Smart Cities – Civil + Structural Engineer magazine

ATLANTA BELTLINE KICKS-OFF A DIGITAL INCLUSION AND SMART CITIES INITIATIVE AIMED AT ADDRESSING URBAN ISSUES AND CONNECTING COMMUNITIES THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

C+S — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000

ATLANTA – Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. is kicking off its digital inclusion strategy and announcing the partners for the organization’s first smart cities demonstration project. Smart cities projects use digital technologies in urban areas in a strategic and inclusive manner to improve quality of life for residents.

In partnership with Atlanta-based Fortune 500 and local disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) companies, strategy development and demonstration pilot sites will bring together a wide spectrum of partners. Two interactive pop-up sites along the Atlanta BeltLine will provide Atlantans with tech-driven experiences to help bridge the digital divide by providing free public Wi-Fi, an autonomous grocery store, information on BeltLine activities, smart trash cans, maps and more in the coming months. It’s part of a pilot project with Fortune 500 and local businesses to address urban issues such as access to food, technology and wellness.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, approximately 19 million Americans—6 percent of the population—still lack access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds. That number rises as high as 25-33 percent for people living in certain areas along the BeltLine as sourced through the American Community Survey.

“The Atlanta BeltLine uses public infrastructure as a vehicle for catalyzing economic growth and development. This digital inclusion and smart cities initiative will play a major role in defining our legacy and impact as an organization as we seek to leverage our telecommunication infrastructure to open up new economic opportunities to residents, students, business owners, seniors and the community at-large,” said Clyde Higgs, President and CEO at Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. “The BeltLine itself is a testing ground for innovation. It’s a place where we can use technology to solve problems facing our communities that could be scaled city-wide and as a case study for cities across the country.”

This project will be enabled by eX² Technology’s early investment in a robust fiber optic network installed along the Atlanta BeltLine. The project will engage community feedback and data to help identify the types of technologies that might be considered for implementation on the BeltLine corridor and serve the adjacent residents, businesses and schools. The outcome of the initiative will be to develop a long-term approach to solving urban issues, to enhance the BeltLine user experience, and to create long-term funding sources as well.

Leading the strategy effort is Honeywell, a global leader in the smart cities space, and N-Ovate Business Solutions, a metro Atlanta-based innovation firm focused on creating strategy around digital transformation, data modernization, and cybersecurity. They will seek to identify and collect data to better understand the digital divide in adjacent neighborhoods and how technology could help solve those issues. They will help develop recommendations for addressing the technology gaps that were exacerbated for local residents and business owners, especially on the south and west sides of the Atlanta BeltLine loop, during the pandemic.

The Rocket Community Fund, the philanthropic partner of Rocket Companies, is providing financial support for the development of the strategy and additional resources to support the initiative.

Pop-Up Sites Showcase Innovative Technology

Atlanta BeltLine and eX² Technology will transform two areas along the BeltLine into smart city pop-ups, showcasing pilot technologies. This demonstration project will garner additional community engagement and usage data to inform future BeltLine strategies. Sites on the Southside and Eastside Trails will feature high-speed internet powered by ABI’s fiber network. Moreover, each of the pilot areas will house a Nourish + Bloom Market, a Black-owned autonomous grocery store; a Rove IQ interactive wayfinding kiosk; a Big Belly smart waste bin; and, adjacent to the corridor, a Blink Electrical Vehicle (EV) charging station, among others. Georgia Green Energy Services, a local certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Small Business Enterprise (SBE) will deploy and manage the electrical needs at both sites. A steering committee of industry experts is helping to provide further insight and opportunities to inform the project. Microsoft is also sharing a fellow with the BeltLine to support this initiative through Georgia Tech.

The BeltLine’s smart cities demonstration sites also will feature the first U.S. deployment of the Honeywell City Suite, an artificial intelligence-enabled IoT platform serving over 75 cities globally and improving the lives of over 100 million people worldwide. The sites’ technology will be integrated and driven by Honeywell’s City Suite Software, acting like the central hub of the project, which seamlessly aggregates information from multiple city systems including environment, emergency services, safety and security, and utilities, among other areas – in a single, unified view. Through the Honeywell platform, the BeltLine can collect information to make data-driven decisions through analytic technology to improve trail services, enhance the user experience, and monitor the flow of disposable and recyclable materials, supporting a more resilient BeltLine and sustainable environment.

eX² Technology designed and installed a 15.7-mile multi-duct, fiber optic network on the Atlanta BeltLine in 2021 to create a new funding source through the sale of fiber to support the long-term economic viability of the BeltLine and enable high-speed technology on the corridor. eX² Technology manages and maintains the communications system as well as serves as the BeltLine’s exclusive commercialization partner. “Our dark fiber commercialization efforts have supported the development of this Smart City Pilot as well as promoted economic development and digital inclusivity,” said Jay Jorgensen, Chief Operating Officer at eX² Technology. “Our company has a long history of partnering with communities and organizations like the BeltLine and bringing multiple partners together to develop innovative, technology-rich programs. We continue to seek additional partners who want to establish their services within the Atlanta market and have worked with the Atlanta BeltLine to reduce the price of the dark fiber to further promote new partnerships.”

For Honeywell, this initiative offers a chance to showcase its technology in an area where it has a major corporate presence. “Our Atlanta office is just one mile from the Atlanta BeltLine, so we are not only professionally invested in the success of the BeltLine but also personally as many of our employees use the BeltLine every day,” said Matthew Britt, General Manager, Smart and Sustainable Cities, Honeywell. “We’re looking forward to growing our relationship with the eX² team and are thrilled that our first project together is supporting the Atlanta BeltLine’s mission of improving social equity along the corridor and improving the community long term.”

As a leader in the digital equity space, the Rocket Community Fund is committed to ensuring their efforts are moving the needle across the country to bridge the digital divide. “At the Rocket Community Fund, we firmly believe that digital connectivity is foundational to success in every aspect of life,” said Rob Lockett, Team Leader, National Housing Stability at the Rocket Community Fund. “We’re thrilled to partner once again with the Atlanta BeltLine team to transform the way residents and visitors at the BeltLine connect digitally with employment, education, healthcare, and community.”

The Rocket Community Fund’s commitment expands its partnership with the BeltLine. Previous collaborations focused on affordable housing providing residents with direct connections to key housing stability resources and funding for the Legacy Resident Retention Program.

The Atlanta BeltLine has more dark fiber available and is looking for additional service providers who can provide technology to end users. For more information, please visit https://ex2technology.com/atlantabeltlinefiber.

Aligning Smart Building Implementation with Performance Expectations

C+S — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 10:00:00 +0000

By Drew Deatherage, ESS/RTPM

The smart building market continues to grow, with expectations that it will be a $304.3 billion market by 2032, reports Market.US. Yet once in operation, many building owners find these investments don’t live up to their promise. Instead, smart building sensors become one more burden to maintain. This difference between expectation and a positive ROI often lies in the implementation of smart building technology.

A smart building isn’t the result of installing more sensors and adding more intelligent systems. It’s the result of a strategy that begins with understanding the desired user experiences, is followed by choosing the right technology to deliver those experiences, and ends with delivering that experience through a platform that integrates building systems. With the right systems and appropriate integration, systems are ultimately easier for owners to use and maintain. The right systems integrated with the right software can aggregate data that helps building owners make more informed decisions. Engineers can help achieve this level of system interoperability by bringing technology infrastructure earlier into design conversations.

Define system integration based on end-user experience

MEP systems are often at the center of smart building performance, which makes it critical that engineers be involved in early discussions on integration. However, these discussions should focus less on specific systems and more on the experience the building owner wants to create for building occupants. This big picture perspective can help identify the appropriate technologies to install, and the level of integration required to achieve the targeted end-user experience.

The SPIRE Smart Buildings Program by UL, an independent assessment and rating program for smart buildings, identifies six key building experiences enhanced by smart systems:

Power and energy: In addition to tracking and analyzing energy use, integrated systems support grid interoperability and help manage distributed energy resources.

Health and wellbeing: These systems manage indoor air quality and thermal comfort, control light and noise, ensure potable water, and reduce odors.

Life safety and property security: Integrated systems can enhance situational awareness and emergency communications.

Connectivity: In addition to ensuring accessibility, integrated systems can bolster security, extend coverage, and operate more resiliently.

Cybersecurity: Integrated systems can more proactively identify threats and protect, detect, respond, and speed recovery. Good cybersecurity hygiene is a must for hyper connected buildings.

Sustainability: This goal becomes much easier to achieve with systems that ensure metrics established by leading global sustainability programs are being met.

