Matías Kalwill

"Bikestorming

The use of cars as the principal mode of transportation in urban settings generates two types of problems: the emissions of greenhouse gases and traffic jams. The young, Argentinian innovator Matías Kalwill aims to address both issues with a single solution: the bicycle, which we wants to ""transform into the primary medium of urban transportation by 2030"".

Kalwill created Bikestorming, a specialized, navigation app for cyclists that displays the optimal route based on the characteristics and requirements specific to this mode of transport. The user can choose a route and once the path has been set, the directions can be displayed on screen or delivered in audio format through headphones.

The city map is accessible without internet connectivity and offers a series of layers which display all kinds of useful information, like, for example, parking facilities and repair shops. The app can also provide alerts for situations that the user considers positive or negative, which will be shared with the wider user community.

The project emerged in Buenos Aires in 2011 as a map which combines official data from the local, Buenos Aires government with data provided by the local cycling community. The app will launch a version for New York (USA) soon, to be followed by further cities in future."