Exploiting Big Data to improve the urban living experience | The Irish Times Research conducted in Ireland is playing a major part in the insights being gleaned as part of IBM’s global Smarter Cities initiative, which involves several cities, including Dublin, as collaborative research centres between the company, and local authorities and services. Cities are a special focus because the world is becoming increasingly urban. By 2050, the world’s population will be nine billion, of which 70 per cent will live in cities.

Exploiting Big Data to improve the urban living experience | The Irish Times

Research conducted in Ireland is playing a major part in the insights being gleaned as part of IBM’s global Smarter Cities initiative, which involves several cities, including Dublin, as collaborative research centres between the company, and local authorities and services.

Cities are a special focus because the world is becoming increasingly urban. By 2050, the world’s population will be nine billion, of which 70 per cent will live in cities.

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Santander: Test bed for smart cities and open data policies | SmartPlanet To support SmartSantander ambitions, the city is deploying more than 10,000 sensors to monitor everything from garbage collection to crime to air quality. Libelium, a Spanish startup, has contributed around 1,000 sensor nodes, which monitor available street parking (see sensor embedded in street, in image above), collect air quality data and manage street lighting for better energy efficiency.

Santander: Test bed for smart cities and open data policies | SmartPlanet

To support SmartSantander ambitions, the city is deploying more than 10,000 sensors to monitor everything from garbage collection to crime to air quality. Libelium, a Spanish startup, has contributed around 1,000 sensor nodes, which monitor available street parking (see sensor embedded in street, in image above), collect air quality data and manage street lighting for better energy efficiency.

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City-wide sensor system could make cities run more smoothly (PhysOrg.com) — By installing millions of sensors throughout a city and hooking them up to an urban operating system, the Portuguese-based company Living PlanIT envisions that, in the future, cities could monitor and manage themselves more efficiently without the need for additional human supervision. For instance, in the event of a fire in an occupied building, sensors would spot the fire and then flickering lights and alarms would direct people to a safe stairwell and an exit. At the same time, a fire station would be notified and the system would manage the traffic lights so fire engines could reach the building as quickly as possible. In this way and others, sensors around the city could keep an eye on what’s happening and keep things running smoothly. The plan involves using sensors for monitoring everything from traffic flow, energy consumption, water use, waste processing, and the temperature of individual rooms. All these sensors would be connected to the Urban OS, enabling them to communicate with each other. The Urban OS was developed by McLaren Electronic Systems, which makes sensors for Formula One cars. According to Living PlanIT, this kind of “smart city” could lead to cost savings while improving the quality of life for the people who live there. The company is currently building a demo city called PlanIT Valley, located in southern Portugal near the town of Paredes. Although it will take several years for the city to be built, Living PlanIT hopes that the final outcome will be a city that is more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable than today’s cities.

City-wide sensor system could make cities run more smoothly

(PhysOrg.com) — By installing millions of sensors throughout a city and hooking them up to an urban operating system, the Portuguese-based company Living PlanIT envisions that, in the future, cities could monitor and manage themselves more efficiently without the need for additional human supervision.

For instance, in the event of a fire in an occupied building, sensors would spot the fire and then flickering lights and alarms would direct people to a safe stairwell and an exit. At the same time, a fire station would be notified and the system would manage the traffic lights so fire engines could reach the building as quickly as possible.

In this way and others, sensors around the city could keep an eye on what’s happening and keep things running smoothly. The plan involves using sensors for monitoring everything from traffic flow, energy consumption, water use, waste processing, and the temperature of individual rooms. All these sensors would be connected to the Urban OS, enabling them to communicate with each other. The Urban OS was developed by McLaren Electronic Systems, which makes sensors for Formula One cars.

According to Living PlanIT, this kind of “smart city” could lead to cost savings while improving the quality of life for the people who live there. The company is currently building a demo city called PlanIT Valley, located in southern Portugal near the town of Paredes. Although it will take several years for the city to be built, Living PlanIT hopes that the final outcome will be a city that is more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable than today’s cities.

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New video: Robin Chase "Building the city of the future" | Lift conference, what can the future do for you?

Cities were once constructed by the efforts of individuals, until the grand plans of master architects, and then city planning departments took over, making sense of the “chaos.” The city of the future will be both globally connected and highly local and customized — once again shaped primarily by the individuals living within it. This new power will include sustainable local economies and be thanks to the miracle of the Internet combined with fast, easy access it to through ubiquitous mobile devices and sensors throughout our environment. We are seeing the rise of people, empowered.

URBAN - Robin Chase from videosfing on Vimeo.

via smarterplanet:

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