Improvements in any one of these areas can lower a building’s operating costs, among other benefits. However, performance can degrade over time. This is particularly true of complex systems that may require ongoing monitoring or add to maintenance demands. This performance drop can be prevented with a more holistic approach to smart building design.

When design teams plan systems based on use cases for each type of building user, they can reduce the potential for system and infrastructure duplication. This can actually reduce complexity and cost and makes it easier to maintain system performance over the life of the building. However, the deeper the integration required, the more complex this work becomes. It is here where smart building goals tend to lose momentum.

A smarter strategy for achieving smart buildings

When great technology is poorly installed and maintained, it contributes to the perception that there’s a problem with the technology itself. An experienced smart building design partner can help overcome this perception and ensure owner-defined benefits are achieved. These experts can help identify opportunities to maximize system value. They can also work with the design team to create the technical documentation required to define how these systems must connect.

In an ideal situation, project partners would hire a smart building design specialist known as a Master Service Provider (MSP) to write Division 25 documentation, which clearly specifies the level of integration required between every piece of smart hardware and software to be installed in a facility. This documentation would include details on systems from life safety to lighting control, irrigation control, building automation, audio-visual systems, and security systems, as well as details on low voltage network cabling. This document would also explain how these systems interact with one another.

The next critical step is to encourage owners to move away from a traditional design-bid-build approach. The integration of smart building systems and installation of low voltage systems requires specialized skill. Because smart buildings use materials that may be different from what contractors are familiar with, it can be beneficial to require early involvement from qualified systems integrators and electrical contractors. This can secure more appropriate bids that ensure owner investments are going where they can provide the most amount of value.

An MSP can work with a general contractor to find and vet a Master Service Integrator (MSI) with the skill sets needed to achieve your defined level of integration. A certified MSI with experience installing low voltage networks can ensure you deliver the high-end integrated experience owners expect.

In addition, these complex system designs may require advanced coordination with code officials. For example, electrical designers may need to coordinate with code officials before designing to switch to low-voltage DC power.

Obstacles to smarter buildings

System duplication, increased costs, and poor performance are typical results when upfront integration is omitted. This was the result for a Texas utility that made the decision to invest in a low voltage lighting system. The owner’s goal was to reduce its energy usage and gain the ability to connect lighting to building systems such as window shade controls, among others. During this journey, it encountered a great deal of frustration as the contractors hired for the project lacked experience with smart lighting systems and how to navigate the complexities of integrating lighting with other building systems.

Low voltage Power over Ethernet (PoE) lighting systems are gaining traction but, as this utility learned, still remain somewhat misunderstood. These systems reduce energy usage by eliminating the power loss that occurs at every LED lighting fixture where AC power is converted back to DC. The systems also extend the life of LED fixtures. When done well, low voltage systems also lower initial construction costs by shifting lighting to a PoE system that uses Category 6 cable, rather than more expensive line voltage electrical wiring.

Shifting lighting systems to low voltage networks opens the possibility to use the lighting system as a hub for a Building Internet of Things (BIoT) network because PoE cabling can work double duty as a data connection system. This can provide powerful, cost-effective opportunities to integrate a wide range of systems. However, in this particular case, some of the infrastructure needed to support traditional line voltage lighting solutions remained in place, inflating the overall cost of the project.

Problems mounted during the installation phase. Following the traditional design-bid-build process, the approved smart lighting network design moved to the general contractor, who hired an electrical contractor without experience installing low voltage systems. Because a year and a half had passed between design and installation, technology had changed. The outdated equipment installed by the electrical contractor led to months of connectivity issues, until the hardware could be replaced and the system reprogrammed.

Stronger advanced coordination between the architect, engineer, and smart building network designer might have prevented these issues. An integrated design-build team could have the conversations early about the need to use a qualified and experienced smart lighting network installer. Without an integrated team, the smart building integrations were bound to fail.

A smarter strategy for achieving smart buildings

It’s tempting to believe that more systems lead to smarter buildings. The truth is that an overabundance of complex systems can have the opposite effect. Without effective system integration, more systems can overwhelm building owners and managers. A truly smart building uses less infrastructure to connect more critical building systems together in a single view of system operation.

While these integrated systems may shift portions of the electrical design that engineers are used to overseeing, it’s a shift that allows all parties to increase the value they provide to clients. Stronger integration helps all systems perform better.

ABOUT DREW DEATHERAGE, ESS/RTPM

Drew has spent more than 25 years innovating in the telecommunications and security industries. He works tirelessly for clients, identifying and tapping into emerging trends to design solutions that solve critical challenges. His experience with network infrastructure, physical and electronic security, and specialized low-voltage systems enables him to expertly advise on risk mitigation, lifecycle management, and master planning.

The Foundations of a Smart City

Mon, 01 May 2023 18:00:55 +0000

By Luke Carothers

The concept of Smart Cities has existed for a number of years, but, despite its relevance in conversations about the future, the concept has never been fully realized. Dr. Rick Huijbregts was at the forefront of the development of smart cities as a concept, spending a good portion of his career prior to Stantec working at Cisco. Huijbregts has spent much of his career developing the concept of smart cities for both municipalities and developers. During his time before joining Stantec, Huijbregts also worked in an education administration position at the college level. This education administration position made him consider how students would interact with an increasingly digital world, which led Huijbregts to develop ways for future talent to cultivate the skills and capabilities to be successful in their careers. Now, in his position at Stantec, Huijbregts is able to synthesize his unique perspective to improve the development of communities.

As the Global Smart Cities Lead at Stantec, Huijbregts is able to “connect the dots…between everything [they] have to offer from mobility to buildings to water to infrastructure.” Particularly, Huijbregts is focused on how digital capabilities can “glue together” these functions to drive efficiency and productivity and deliver new experiences and outcomes. The conversation about what defines smart cities has been around for more than two decades, and, in that time, the conversation has become significantly less technology-led. Huijbregts points out his experience working on these early technology-led smart cities projects, noting that many were disappointed by the outcomes of such projects. These early projects provided insight into the foundations of supporting smart cities development.

According to Huijbregts, these insights led to the development of a more rounded foundation known as the four pillars of smart cities, which is centered on “outcomes and people.” The first pillar is the acknowledgement that you need collaborative ecosystems to build smart cities. This means that, more than just technology and engineering companies, smart cities require collaboration between public and private sectors on economic development. Huijbregts believes that this collaboration allows smart cities to collaborate and co-create sustainable solutions. The second pillar is governance and rules regulation. Again citing his smart cities experience, Huijbregts points out the importance of updating rules and regulations in a way that invites innovation and technology. This involves conversations about optimizing and modernizing the building code as well as about privacy and data.

These conversations are in support of the third pillar of smart cities: which is digital infrastructure. Huijbregts notes that this is a departure from previous approaches where technology was the center of conversation. From a people-first perspective, the concept of digital infrastructure has developed as another utility along with water and electricity. Huijbregts believes this involves developing “one secure converged infrastructure that different systems and stakeholders can leverage.” This also involves managing the digitization of communities–from street lights to fire hydrants and parking–while considering the flow of data and connectivity between those systems.

While technology-led smart cities projects have failed to meet expectations in the past, Huijbregts believes that the problem was usually not the technology itself, but that it doesn’t match the needs, outcomes, or expectations. This creates a disconnect between the technology and intended purpose. By developing an Internet of Things set to the flow of the community, the first three pillars can be leveraged to enact the fourth pillar, which, according to Huijbregts, is an “incredibly large number of capabilities and smart solutions.” This means finding a way to “layer” smart solutions in a way that delivers the outcomes and benefits that serve that community’s constituents.

In applying these four pillars, the idea of smart cities and the benefits they can bring become a conversation of continuous improvement rather than a large project that brings immediate change. For Huijbregts, this paradigm shift allows smart cities to become “intentional about…[connecting the dots] in a way that adds incremental value to individuals and the community. As the designers of the built environments, Huijbregts points out the AEC industry’s expertise in all sectors that influence life in a community. By thinking about these sectors in a way that can build upon and support one another, “we can create environments where people thrive and can work, live, learn, and play in a new and innovative place.”

Luke Carothers is the Editor for Civil + Structural Engineer Media. If you want us to cover your project or want to feature your own article, he can be reached at lcarothers@zweiggroup.com.

Bluesky Geospatial Launches MetroVista 3D Aerial Mapping Program in U.S.

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 19:00:00 +0000

Bluesky Geospatial Ltd. has announced the launch of its MetroVista 3D aerial mapping program in the United States. The service employs a hybrid imaging-LiDAR airborne sensor to capture highly detailed 3D data, including 360-degree views of buildings and street-level features, in urban areas for use in creating digital twins, visualizations, and simulations.

