Transforming Communities and Creating Value for Citizens:
More than half of the world’s population lives in an urban area. As an Internet of Things and smart cities leader, we see the impact technology has on helping cities address the issues facing their communities — and their citizens. Collaborating with the cities and our strategic alliances puts us closer to making smart cities a reality.
Our smart cities momentum launched over a year ago and now we can share some of the real-life results of our framework. To begin, our framework uses a secure, holistic approach to help cities improve functions like transportation, lighting, safety and sustainability. We have also committed to test our framework in several spotlight cities and universities, which include Atlanta, Chapel Hill (NC), Chicago, Dallas, Georgia Institute of Technology, Miami-Dade County, Montgomery County (MD) and Portland (OR).
Below are some of our specific initiatives in 3 US cities: Miami-Dade County, Atlanta, and Chicago.
Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County is the first to launch our Smart Cities Operation Center. The platform gives municipality leadership visibility of their communities’ conditions — all from 1 location and in near-real time.
We’re also working to apply solutions that address intelligent lighting and smart transportation. And, in collaboration with our alliance member Hitachi, we are excited to deploy public safety solutions in our communities.
Highlights:
• Remote monitoring and more efficient operations solutions for police and public safety officials.
• Upgrades to the county’s existing lighting infrastructure with smart LED lighting.
• Reliable data to help inform decision making around urban transportation planning.
• A traffic intersection network solution to help improve traffic flow.
We’ve also committed to use our spotlight city program help address the Digital Divide. In particular, we launched a program recently at one of the County’s public housing communities. Together with Ericsson, another smart cities alliance member, we provided 60 laptops for students and adults in the community to use in the community center, while also equipping the center with Wi-Fi connectivity. Miami-Dade students living in this community can access their schoolwork while away from school. And adults in this community now have access to web content that can provide enrichment to their lives.
"Together with Ericsson, another smart cities alliance member, we provided 60 laptops for students and adults in the community to use in the community center, while also equipping the center with Wi-Fi connectivity."
Atlanta
We’re making great progress on the City of Atlanta’s smart cities roadmap. A major focus is on the city’s North Avenue corridor project. Atlanta’s North Avenue corridor borders the Georgia Tech campus, and is in the heart of the city’s business and theater district. Atlanta is using the corridor as a test bed for numerous technologies.
Another key area of focus for the city is intelligent lighting. Together with GE and Georgia Power, the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, we’re working to bring intelligent LED lighting solutions to the city that will ultimately help improve public safety conditions and create greater efficiencies, including maintenance costs. GE and Southern Company are both members of our smart cities alliance.
Chicago
Our latest pilots are designed to keep Chicago residents and tourists more productive, engaged, and informed as they move about town.
The solutions rolled out in Q1 2017 include:
• Smart digital transportation boards in Chicago O’Hare International airport — The smart digital display will help travelers with their ground transportation planning. Boards located near airport baggage claim will show the fastest and lowest-cost routes into the city. Reliable AT&T network connectivity will source real-time information so travelers can determine their best mode of transportation.
• Connected bus shelters in several Chicago communities — Connectivity will increase productivity and help create a safer, more inviting environment. Select bus shelters will have free Wi-Fi, intelligent lighting, and digital displays to inform commuters of the next bus arrival.
• Interactive touch-screen information kiosks — Chicago has many popular tourist spots, but the city also has hidden gems. The kiosks will help visitors find local points of interest, and directions to get there. The kiosks will also feature USB charging ports and offer free public Wi-Fi services.
