The rush for cities to become ‘smart’ has gained significant momentum worldwide as a response to ongoing urban management challenges. Numerous local governments have integrated smart technology in urban areas.
Despite the smart cities industry projected to achieve global revenues of 89 billion USD in 2023 the transformative benefits of leveraging AI technology are still to be fully explored. However, some cities are surging past their peers by incorporating sensory AI, with notable success stories in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Singapore. This transformation not only reshapes daily lives and work through technology and data but also offers a promising solution to chronic urban issues.
Sensory AI is a transformative technology that seamlessly integrates enterprise data with information from sensors and digital sources. It forms the backbone of what we refer to as ‘live awareness’. This innovative concept allows the cities to harness data for informed decisions on critical urban aspects, including traffic management, parking, congestion reduction and road safety. By enhancing the quality of life in urban communities, live awareness aims to create safer and smarter cities for all.
Revolutionising smart cities
Smart cities rely on a variety of data sources, typically provided by various partners. The integration of live awareness technology, marks a significant shift in urban development. It offers real-time data automation and analysis capabilities, reshaping city operations and providing invaluable insights for governments and businesses.
A notable smart city project, the ‘Code to Curb’ initiative, currently operates in Toronto, following successful implementations with the University of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver. This project offers interactive maps that provide insights into parking operations, productivity, and mobility in real-time. These help to significantly enhance curb-side management and safety.
The resultant data allows city managers to enhance productivity, mobility, reduce wait times, and equitably allocate public open space among transport operators. These smart city solutions demonstrate the transformative potential of live awareness, and the ability to create a unified, real-time snapshot of the urban landscape.
Addressing urban challenges
With over 55% of the world’s population living in urban areas, it is no surprise that traffic congestion stands as one of the most pressing issues in urban life today. This congestion leads to wasted time, fuel and increased pollution in our cities. Live awareness technology addresses this and other complex urban challenges, with a primary focus on alleviating traffic congestion and enhancing road safety. Moreover, the ability to analyse data from multiple sensors and cameras helps cities identify accident-prone areas, enabling them to implement measures that not only save lives but also reduce the economic burden associated with accidents and injuries.
Intelligent systems gather data from various sources, including video feeds, sound recordings and sensor inputs. This wealth of information enables cities to make informed decisions, such as real-time traffic monitoring and adaptive traffic signal control systems. These innovations optimise traffic flow, reduce congestion, and shorten commuting times. SenSen has implemented traffic and tolling monitoring for smart cities, including Brisbane in Australia. It offers analytical solutions designed to reduce congestion and improve the overall travel experience of citizens. This includes monitoring all vehicles throughout a city’s road network and providing a real-time record of vehicle class, traffic speed and running tally of overall movement. These results are invaluable for making dynamic decisions based on traffic patterns and road usage, considering factors such as time of day, week, month, or season.
Singapore, with nearly one million vehicles and high car ownership, faces constant traffic congestion and parking pressure, impacting daily life and tourism. SenSen’s tailored solution monitors 70 critical locations, such as Changi Airport and tourist attractions, detecting traffic issues, dangerous driving, and issuing infringement notices. This system has improved road rule compliance, reducing gridlock incidents. Real-time data-driven decisions have enhanced traffic flow, easing commuting and supporting congestion pricing.
Improving urban quality of life
The core vision of smart cities is to enhance the quality of life for their residents. By leveraging data-driven insights from live awareness, cities can provide more efficient urban services that offer a safer, more accessible, and better-tailored environment for their citizens.
For instance:
- Urban planners can utilise data-driven analytics to optimise public transportation routes, reducing travel times and improving transportation accessibility.
- Smart parking solutions driven by live awareness guide drivers to available parking spaces, alleviating the frustration of searching for parking and minimising traffic congestion.
- Improved traffic management leads to reduced air pollution and a healthier living environment.
- Continuous monitoring of air quality and noise levels by live awareness enables cities to take proactive measures to mitigate pollution and create more liveable urban spaces.
As we continue to navigate the challenges of urbanisation and population growth, live awareness provides a promising path forward. By addressing issues such as traffic congestion, road safety and environmental quality, live awareness not only makes cities smarter, it also makes them more liveable.
SenSen’s collaborations with corporations and cities worldwide serve as a testament to the transformative potential of this technology. Through such technology and partnerships, AI can help to build smarter, more efficient, and more inclusive cities that truly benefit all residents.
SenSen Networks is an Australian live awareness company with a global presence. Its SenDISA platform uses AI to provide real-time insights across cities, retail, and gaming, where its versality provides opportunities across verticals and geographies.