Bluesky’s sister company, Bluesky International of Leicestershire, England, developed and introduced the MetroVista program in the United Kingdom in 2018 and has mapped more than 20 cities across the England and Scotland in 3D. For the U.S. program, Boston is the first metropolitan area completed by Bluesky Geospatial, which will feature in project presentations this week at Geo Week 2023 in Denver.

“For many clients, the MetroVista 3D data set serves as the foundation for highly detailed digital twins at the heart of Smart City initiatives,” said Bluesky Chief Commercial Officer, Ralph Coleman. “The rich information content of the 3D data enables accurate visualization of existing features for informed decision making and realistic simulation of future development for comparative analysis.”

The MetroVista product is already being used in city management and urban planning for agencies as diverse as emergency services, transportation, environmental protection, and utilities. Bluesky has seen rapid growth in the adoption of 3D data sets and digital twins in the AEC (architecture engineering construction), real estate, and insurance sectors.

For data collection, Bluesky flies the airborne Leica CityMapper-2 hybrid sensor which captures simultaneous oblique and nadir imagery along with LiDAR elevation measurements. Bluesky processes the data to create georeferenced 3D mesh models with 5-cm resolution and 10-cm accuracy. The 3D models are delivered in a variety of formats for direct ingest into GIS and CAD environments.

“The MetroVista 3D product allows managers and planners to measure, model, and analyze the terrain and features in their cityscapes with confidence – all without leaving the office,” said Coleman.

The MetroVista U.S. program builds on a nearly 80-year legacy of delivering accurate, reliable and quality mapping projects under the Col-East name since 1946 and as part of the Bluesky brand since 2017. Along with its full line of aerial mapping services, Bluesky Geospatial will perform MetroVista city projects for clients in the Northeastern U.S. and beyond, adding to its archive of aerial imagery, photography, and LiDAR products.

Geo Week 2023 attendees are invited to visit booth 315 at the Colorado Convention Center where Bluesky President Simon Tidmarsh, Account Manager Shaun Vincent, and Ralph Coleman will discuss the MetroVista program and other mapping services from February 13 to 15. Ralph Coleman will present on the Boston 3D project during the “Digital Twins at Scale” session at 2 pm on Monday, Feb. 13.

Wejo Drives Future Of Smart Mobility With Launch of Real-Time Traffic Intelligence Solution

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 16:00:46 +0000

New solution provides real-time accurate and comprehensive picture of traffic and road conditions at any given time to help improve overall efficiency and safety on road networks

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Wejo Group Limited (NASDAQ: WEJO), a global leader in Smart Mobility cloud and software solutions for connected, electric and autonomous vehicle data, announced the launch of Wejo RTTI, a Real-Time Traffic Intelligence solution that can provide critical insights via an up-to-the-minute and holistic view of traffic conditions and safety incidents on roads using aggregated data derived from millions of connected vehicles. Wejo RTTI can be utilized by public agencies, civil engineering firms, mapping & navigation providers and logistics companies to get a better view of what’s happening here and now. This insight allows for a real-world impact on road safety and congestion within a community using easily digestible real-time traffic data.

The Wejo RTTI solution offers several features, including ultra-low latency, highly granular traffic updates and accurate traffic events, as well as real-time speeds and travel-times for roads. This service enables quick detection of changing traffic conditions, identification of road closures and unexpected slowdowns situations, helping the unpredictable become more manageable.

Built for any developer or mobility service provider that wishes to integrate real-time traffic into its solutions, Wejo RTTI is available via APIs and can help car/ride sharing applications, logistics companies and other gig-economy companies improve estimated time of arrivals. It also enables the ability to implement dynamic pricing for congestion charging on routes, at tolls and in parking structures.

“Wejo has always been at the forefront of making connected vehicle data available to all – now we are doing the same for real-time traffic information to help our customers understand, anticipate, and respond to what is happening on roads and highways,” said Richard Barlow, Founder & CEO of Wejo. “Wejo RTTI can empower our customers to shape the future of transport and road safety to drive the future of smart mobility, smart cities and smart living.”

Data Accuracy and Integrity

Visibility into real-time traffic data allows users to proactively recommend safety improvements to road networks, identify urban traffic congestion patterns as they happen and make decisions based on accurate real-time intelligent aggregated data. Users can assess one of the best approaches for future planning and make immediate changes. Wejo RTTI also provides accurate insights without human intervention, removing any bias from the research. Actionable insights derived from the solution can be used to mitigate risks and improve safety.

Speed of Visibility

The real-time aspect of Wejo RTTI allows users to understand and respond to real road traffic and safety conditions quickly by having insight into what is happening on the road right now. This allows users to reduce time, money and effort in collecting data to understand pre/post-development analysis and go straight to analyzing insights when they want, providing a clear view of before, during and after. Wejo RTTI also helps users to understand in real-time where congestion exists, unreported road closures and unexpected slowdowns.

Boost Operational Efficiency

By having access to intelligent real-time aggregated data derived directly from millions of connected vehicles, users can reduce reliance on the need for field devices like sensors and cameras and reduce the time spent analyzing multiple traffic data sources to find answers. It also allows users to get access to a real-time view of roads, highways, and public infrastructure – not just where sensors, cameras and field devices are located.

Drive Innovation

With direct access to connected vehicle data from approximately 12M vehicles in real-time, Wejo is leading the way in Urban Smart Mobility by providing access to real-time traffic insights that can reinforce the backbone of smart city infrastructure and technology. As connected vehicle data becomes prolific and more cars become connected, both in sophistication and volume, Wejo RTTI will provide a means for users to drill into previously inaccessible fresh sources of real-time data.

“Traffic and transportation agencies, as well as government departments, can utilize powerful intelligent real-time aggregated data and insights from millions of connected cars to help accurately visualize traffic patterns, queuing vehicles, safety hotspots and road incidents as they happen,” said Graeme Sandieson, SVP Product Management for Wejo. “Monitoring the performance of road networks can reduce congestion, improve accident response time, and secure the mobility needs of the community.

For more information on the Wejo Real-Time Traffic Intelligence solution, visit www.wejo.com.

Parking made easy: Leading car park operator APCOA enables ticket-less parking with onboard ALPR from CARRIDA Technologies

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 21:00:35 +0000

Parking made easy: Leading car park operator APCOA enables ticket-less parking with onboard ALPR from CARRIDA Technologies

The heart of the APCOA Flow ecosystem is the CARRIDA Cam, a ready-to-use and standalone camera with onboard automatic license plate recognition. The barriers open automatically, if a registered license plate is recognized.

It is based on a mobile App and Cameras with onboard automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) from German / Austrian LPR solutions expert CARRIDA Technologies. The smart parking solution will be installed throughout the companies’ car parks in Germany and Europe and subsequently replace the currently used RFID-based system.

Parking services based on automatic license plate recognition

APCOA, who manages parking at over 9,500 locations in 13 European countries, developed APCOA Flow (https://flow.apcoa.de), a smartphone app to register license plates. It also provides features to search for car parks at the desired destination or nearby the users’ position and includes payment options. This makes parking with the app ticket- and cashless and thus fast and easy. The heart of the APCOA Flow ecosystem is the CARRIDA Cam, a ready-to-use and standalone camera with onboard automatic license plate recognition. It recognizes and reads license plates, processes the data internally, and sends only the results to a connected IoT device. The latter device checks the license plate against a cloud server and registers entrance and exit of the vehicle. The barriers open automatically, if a registered license plate is recognized.

 Reliability tried and tested: now coming to all locations

APCOA installed the first CARRIDA Cams at the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport in Germany. The system has proven its worth and reliability and has been deployed in further car parks throughout Germany, as well as in facilities in Austria, Italy and Poland. Andreas Henninger, Head of Digital Infrastructure Projects at APCOA PARKING Holdings GmbH: “The ticket-free parking system with CARRIDA Cams has been widely approved by our customers. It will be installed in all of our companies 200+ facilities in Germany and many more locations internationally in the future. It will subsequently replace the existing systems with APCOA FLOW RFID-Chips.”

Best reading rates in a compact design

The versatile CARRIDA Cam has been designed for stand-alone outdoor applications and offers best reading rates, even with difficult lighting situations. Andreas Henninger: “The CARRIDA Cam provides a reading accuracy greater 99.5 percent. We have chosen this model because of its small but robust design and its high image quality, fast processing time and onboard ALPR analysis. CARRIDA’s supportive service and standing in the market further undermined our decision.”

