MACQ SA

Their core work

MACQ is a Belgian technology SME specializing in intelligent traffic management systems, sensor technologies, and data-driven transport solutions. They build products that combine perception sensors (radar, lidar, cameras) with data analytics to monitor and manage urban traffic flows. Their work spans from real-time geospatial data visualization for city planners to distributed edge computing for smart sensing applications. Based in Brussels, they operate at the intersection of hardware sensing and software intelligence for transport and smart city applications.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

MACQ's H2020 journey shows a clear shift from data consumer to data producer. Their earlier projects (2017-2020) focused on using transport data — geospatial analytics, big data visualization, GIS, and cooperative ITS deployment. By 2020, they pivoted toward building the sensing hardware itself with NextPerception, working on radar, lidar, and edge computing with embedded AI. This suggests a company moving up the value chain from analytics software to intelligent sensor systems.

MACQ is moving from pure transport software toward hardware-software integrated sensing with embedded AI — expect them to seek projects combining physical sensors with intelligent data processing at the edge.

How they like to work

MACQ consistently participates as a partner rather than leading consortia, suggesting they contribute specialized technology components within larger teams. With 101 unique partners across just 3 projects, they operate in large consortia (averaging 30+ partners per project), indicating comfort in complex multi-party collaborations. This makes them a reliable technology contributor who integrates well into big European projects without requiring a leadership role.

MACQ has built a broad network of 101 unique partners across 12 countries through just three projects, reflecting their participation in large European consortia. Their Brussels base gives them natural proximity to EU institutions and Belgian transport authorities.

What sets them apart

MACQ bridges the gap between transport infrastructure sensing and intelligent data processing — a combination that is rare among SMEs. While many companies do either sensors or analytics, MACQ has demonstrated capability in both hardware perception (radar, lidar) and software intelligence (GIS, big data, edge AI). For consortium builders, they offer a compact partner that can handle the full sensing-to-insight pipeline for transport and smart city applications.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NextPerception
  Represents MACQ's strategic pivot into smart sensors with edge AI, combining radar, lidar, and explainable AI — their most technically ambitious project.
• PoliVisu
  Demonstrates MACQ's data analytics depth, applying big data and GIS visualization directly to urban policy development — showing real-world impact beyond pure technology.
• C-MobILE
  Their largest funded project (EUR 397K) focused on deploying cooperative ITS across Europe, confirming their transport sector credentials at scale.