The global IT company Cisco has partnered with cities across Europe and North America, including Copenhagen, to develop the digital infrastructure of tomorrow.
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Cities around the world are in the process of developing tomorrow’s digital infra-structure.
The global IT giant Cisco has formed partnerships with a number of European and North American cities, including the Danish capital of Copenhagen, to focus on this development (see international cases on page 75 and Copenhagen cases on page 76).
Cisco calls these activities the Internet of Everything (IoE) – an extension of the concept of the Internet of Things, which describes a digital network connecting people, data, processes and things (see top of spread). Cisco’s partnership with Copenhagen, formed in 2014, includes the City of Copenhagen and the nearby municipalities of Frederikssund and Albertslund.
In the coming years, these three municipalities will develop and test technologies such as intelligent street lighting, green waves in traffic for busses and cyclists, and energy saving technology in office buildings and private homes.
The new high-tech solutions will help Copenhagen in a wide range of areas, including the city’s efforts to achieve its goal of becoming the world’s first carbon neutral capital city by 2025.
Copenhagen and Cisco intend to learn from each other and, in collaboration with other municipalities, companies and research institutions, develop new products and solutions for traffic, parking, outdoor lighting, climate protection, the environment, energy supply and communication with citizens.
Globally, Cisco estimates that IoE in the public sector alone will generate a value of $4.6 billion over the next 10 years. The value of IoE in the private sector is estimated to be nearly three times that amount.
Chicago:
Technology to prevent crime
Public and private stakeholders in Chicago are involved in a number of Smart+Connected Community initiatives. For example, the Team Approach to Violence project helps citizens, NGOs, police and public organisations use digital technologies such as the web, mobile telephones and text messages to share information and engage in dialogue to increase security and combat violence and crime.
New York:
Touch screens show the way
The company City24/7, in collaboration with Cisco and the City of New York, has launched an interactive platform integrating information from the public sector, private companies and citizens, and making it easily accessible to citizens. Touch screens located at bus stops, train stations, shopping centres and sports facilities provide citizens with real-time information, services and offers from their immediate surroundings. The information can also be accessed via Wi-Fi from smartphones, tablets and laptop computers.
Barcelona:
A single operating system for the entire city
In recent years, the Spanish city of Barcelona has implemented a range of smart city programmes in areas such as environment, energy, IT and communication technologies (ICT). The city is presently working on about 80 different projects of this nature. For example, sensors are used to collect data on the city’s water resources, lighting and energy consumption. The next major step will be the establishment of a “City OS” – a comprehensive operating system where all data from many different platforms in the city will be collected and analysed.
Nice:
Sensors assign parking spaces
In the southern French city of Nice, a coalition has been formed to establish and test smart city solutions based on the Internet of Everything concept (see box). Nice is working with projects in the areas of smart circulation, smart lighting, smart waste management and smart environment monitoring. For example, the coalition has developed a “connected boulevard” with 200 sensors connected to the internet to help drivers find parking spaces and to adapt street lighting to traffic, weather and light conditions.
Hamburg:
Managing roads, bridges and ships
The port of Hamburg is one of Europe’s largest and most important ports. To improve and monitor the management of traffic on land and at sea, the port authority began using sensors on roads and bridges several years ago. The sensors track things such as traffic congestion and provide information to drivers via digital displays and mobile applications, while ship traffic is monitored via radar and other systems. The plan is to integrate the various data into a system enabling improved road traffic management when bridges in the port area are closed due to passing ships.