The versatile and ultra-compact CARRIDA Cam has been designed for stand-alone outdoor applications and offers best reading rates, even with difficult lighting situations.

Encrypted data transmission ensures safe and secure parking services and the plug&play installation caters for quick and easy setup of the system in the car parks. With its small size, measuring only 91 x 62 mm, the camera can be easily integrated into existing systems for stationary as well as mobile applications. It is equipped with a high-end image sensor from SONY that ensures best possible image quality and first-class reading results, even under difficult lighting and weather conditions and with changing irradiation. The ultracompact ANPR camera is protected against dirt, dust and moisture in accordance with IP67 and thus suitable for permanent outdoor use, also thanks to the integrated heater.  Onboard LPR driven by the powerful CARRIDA SDK

CARRIDA Cams’ reliability and reading accuracy is based on the perfectly integrated CARRIDA SDK LPREngine. The versatile library recognized license plates from all countries worldwide and also accepts special formats such as two-line license plates as well as damaged or bent license plates. The software runs hardware independent on any edge device and can also be used with traditional IP-, USB- or GigE-Cameras. Its fast processing time enables instant access to the car parks. In addition to parking applications, the CARRIDA SDK can also be deployed for other uses in the fields of traffic management, tolling, law enforcement and smart cities. Depending on the hardware, it can also provide make & model recognition and further data, powered by latest Deep Learning functionalities.

For more information visit www.carrida-technologies.com

Andorix Completes In-Building Backbone Network at Thor Equities’ 800 Fulton Market, Enabling It to Become the Smartest Building in Chicago

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 19:00:30 +0000

Completion of Smart Building Network Marks Andorix’ First Commercial New Build Project in the US

CHICAGO and TORONTO (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Andorix, a smart building enabler and systems integrator for real estate properties, announced the completion of the in-building converged network project at Thor Equities’ 800 W. Fulton Market, its first US-based new development commercial building. This network serves as the digital backbone to enable the capture of all building system and IoT sensor data into a central dashboard for analysis and continued optimization of building operations.

“In order to meet our vision of making 800 Fulton Market the smartest building in Chicago, we needed to partner with a technology provider who has successfully installed fibre-based network infrastructure in commercial buildings,“ says Peter McEneaney, Senior Vice President of Development and Construction at Thor Equities. “We chose to work with Andorix not only for their proven converged network technology in built buildings, but also for their ongoing managed service approach to help us integrate various building system data in a secure and operationally-efficient manner.”

Along with the installation of the Passive Optical Network (PON) infrastructure at 800 Fulton Market in Chicago, the project also included the installation of a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) and the setup and management of the Wi-Fi network for common areas, as well as the installation of a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) to enable the scalable and efficient collection of building-wide IoT sensor data.

“After successfully deploying our PON-based solution to over 40 built buildings in Canada, it was an honour to have been selected by Thor Equities to make 800 Fulton Market the smartest building in Chicago,” says Wayne Kim, CEO at Andorix. “This building is our entry to the US market, and we are continuing to roll out implementations of our in-building network solution to meet the scalability and security needs of US-based smart building developers.

Andorix’s in-building network infrastructure paves the way for various building system, applications and service data to be integrated onto one network without compromising security. This allows 800 Fulton to implement best-in-class tenant experience platforms that monitor indoor air quality, reduce energy consumption, and improve the overall comfort, health and wellness of its tenants. For more details, read the case study here.

Dr. Rick Huijbregts joins Stantec as Global Smart Cities Lead

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 14:00:23 +0000

Strategic hire will lead firm’s initiative on digital transformation in the built environment

Leading global design firm Stantec has hired Dr. Rick Huijbregts to lead its global Smart Cities initiative. In this role, Dr. Huijbregts will grow, scale, and accelerate the firm’s smart city services by uniting innovative practitioners across multiple disciplines and business lines, including buildings, power, water, community development, and transportation. Stantec’s smart cities initiative will continue working at the leading edge of digital transformation, which is having a profound effect on the built environment and in solving the challenges facing communities.

“Smart Cities are about putting people first while using digital solutions to overcome complicated challenges in urban environments,” said Nancy MacDonald, vice president, Stantec’s Urban Places. “Rick has extensive experience that will help elevate the innovative work our team does. But he also sees the bigger picture – that we are not using technology for its own sake, but to solve problems and improve peoples’ lives.”

Dr. Huijbregts will lead a team of advisors collaborating with real estate developers, designers, engineers, IT professionals, and project managers to deliver projects that advance quality of life. Digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, the internet of things, and robotics are engaged and managed to support that effort. He will be based in the firm’s Toronto office.

“Digital technology is ready to help solve our urban challenges and create new opportunities and experiences by bringing together people, processes, places, data, connected things, and infrastructure,” said Dr. Huijbregts. “Stantec is particularly well suited to lead this movement and support its customers on their urban innovation and digitization journey.”

Prior to joining Stantec, Dr. Huijbregts was Vice-President Strategy & Innovation at George Brown College (GBC) in Toronto, responsible for strategic planning and partnerships. His mandate was to protect GBC’s agility and resilience in response to a rapidly changing and increasingly digital future. Prior to his time at GBC, Dr. Huijbregts spent over a decade at Cisco in various leadership roles, including Vice-President of Digital Transformation and Innovation, Head of Smart Cities and Buildings in Canada, and a member of Cisco’s global Smart Cities team.

Beyond his role at Stantec, Dr. Huijbregts maintains strong industry connections as a faculty member at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design Executive Education, Senior Scholar at George Brown College’s Center for Construction and Engineering Technologies, and as Executive in Residence at Ryerson for their Smart Cities Ventures Zone.

Stantec’s Smart Cities team has been central to numerous innovative projects and programs, including the Centennial NextGen Infrastructure Study, the City of Atlanta Smart Utility Program, the Denver Water Operations Complex Redevelopment, and the Automated Circulator and Connected Pedestrian Safety Program (GoMed) in Las Vegas.

Find out more about Smart Cities at Stantec.

Rick Curry Named Senior Director within WSP USA Systems Analysis Group

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 18:00:11 +0000

Advisory business welcomes former SANDAG analyst, who led and delivered complex transportation forecasting projects that have transformed public transit in San Diego.

SAN DIEGO — Rick Curry is bringing extensive transportation experience in Southern California to his new role as a national senior director and principal for the Systems Analysis Group in Advisory at WSP USA, a leading engineering and professional services consultancy.

Curry will focus on travel demand modeling and forecasting in support of future and existing WSP highway and transit system analysis projects. His responsibilities will include corridor studies, New Starts and transit ridership analysis, pricing and tolling analysis, long-range transportation plans and smart city planning.

For more than two decades, Curry has been working on public sector transportation projects as manager of transportation analysis and applications for the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), and previously as a transportation modeler for Caltrans, District 11 (San Diego and Imperial Counties). His expertise includes activity-based modeling, international land port of entry forecasting, dynamic traffic assignment and freight forecasting. At SANDAG he led a team of transportation modelers, data scientists, geographers and engineers in the application of an activity-based model for evaluation of transportation projects, regional policies and strategies, and innovative solutions.

“We have collaborated closely with Rick and his teams on SANDAG transportation projects where we witnessed first-hand his exceptional leadership capabilities and his innovative skills as a transportation modeler on impactful mobility programs,” said Denise Roth, WSP USA Advisory national business line executive. “His forward-thinking approaches to San Diego transportation will be an outstanding influence for our client projects on a national level.”

Curry is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, and the University of California-Davis with a master’s degree in civil engineering.

Superpedestrian Raises $125 Million to Scale AI-Based Pedestrian Safety Software

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 19:00:39 +0000

Superpedestrian adds cutting-edge capabilities to its Vehicle Intelligence platform, enabling high-precision management of riding and parking to improve safety on city streets

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Superpedestrian, the pioneering transportation robotics company, announced its largest-ever funding round, closing $125 million in debt and equity capital. The latest investment comes from Jefferies, Antara Capital, the Sony Innovation Fund by IGV* and FM Capital alongside existing backers like Spark Capital, General Catalyst and Citi via the Citi Impact Fund.

The new funding will be used to expand the LINK shared e-scooter service, boost the company’s advanced R&D programs, and deploy scooters with Superpedestrian’s new Pedestrian Defense safety system in the first 25 cities across the US and Europe during 2022. The AI-based software fuses data from multiple vehicle sensors and integrates them with the scooter’s on-board Vehicle Intelligence to take real-time action on the scooter.

