Amber Hickman |
Microsoft partners have been exploring new ways to approach city management and optimise infrastructure development at Smart City World Congress (SCEWC) in Barcelona, Spain.
Some of the partners in attendance are Johnson Controls, Citégestion, Plain Concepts, Cyclomedia and Analyze by KBenP. These businesses are discussing how their products can help enhance urban environments and aid city developers.
Johnson Controls, for example, is exhibiting its OpenBlue platform and sharing how it can make cities more sustainable. Built on the Microsoft Cloud, OpenBlue collects data from internet of things devices inside building, such as heating, ventilation, security and fire control systems. The platform then delivers insights to building owners and operators to help them improve energy efficiency. As a result, this reduces unplanned downtime as well as energy use.
Citégestion is also outlining how its software platform, MUSE, improves energy efficiency. The platform can help city leaders to achieve operational and organisational productivity through asset management, better maintenance of urban equipment from a centralised point, and the ability to control and share data generated by equipment. This allows cities to enhance their operations whilst optimising energy performance and reducing their environmental footprint.
Another key topic at the event is the ways in which artificial intelligence can aid city development. For instance, Plain Concepts is demonstrating how it is helping city developers to evaluate efficiency through digital environments . Using its graphic engine Evergine alongside Microsoft Azure, Plain Concepts is highlighting solutions for building digital twins using point cloud techniques. By producing simulations of plans for infrastructure development, cities can detect potential problems in areas such as space management or machine maintenance before they become reality.
Meanwhile, Cyclomedia is showcasing its mobile mapping systems that are enhanced by AI-powered analytics. The solution maps dense urban areas in west Europe and North America using a combination of sensors, cameras, LiDar scanners and positioning systems . City governments and utility organisations can use the data to gain insights into how they can better serve the city’s inhabitants. Cyclomedia’s aim is to help cities become safer, more accessible and more sustainable.
Also at SCEWC, Analyze by KBenP is demonstrating how smart data and digital twins can have a positive societal impact. The business is highlighting data-driven smart city use cases it has developed for municipalities, provinces and road authorities in the Netherlands. Analyze’s data solutions provide tools to help cities understand what is happening in real time, and an insight into what the future could look like as a result.