FREEtheMIBS, an advocacy campaign to encourage traffic signal controller manufacturers, ITS device manufacturers, and public sector agencies to unite behind opening and sharing management information bases (MIBs), has announced the addition of Applied Information, Inc., to the organization.
Applied Information is the latest ITS industry organization to participate in opening its management information bases to boost interoperability across traffic management networks and hardware.
Applied Information develops connected ITS systems to improve safety, reliability, and mobility with solutions ranging from school zone beacon monitoring to connected vehicle apps and a smart city supervisory system. Located in Alpharetta, GA, Applied Information is a global company with offices in India and South Africa.
“When you consider what it means to operate a smart city, it makes sense that Applied Information joined FREEtheMIBS,” says Mike Clance, Applied Information’s vice president of controller business development. “Free communication between signals, devices, traffic controllers, automobiles, and software is the bedrock that smart cities are built on. It’s unlikely that a whole city would only have one brand of traffic control products, so cross-communication, regardless of the vendor, is crucial to the connected vehicle/smart city future.”
The FREEtheMIBS campaign, which began four years ago, has seen a resurgence of interest in recent months following collaborative educational campaigns with the likes of NEMA, Yunex Traffic, and Cubic. Focusing on the traffic signal controller as the single source of truth, these campaigns focused on not just the importance of sharing MIBs to enable more innovation and interoperability but in doing so in a means that maintains intersection safety and security.
FREEtheMIBS’ Advisory Board chair Trisha Tunilla appreciates the forward-looking vision of Applied Information. “Applied Information has a massive range of leading-edge smart city applications that many in the industry are trying to catch up to. They’re a great partner to demonstrate the benefit derived from more sharing MIBs,” she says, “and advocating with them is a fantastic opportunity to eliminate some myths and educate others about the benefits of open MIBs.”