Pedestrian Defense exceeds all other safety platforms in 3 key ways. It can:

More precisely detect vehicle position even in urban canyons where GPS has high inaccuracy
Detect a much wider array of unsafe riding behavior than any competitor, including sidewalk riding, stunt riding, aggressive swerving and “salmoning” against traffic
Intervene automatically to slow or stop a scooter in real time when unsafe behavior like riding on a sidewalk is detected

Following successful field tests of Pedestrian Defense in recent months, the system will now be integrated into Superpedestrian’s technologically advanced LINK e-scooter fleet, which has launched in 57 cities logging tens of millions of miles.

“Over the past 9 years, we have developed a unique software platform that addresses the core challenges of electric vehicle fleets. From predictive-maintenance and repair automation, to fine-grain locationing and curb management, our platform is rich with advanced capabilities that enable safer and more reliable transportation solutions,” said Assaf Biderman, founder and CEO of Superpedestrian. “With this latest funding round, we are boosting our investment in R&D and scaling up our deployments in micromobility and beyond.”

“Superpedestrian brings together best-in class vehicles, an advanced software platform, and efficient fleet operations, enabling them to safely integrate small electric vehicles into crowded city streets,” said Gen Tsuchikawa, Chief Investment Manager for Sony Innovation Fund (SIF) and CEO and Chief Investment Officer for Innovation Growth Ventures (IGV). “With an experienced executive team and strong operations in a variety of markets and geographies around the world, we are pleased to welcome Superpedestrian to IGV’s growing portfolio of promising mobility-focused startups.”

“In the last two years, infrastructure challenges and lack of equitable access to transit options in both urban and suburban communities across the U.S. have underscored the need for developing safe, reliable transportation options for all,” said Meredith Shields, Head of Citi Impact Fund, Citi. “Superpedestrian is doing just that by developing innovative, sustainable technology that reimagines the future of cities through improved connectivity. We’re proud to use our capital to help scale their impact and build stronger communities in the years to come.”

Superpedestrian was spun out of MIT in 2013 with the mission to develop the world’s smartest and safest light electric vehicle fleets. In 2020, Superpedestrian debuted the LINK Scooter, heralded as “The Volvo of e-Scooters” for its patented Vehicle Intelligence platform that actively prevents costly mechanical and electrical hazards that beset other e-scooter operators. Superpedestrian has become a world-leader in transportation robotics and human-scale mobility, holding over 40 patents in autonomous failure protection for vehicles, automated maintenance software, fleet optimization, and vehicle context awareness.

Well-prepared to Build an Intelligent World

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 23:00:13 +0000

Innodisk AIoT Solutions Target EV and Smart City

Innodisk, a leading global provider of industrial flash and memory solutions, reflects on its AIoT wins of last year and outlook for 2022. Even now, in 2022, AIoT is still a buzz that’s impossible for business leaders to ignore however many are still not exactly sure how the pieces of the AIoT puzzle fit together or where to start. But the business proposition is clear, with 39.1% annual growth expected over the next five years. To seize the opportunities in the AIoT market, in 2021, Innodisk joined up with its subsidiaries to form an AIoT data-centric ecosystem called the “AIoT All-Round Service” that combines their expertise to provide a full-service industrial AIoT package.

After a year, Innodisk’s recent experience confirms this market trend, with AIoT-related projects doubling each year. A deeper look reveals the primary focus lies in 5G, networking, infrastructure, and automation fields.

Especially with the high-performance industrial-grade storage, memory, and embedded peripherals, as well as software, Innodisk is now going one step further, integrating these into AIoT technology solutions that withstand heavy vibrations and harsh outdoor environments, such as AI robots and electric vehicles.

AI robots have secured their place as the hands-free delivery method of choice in hotels, hospitals, and airports during the pandemic. These electronic helpers meet contact and social distancing prerogatives while reducing personnel workloads. Innodisk worked together with a hi-technology venture in the smart services sectors to integrate its customized SSDs into their AI robots, ensuring reliable operation.

Electric vehicles place a large strain on electronics, with vibrations and heat exceeding the thresholds of standard equipment. A multinational technology company used Innodisk’s wide temperature DRAM modules, industrial-grade flash storage, and its subsidiary Antzer’s GPS Tracker for their EV truck. As a result, their retail delivery system benefited from the AI technology while reducing pollutant and noise emissions.

Eric Chang, Special Assistant of Innodisk, said, “We’re confident that the increase in AIoT applications will continue thriving through 2022, especially for electric vehicles and smart city applications.” He further added, “Electric vehicles like buses, trucks, logistics, and fleet management will all see growth. Smart cities are also in focus as more countries invest in technology construction to harness AIoT and smart cities, including intelligent street lamps and surveillance systems.” Innodisk is well-prepared for these technological advancements and has set a goal to “Build an Intelligent World”.

Derq and Parametrix Announce Strategic Partnership to Deliver Smart Technology Solutions to More Livable Communities

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 20:00:14 +0000

Detroit, MI – Derq, a Detroit- and Dubai-based artificial intelligence (AI) technology company, and Parametrix, an established planning, engineering, technology, and management consultancy company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deliver smart technology solutions for more livable communities based on Derq’s platform and Parametrix’s innovative solutions.

As a strategic partner, Parametrix will focus on smart and livable community solutions that leverages Derq’s technology platform. For opportunities spearheaded by Parametrix, Derq will provide support and training for its technology platform to Parametrix’s staff and clients and ensure seamless data integration with Parametrix developed solutions.

“A key objective at Parametrix is to help communities enhance mobility, safety, and sustainability. Through our strategic partnership with Derq, we provide our clients with unique AI technologies for advanced predictive analytics, connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV), road safety, and transit applications. This partnership represents another step toward our vision for the future of transportation and the future of the profession,” said Hicham Chatila, the National Director of Smart and Livable Communities at Parametrix.

Derq has built an award-winning platform powered by patented AI technologies and predictive analytics, helping to eliminate crashes, save lives, and create safer and smarter roadways. Derq will provide Parametrix’s existing and new clients with its technology platform that is disrupting traditional traffic and safety analyses by generating, in real-time, cost-effectively, a full suite of traffic and safety insights that proactively address the road safety and efficiency priorities of their customers. Derq’s platform also powers connected and autonomous vehicle solutions which will benefit Parametrix’s clients who are looking to plan, design, and implement safer and smarter connected and autonomous corridors.

“Derq is powering the global transition to safer, more efficient and sustainable transportation. Our strategic partnership with Parametrix, who has a bold vision to plan and deploy smart city initiatives, will help us accelerate this transition.” Dr. Georges Aoude, CEO and Co-Founder of Derq, said. “Combing our award-winning real-time AI and CAV platform with Parametrix’s experience in delivering large scale infrastructure projects is a unique opportunity to achieve our societal impact at scale.”

SolidRun Accelerates V2X Infrastructure Development with New i.MX 8XLite Mini SOM

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 13:00:08 +0000

Featuring NXP Semiconductor’s® integrated V2X accelerator and RoadLINK® SAF5400 safety modem, this new SOM is purpose built for V2X and industrial IoT applications

HAMBURG, GERMANY – SolidRun, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance System on Module (SOM) solutions, Single Board Computers (SBC) and network edge solutions, announces its i.MX 8XLite System on Module (SOM) line engineered for a variety of V2X applications. Available in single- or dual-core configurations, these new SOMs pack all the essential components required to quickly develop V2X, V2I and industrial IoT applications in a 30 x 47mm form factor.

“In order to accelerate the adoption of autonomous vehicle technology, we need to build a digital infrastructure that supports it. Our new i.MX 8XLite applications processor was designed specifically for that purpose,” said Andres Lopez de Vegara Lemos, Product Manager, Edge Processing business, NXP Semiconductors. “Working with SolidRun helps us jumpstart and reduce the development time of V2X hardware solutions by providing engineers a turn-key development tool based on our SoC that serves variety of applications.”

Targeting vehicle telematics, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, road infrastructure connectivity and industrial equipment, SolidRun’s i.MX 8XLite Mini SOMs provides a foundation for secure V2X applications. It features excellent real-time synchronization and control for a variety of smart-city applications and combines the high-performance application processing from NXP’s i.MX 8X processor with V2X acceleration and its RoadLINK SAF5400 single-chip DSRC modem for next-generation telematics. The i.MX 8XLite SOM also features an array of high-speed interfaces – including Ethernet, PCIe Gen 3, USB 2.0, and CAN-FD. As part of the NXP longevity program, SolidRun guarantees this SOM will be manufactured for at least 15 years, making it the optimal solution for long-term vehicle-based communications infrastructure applications.

