social interaction.
• Controls the city core streets with better car management in what we call zones, eliminating manual enforcement and ticketing. One zone LPR and object AI controls the flow and rates.
• Eliminates trespassers through access key sharing – no fobs, keys, or cards to be passed around.
• Tenants can register their guests’ licence plate numbers online, allowing them safe access.
• Eliminates “tailgaters” and trespassers, which eliminates theft and vandalism liability to the owners.
• Our LPR system has the highest read rate in the industry at 99.9% accuracy for compliant and non-compliant licence plates.

We can also tailor our LPR packages based on the requirements and budget of the property. Our development team has created a superior LPR system powered by our proprietary WorldStream Cloud Portal without sacrificing performance at a much lower cost than our premier LPR system. This new affordable LPR model will benefit companies with smaller properties or where tightened or cut budgets have resulted from the pandemic. We continually look for ways to help companies meet their smart city security and transportation goals.

Q. How does LocoMobi manage to accommodate a broad range of environments (airports, universities, hotels, etc.) so efficiently? Share an overview of the apps and software solutions that ensure smooth accommodation of these environments?

LocoMobi moves people, vehicles and data. The minute you leave your home, we immediately ensure the proper transportation mode is offered based on what you have chosen, whether it be a car, bus or train.

Everything starts with our proprietary WorldStream Cloud Portal Management software. Property owners and managers can manage their properties from anywhere in the world! The WorldStream Cloud Portal is our flagship transportation management system built and revolving around cloud technology. Because the Cloud allows you to move around in real-time, the portal can communicate with all transportation modes such as transit operators, toll highways, airports and parking through easy API interfaces.

An example of one of our newest transportation solutions is our WorldStream Truck Yard Management.

We have developed a seamless automated system that tracks trucks and other fleets entry and exit into a compound using our WorldStream Cloud Portal and its LetMeThrough System powered by LPR Express.

The most outstanding feature of this system is that it allows for dual authentication of both the cab and the trailer. The Licence Plate Recognition system scans the front licence plate of the cab, the driver is contacted via SMS that is registered to that plate, the driver responds to the SMS asking for the trailer identification, and then access is granted if the driver is permitted.

LocoMobi’s WorldStream Cloud Portal allows trucking and fleet companies to manage drivers, cabs, and trailers in real-time online. They can control things such as adding and removing drivers, short and long-term permits and updating permission levels for each trailer.

As an added level of security, trucking companies can also register the drivers’ personal vehicles exiting the lot. Upon exit, the system immediately allows the car to exit through licence plate recognition. The system then sends an SMS to the driver allowing exit; therefore, ultimately preventing theft.

WorldStream Truck Yard and Fleet Management streamlines operations for both the drivers and the companies, providing added security and secure cloud infrastructure.

Q. Is there anything else you want us to highlight that we might have missed?

Yes. LocoMobi has won prestigious accolades over the years. Here are a few highlights.

Proptech’s 2021 Inaugural Report named LocoMobi World the 14th Top-Funded Startup in Canada. The company was also ranked in the ‘Top 10 for Commercial Storage and Logistics’ list.

Previously, the company was awarded as the winner of ‘TIE 50’. This is held annually in Silicon Valley, with over 2700 companies from over 28 countries competing. LocoMobi is the only winner of this prestigious award in all of its business sectors.

Moreover, LocoMobi secured second place in the Nantong smart building/smart city competition (China), being the only North American company leading at the top.

“We were the first company that developed the first patented mobile phone app for transportation (PassagePass) and the first cloud-based licence plate recognition (LPR Express) system.”