Beyond serving as the perfect building block for V2X infrastructure, the i.MX 8XLite SOM is also well suited for industrial IoT, building control and robotics applications requiring time-sensitive networking (TSN) Ethernet or controller area network (CAN) connectivity. Great for advanced industrial processes that require reliable, accurate synchronization and real-time control, the integrated SoC’s A35 cores and CAN-FD interface provide low-latency data transmission.

Engineered to serve a variety of application environments, ranging from commercial and industrial vehicles to roadside communications hubs and even robotics, the i.MX 8XLite SOM supports a vast operating temperature range of -40°C to 105°C with up to 90% humidity. Its efficient design maintains a low operating temperature without a fan and reduces the potential of heat and dust-related failures, resulting in reliable long-term operation and performance.

“Smart cities and V2X communications will not only dramatically improve the efficiency of our roadways, but it will also play a significant role in reducing collision-related traffic deaths and make it easier for emergency vehicles to cut through congested areas,” said Dr. Atai Ziv, CEO at SolidRun. “However, none of this can take shape without reliable hardware, like our i.MX 8XLite SOM connecting the infrastructure and vehicles. We look forward to working closely with NXP to ensure our SOMs reliably power V2X communications for years to come.”

SolidRun also offers a Hummingboard carrier board that is perfect for prototyping with the i.MX 8XLite SOM. While not much larger than the SOM at just 30 x 55mm, the Hummingboard i.MX 8XLite carrier supports up to 2GB of LPDDR4 memory, and features expansion and communications options, including 100BASE-T1 automotive Ethernet, USB 2.0 ports, and UART, SPI, SDIO, and 12C I/O pins.

The i.MX 8XLite SOMs and Hummingboard carrier boards are available through SolidRun. To help expedite the development process, customers will be provided with an optimized board support package, stable long-term support for select software distributions, access to SolidRun’s support tools and sample source code.

Zyter Partners with Juganu to Deliver Digital Smart Lighting and Sensor Platform for Smart Cities

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 14:00:46 +0000

ROCKVILLE, Md. – Zyter, Inc., a leading IoT-enablement platform, announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Juganu, an Israel-based, smart infrastructure company. Under the terms of the agreement, Zyter will leverage Juganu’s smart lighting solutions and network connectivity framework on future smart campus and smart city implementations worldwide.

In a smart city deployment, smart lighting enables connected light sources and IoT-enabled sensors to be controlled through a single management dashboard or even a smartphone. The integration of Zyter’s IoT platform and command center with Juganu’s connected lighting solutions platform, and sensors provide a bird’s eye view of what’s happening in a city. When deployed on city streets, Juganu’s network connectivity framework allows municipalities to provide public Wi-Fi and data-driven insights to develop people-centered cities and spaces. In the case of emergency events, automated alerts are sent to a dashboard for fast resolution by city administrators.

Trusted by Qualcomm® to be the foundation of its Smart Cities Accelerator Program, Zyter SmartSpaces is an Internet of Things (IoT) platform that breaks down silos of information by integrating and consolidating data from IoT devices and applications. The platform also provides complete visibility of what is happening across an entire network of connected devices and sensors, supported by advanced analytics. Zyter offers a number of pre-configured SmartSpaces solutions for specific markets including healthcare, education, transportation, and others.

Juganu’s FOAM digital platform utilizes the public lighting infrastructure and covers entire spaces with lighting, sensors, and communication utilizing artificial intelligence edge computing. The end-to-end solution enables the transformation to connected and safe spaces, solving smart city and smart retail challenges while shrinking installation times. Juganu lighting fixtures come integrated with a full suite of sensors that provide a basis for a Smart City operating system.

“Zyter continues to build partnerships with innovative companies like Juganu that extend and enhance the capabilities of our IoT platform and SmartSpaces solutions,” said Sanjay Govil, founder and CEO of Zyter, Inc. “Smart lighting is important because it provide a fast and economical way for cities and businesses to become smarter and greener.”

“By partnering with Zyter, we can streamline the smart city development process,” said Eran Ben-Shmuel, CEO at Juganu. “This partnership helps ensure we can deliver more comprehensive smart city solutions, with a faster lead time to achieve a better result for our end customers, cities and communities.”

For more information on Zyter SmartSpaces solutions, visit https://www.Zyter.com/iot.

Kiwibot Expands Operations to Four Cities in Partnership With Knight Foundation to Advance Safe and Equitable Mobility

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 14:00:10 +0000

Kiwibot’s robotic fleet has cost-effective cyberinfrastructure and automatic data collection systems built-in to offer solutions to US cities’ accessibility issues.

Los Angeles – Kiwibot, a robotic delivery service that has completed over 150,000 food deliveries with semi-autonomous robots, announces the official expansion of its operations to San Jose, Miami-Dade County, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. This deployment of sidewalk delivery devices is possible due to a partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which funds initiatives that ensure that residents’ voices drive the future of people-centered, smart cities.

Each of the four cities will be given up to 10 robots with one human supervisor, making deliveries across these urban zones more efficient and cost-effective through Kiwibot’s last-mile delivery network. The pilot projects will allow the cities to learn how to best deploy emerging mobility technologies that can serve the public good in an equitable manner while offering a sustainable business model for private sector companies like Kiwibot.

The pilot use cases chosen range from small local business deliveries, to community kitchens working with vulnerable populations, to increasing accessibility to library books and pharmacies. Some services will replicate and scale the successful program deployed in San Jose during 2020. Others arose from Kiwibot’s Love Date Robots campaign, which fosters engagement and open interactions with the robots for the public, small businesses, and community organizations.

Kiwibot and the Knight Foundation have been working closely with these cities to bring residents to the center of the autonomous technology pilot projects in order to increase opportunities for locally-owned businesses, as well as grant more equitable access to food, medication, and other goods. They also want to ensure that robots are deployed in areas where they can operate safely among pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles.

These pilots contribute to Kiwibot’s aspirations to be a self-sustainable public service by mapping areas and collecting sidewalk and infrastructure data using the Mobility Data Specifications (MDS) framework and an automated data collection system.

Further, cities may spend up to $40 billion over 30 years repairing curbs, ramps, and sidewalks to align with Vision Zero (VZ) efforts – to eliminate all traffic deaths and prevent fatalities – and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Kiwibot’s robots could eventually streamline these processes by sharing data about sidewalk conditions and vehicle and pedestrian traffic with city authorities, helping US cities become more accessible and safer, especially for the one in four Americans living with a disability.

Since June 2021, Kiwibot’s robots in the four cities have already traveled 1,455 miles, mapped 368 miles, and delivered 20,000 data points for city and county authorities. The partnership has allowed for 268 robot dates and resulting deliveries.

“With more than 70 cities deploying pilots worldwide, autonomous vehicles and sidewalk delivery devices are set to be the most disruptive technologies of our time,” said David Rodriguez, Director of Strategy & Business Operations at Kiwibot. “Our robotic infrastructure is steering the post-pandemic world; supporting small businesses and community initiatives, bringing green solutions for congestion, and solving delivery needs while promoting safe mobility for all.”

“People should always be at the center of how these new mobility solutions are being deployed, which is why we’re thrilled to support collaborations with Kiwibot in San Jose, Miami, Pittsburgh, and Detroit that truly demonstrate the power of resident-informed strategies,” said Lilian Coral, Knight Foundation’s Director for National Strategy and Technology Innovation. “The application of digital technology during the pandemic to facilitate the movement of people and goods has helped shape how cities respond to unprecedented challenges.”

For more information, visit the Kiwibot website and the Knight AV Initiative Medium site.

Derq Joins the Qualcomm Smart Cities Accelerator Program

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 13:00:24 +0000

Derq Serves as a Key Solution Provider, Offering Smart Solutions for Safer Roads to the Qualcomm Smart Cities Accelerator Program Ecosystem

DETROIT, MI – DERQ, a Detroit- and Dubai-based start-up, announced the company has joined the Qualcomm® Smart Cities Accelerator Program. As part of the Qualcomm® Advantage Network, the Qualcomm Smart Cities Accelerator Program is designed to connect cities, municipalities, government agencies, and enterprises with an ecosystem of providers offering end-to-end smart city solutions. By connecting members searching for smart city solutions, the program aims to enrich people’s lives through the accelerated transformation of city infrastructure and services.

According to a 2018 World Health Organization study, there are an estimated 1.35 million traffic fatalities every year due to largely preventable crashes.1 Derq works closely with the automotive industry, state and local governments, and intelligent transportation systems providers to eliminate road fatalities.

Derq has built an award-winning AI analytics platform that is powering the future of connected and autonomous roads, making cities smarter and safer for all road users and enabling the deployment of autonomous vehicles at scale. Derq has live deployments in the USA, Europe, and the UAE, in forward thinking cities and states including Michigan, Ohio, Nevada, and Dubai. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Derq have collaborated to demonstrate the benefits of AI and V2X for road safety applications at CES 2019.2 Derq is trusted by global automotive and traffic systems leaders including Motional, DENSO, and Kapsch, and has best-in-class IP with a strong patent portfolio.

As part of the Qualcomm Smart Cities Accelerator Program, Derq will showcase a few of its industry leading AI solutions powered by the Derq Platform including:

Derq INSIGHT, which generates an array of real-time safety and traffic insights, providing up-to-date, accurate and granular data enabling in-depth analysis of safety issues, countermeasure development and traffic performance assessment.

Derq SENSE, which is an edge-based solution that provides real-time infrastructure-based analytics for off-board cooperative perception and traffic management applications, including V2X applications for connected and autonomous vehicles, adaptive traffic management, and smart pedestrian crosswalks.

“We’re honored to offer key components of smart infrastructure solutions for smart cities and spaces,” said Dr. Georges, Aoude, CEO and Co-Founder of Derq. “The Qualcomm Smart Cities Accelerator Program will help accelerate the deployment of our cutting-edge AI solutions to improve road safety and mobility today, and prepare our partners for the future of connected and autonomous transportation.”

“We are pleased to welcome Derq to the Qualcomm Smart Cities Accelerator Program to help build out progressive smart cities deployments with streamlined end-to-end capabilities,” said Sanjeet Pandit, senior director, business development and global head of Smart Cities, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Derq’s unique traffic management infrastructure solutions, Derq INISGHT and Derq SENSE will support the deployment of end to end safety and traffic solutions for cities and spaces.”

As a member of the Qualcomm Smart Cities Accelerator Program, Derq will work to fast-tack the transformation of cities into safer and smarter environments and help them deliver greater efficiencies, cost savings, safety, and sustainability.

Margaret Newman and John Bachmann join Stantec’s Urban Places

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 21:00:47 +0000

Key hires will grow urban planning and smart cities practice in New York City, Washington, D.C. areas

NEW YORK, NY – NYSE, TSX:STN

Global integrated design firm Stantec has hired industry veterans Margaret Newman and John Bachmann to lead its growing Urban Places practice in the New York City and Washington, D.C. areas. The two additions bolster the firm’s capabilities in smart infrastructure, designing livable communities, and mobility, bringing decades of experience in North America and around the world. Both were named to Architect Magazine’s “A Who’s Who of Smart Cities” in 2019.

“Cities are on the cusp of a new revolution that leverages data for better planning outcomes, improving the way we live and move around,” said Nancy MacDonald, Director of Stantec’s Urban Places. “We are thrilled for Margaret and John to join us in our work to support better outcomes for communities. Both are household names in our industry, with stellar pedigree and experience.”

Margaret Newman is joining Stantec as Practice Leader for Urban Places and Smart Mobility, based in the firm’s New York City office. A trained architect and urban planner, she has more than 30 years of experience designing public realm projects and leading multidisciplinary teams. Prior to joining Stantec, Newman headed up her own consulting firm More Urban, advising on design, urban planning, and development projects. Under Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Sadik-Khan, Newman served as Chief of Staff at the New York City Department of Transportation where she directed major agency projects including the capital construction plan for Times Square.

“Prior to joining Stantec, I followed with great interest the formation of the Urban Places practice as a unique approach to integrating architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, smart mobility and transportation,” stated Newman. “With the complex set of skills and knowledge increasingly required for successful project outcomes, the idea of deliberately and thoughtfully integrating planning, design and engineering within one firm made so much sense and has the potential to provide clients with a very rich resource. As a designer, I couldn’t hope for a better group of colleagues to collaborate with and deliver innovative twenty-first century solutions.”

John Bachmann will serve as Practice Leader for Community Development, sitting in the Fairfax, VA office. Bachmann is a trained architect and urban planner with more than 30 years of experience specializing in the integration of urban development policies and plans—in both cities and suburbs—and focuses on walkable, vibrant mixed-use places that promote quality of life and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. His work includes a strong portfolio of smart infrastructure, planning, economics, and international development across 40 countries.

“I am very excited to join Stantec’s vibrant Urban Places team, which is doing cutting-edge work in the areas I care about most: cities for people and reducing our carbon footprint,” said Bachmann. “I believe North Americans are on the verge of a major shift towards a more inclusive and sustainable way of living in cities, and Stantec has got the right skills and values to help make it happen.”

Stantec’s Urban Places team is an interdisciplinary hub bringing together leaders in planning and urban design, mobility, resilience and sustainability, mixed-use development, real estate advisory, and smart cities. The team works in cities and suburbs across North America to unlock new economic, social, and environmental value through enhanced livability, equity, and resilience. By blending data and industry expertise with creative approaches, the group equips communities with the tools necessary to proactively manage change and confidently shape the future.

In Centennial, Colorado, the team is near completion on the Dry Creek Station Next Generation Infrastructure Study. The multidisciplinary team of smart city experts is working with the City of Centennial to update development policies in preparation of growing trends in technology-integrated infrastructure, and to develop smart city pilot project recommendations with potential city-wide expansion. The team is also working with 12 communities across Massachusetts to conduct Covid revitalization planning, supported by a $10 million federal grant. In Raleigh, North Carolina, the team is undertaking planning efforts along a proposed 5.1-mile, 10-station bus rapid transit corridor on New Bern Avenue—one of the fastest growing areas in the country.

City of Columbus completes HNTB-supported Smart Columbus program

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 17:00:04 +0000

HNTB performed multiple services over five-year program including project management, systems engineering and performance measurement

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The City of Columbus recently completed its five-year Smart Columbus program which aimed to demonstrate how an intelligent transportation system and equitable access to transportation can have positive impacts on everyday challenges faced by cities. HNTB was part of the Smart Columbus team from its early stages, supporting the city in developing its winning final application for the $40 million U.S. DOT Smart City Challenge. After winning the challenge, the city awarded HNTB a four-year ITS program management and program initialization contract to help deliver Smart Columbus.

“The Smart Columbus program proved to be a springboard to innovation,” said Diane Newton, HNTB program manager. “We saw community leaders rally around Columbus’ emergence as a smart city. Also, the project created a replicable playbook that other cities may build upon to have similar effects across the nation. HNTB was honored to play a crucial role in the success of the Smart Columbus program. Our team looks forward to applying lessons learned to assist other clients with intelligent transportation system, connected and automated vehicle and emerging mobility projects and integrating them into their operations.”

Over the course of the project, HNTB filled many roles and services for the City of Columbus as part of the Smart Columbus program including project management (scope, schedule, budget, risk); systems engineering (concept to design); installation planning and communications; development of the operating system; performance measurement; policy, coordination and communications (local, state, federal partners); and data management and privacy.

“HNTB and its key subconsultants became partners in the delivery of a cutting-edge program,” said Mandy K. Bishop, Smart Columbus program manager. “We valued their experience, broad industry perspective and counsel throughout the program. They served as delivery specialists and key advisors that helped city personnel operationalize our values like equity and access through the delivery of emerging transportation technology.”

Smart Columbus program successes include Ohio’s first automated vehicle deployment on public streets; a multimodal transportation planning app that has been downloaded more than 1,000 times; improvements to a parking management app that has been downloaded more than 30,000 times; and an operating system that is built largely on open-source software, and it is easy and cost-effective for other cities to implement.

“Five of the eight projects will continue after the Smart City Challenge funding ended on May 31, 2021, proving the value of these projects to residents and their efficiencies for local government,” Newton said. “Looking back at what was achieved, empowering residents to live their best lives is at the top of the list.”

The Smart Columbus program was led by the City of Columbus in partnership with The Columbus Partnership, the Ohio Department of Transportation, Franklin County Commissioners, Franklin County Engineer’s Office, The Ohio State University, American Electric Power and many others.

Tech Experience at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 Unveils Smart City

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 13:30:28 +0000

CHICAGO – A 10 by 22-foot smart city replica was unveiled this week by the planning team for CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020. The replica demonstrated how a smart city, through sensors and analytics will be able to transform information into digestible data, providing knowledge for the city to work smarter.

The replica will be on display at CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas, March 10-14, 2020 and will showcase several scenarios at the Tech Experience, including;

Different city grids and how a city responds to heat, wind, and storms.
Connectivity in the city, including 5G, sensors, telematics, and IOT, and
Impacts of construction. The job site of the future within the city and how equipment will communicate will also be on display.

“We were beyond excited to reveal the Smart City today,” said Al Cevero, senior vice president construction, mining & utility at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). “Our goal for the Tech Experience in 2020 is to show contractors how all of these exciting new technologies will impact their current work, how the expectations and demands of customers will change and how the current state of infrastructure may change.”

Expanded Footprint, Connected Campus

The show is expanding the 2020 footprint to include the Las Vegas Festival Grounds, located on the Las Vegas Strip adjacent to the Circus Circus Hotel. Types of exhibits in the Festival Grounds will include aerial and cranes, earthmoving, hauling and underground construction.

The 2020 show connected campus will also include new and expanded transportation, attendee experiences and registration locations. Features will include multi-site drop off locations for shuttles, complimentary monorail passes, golf cart shuttles, and various experiential transportation options to accommodate for the attendees throughout the week.

“AEM is committed to bringing people together at CONEXPO-CON/AGG, as the show serves as a catalyst for industry growth and development,” said Dana Wuesthoff, vice president of exhibitions and event services at AEM and CONEXPO-CON/AGG show director. “We wanted to make sure everyone can explore the entire show and have the best possible experience.”

Expanded Educational Opportunities

In addition to the record-setting 2800 exhibitors and the 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, 150 education sessions will be held. The education sessions feature the latest topics and industry trends and are grouped into tracks for ease in finding an education that meets your needs including and not limited to:

Aggregates
Asphalt
Concrete
Cranes, rigging and aerial lifts
Earthmoving and site development

‘One Bangkok’, Thailand’s Largest Fully Integrated District, Unveils Masterplan

Wed, 14 Aug 2019 16:08:55 +0000

Bangkok, Thailand – One Bangkok today unveiled the masterplan for its THB 120 billion fully integrated district. The event, held at The Prelude, One Bangkok, marked the first official look at the masterplan of the entire district.

A joint venture between TCC Assets Co., Ltd. and Frasers Property Holdings (Thailand) Co., Ltd., One Bangkok is Thailand’s largest private sector property initiative ever undertaken, setting new benchmarks in design, smart-city living and sustainability, and aims to be the first project in Thailand to receive LEED Neighborhood Development Platinum certification. The fully integrated district is poised to become a global landmark, attracting top-level businesses, tourists and locals alike by seamlessly connecting offices, retail, luxury hotels, residences, as well as cultural and social spaces.

Mr. Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi (left), Group CEO, Frasers Property Limited and Ms. Su Lin Soon (right), CEO – Development, One Bangkok, at the press conference to unveil the masterplan for One Bangkok; Thailand’s largest fully-integrated district with an ambition to be a new global landmark,
held at The Prelude, One Bangkok.

Mr. Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi, Group CEO, Frasers Property Limited stated, “One Bangkok will reshape and redefine Bangkok’s urban landscape in a positive and lasting way as the largest private sector property development initiative undertaken in Thailand.”

“Our ambition is to build sustainable developments that improve quality of life and are part of the fabric of the community. It is our goal to constantly create offerings that connect with its surroundings and are something the community can be proud of. We believe One Bangkok is an offering worthy of what Thailand’s capital can deliver on the world stage, and our goal is to see the country become the very epicenter of ASEAN.”

Ms. Su Lin Soon, Chief Executive Officer – Development, One Bangkok said, “It is our vision to enhance the city’s status by creating a focal point for business in Bangkok that will gain global recognition. And learning from the great neighborhoods of the world, we knew it is vital to enrich the mix of commercial uses at One Bangkok to ensure the district is engaging and alive with energy at all hours. Taking advantage of the scale of the district, we planned for a diverse mix of uses – offices, shops, restaurants, hotels, and residences – to be complemented by educational, social & leisure, fitness & wellness facilities, including a strong focus on art and culture. The district is peppered with activated public spaces, and we expect the synergy from this mix of uses will create an exceptional destination capable of attracting top-level organizations and a place that tourists and locals alike will want to go to and keep returning to, a place to work, shop, play, and create.”

The World-Class Masterplan, Integrating Five Distinct Realms into A District

One Bangkok’s mixed-use masterplan is optimized to deliver a vibrant, successful community with best-in-class buildings and efficient use of space to ensure flexibility for occupants, and adaptability to evolving markets, consumer behavior, and technologies. The masterplan proposes a set of four diverse precincts centered around a 10,000 square meter landscaped civic plaza. These precincts are connected on multiple levels, and each comprises a retail & lifestyle element at lower levels to create vibrant streetscape, with towers for working and living rising above.

One Bangkok’ Masterplan prioritizes ease of accessibility and navigation, being directly connected to the MRT Blue Line at Lumphini Station, allowing users to enter and walk to every point in the district in full comfort. By road, One Bangkok features 6 access points; from Wireless Road, Rama IV and a new direct connection to the expressway, which is in the process of approval by relevant authorities. These accesses link directly into a common underground infrastructure for easy circulation enabled by smart traffic management system, allowing One Bangkok to promote walkability across the district with a network of streets and alleys lined with shops, cafes, art, and public spaces, connecting every single component. To ensure pedestrian comfort in the Bangkok climate, these streets are shaded with open-air structures, tall canopied trees, or fully enclosed, air-conditioned spaces.

One Bangkok is set to be Bangkok’s most prestigious corporate address, giving the city a new economic engine with a combined office NLA of almost 500,000 square meters that will be home to over 500 local and international organizations and their more than 50,000-strong workforce. To be completed in phases from 2023 to 2026, the Offices at One Bangkok has been planned to the highest specifications and targeting LEED and WELL certifications. All five office towers are seamlessly integrated into the mixed-use scheme, and each tower has been designed to respond to changing demands of the workplace as places that people want to spend time in before, during and after working hours.

One Bangkok is rethinking retail for the shopping haven that is Bangkok. Presenting more than just the best choices for shopping and dining, One Bangkok will allow for a wide range of leisure activities and social experiences with things to do all day through to the night. It will present new opportunities for brands to engage, interact, and inspire their audience with fresh concepts and spaces across four differentiated retail precincts that will be connected across multiple levels: a complete retail necklace encompassing some 450 stores over 180,000 square meters. This allows for truly distinct retail experiences within a single district – a first for Bangkok.

With five new-to-market hotels, One Bangkok is the standout choice for travelers who expect nothing but the best in service, amenities, and convenience. The district’s comprehensive suite of hospitality options ranges from boutique to business to super-luxury, offering a combined 1,100 rooms. Each hotel will be designed with a focus on delivering the finest hospitality and local lifestyle experiences. The first luxury hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok is scheduled to open in 2023.

One Bangkok residences combine the outstanding cachet of a Wireless Road address with the pleasure of park-side living. Three luxury residential towers are located at the north of the district, offering utmost privacy and unprecedented vistas of Lumphini Park and the city beyond. The first residences, located on top of The Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok, comprises an exclusive 110 ultra-luxury apartments of two to four bedrooms, starting from 130 square meters and will launch in early 2020.

One Bangkok’s crowning achievement is the 430-meter Signature Tower, housing office spaces and a super-luxury hotel. Set to become one of ASEAN’s ten tallest buildings, Signature Tower will offer visitors panoramic views of the city and a focal point of Bangkok’s skyline.

Art and culture is an increasingly important part of contemporary urban living, and One Bangkok will be a must-visit cultural destination and vibrant node for the community, providing inclusive and accessible artistic offerings to all. The district will be linked together by multi-sensory experiences through state-of-the-art facilities and richness of cultural expressions such as public art, learning spaces, as well as performing arts and concerts, all year round.

One Bangkok is designed to offer a green, safe, and inviting environment for all. Some 50 rai of the total 104-rai land plot is allocated to an integrated system of streets, squares, and open spaces that encourages people to spend more time outdoors together, including a 10,000 square meter landscaped civic plaza that will be a natural venue for international events and Thai festivals. Wrapping around both Wireless Road and Rama IV Road is a 40-meter wide continuous linear park, a natural extension to Lumphini Park, and providing a green and spacious approach to the district.

The entire district is enabled by a smart centralized infrastructure system, the first of its kind in Thailand for private development. Features include district cooling, fully centralized security, water and energy management systems overseen by a District Command Centre, a data center and more than 250,000 smart sensors for efficient facility management and preventive maintenance. By integrating innovations in sustainability into the physical development of all businesses, visitors, workers, and residents will benefit from significant energy savings and a cleaner and healthier environment.

With piling works already completed in June this year, One Bangkok is expected to open in 2023, with full completion slated for 2026.