Emergency response vehicle puts IoT on wheels

via Greenbang:

Australia’s National Safety Agency has developed a prototype emergency response vehicle equipped with multi-channel communications capabilities, real-time video and more than 30 screens for monitoring weather, incoming images from emergency responders and other critical data.

Designed with support from Cisco, the ESIC (for “Emergency Services Integrated Communications”) vehicle serves as a mobile command center that can intelligently link all agencies involved in an emergency situation.

“The internet of everything brings together people, process, data and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before,” said Ken Boal, vice president of Cisco Australia and New Zealand. “The National Safety Agency’s Emergency Services Integrated Communications vehicle is a phenomenal showcase of how public safety can significantly improve the real-time flow of information through a mobile command and communications center to allow better informed decisions to be made more quickly and ultimately lead to safer Australian communities.”

Designed to be deployed in response to fires, floods, cyclones, tsunamis, marine pollution, terrorist events or large crowd gatherings, the ESIC vehicle can be fully operational within 15 minutes of arriving at a site.

The vehicle’s technologies allow responders with two-way radios to communicate and video-conference with people at other locations using devices ranging from mobile phones and regular telephones to computers and tablets. The vehicle is also equipped by day/night video cameras that can transmit interior and exterior images to response teams, and features multiple video screens for displaying hydrology data, weather location information, real-time images from responders’ helmet-mounted cameras and other information.

The National Safety Agency, a not-for-profit organization that researches and develops emergency-response solutions, is also exploring the possibility of adding capabilities for unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) operations, Google Glass technology, on-site triage of disaster victims and body-held cameras with integrated sensors for blood pressure and breath monitoring.

“The ESIC vehicle showcases technology in an operational context to inspire and assist with the creation of a vision for the public safety sector and other industries with emergency management responsibilities, such as the mining industry,” said Des Bahr, chair of the National Safety Agency.

The ESIC vehicle was unveiled during the Cisco Live event taking place in Melbourne, Australia, this week.

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London tests sensors to keep pedestrians safe

via Greenbang:

Starting this summer, London will begin trials of a sensor-based system aimed at making it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross busy roads.

The technology uses street-based video cameras and a tool called SCOOT (for “split cycle offset optimization technique”) to automatically detect how many pedestrians are waiting at road crossings. When a large number of people are waiting, the system extends the amount of time the green “cross” sign stays lit.

While London already uses SCOOT technology to improve the flow of street traffic across the city, this is the first implementation of a pedestrian-focused application.

“I am delighted that London is the first city in the world to be trialling this cutting-edge equipment, which will benefit pedestrians across the city,” said Mayor Boris Johnson. “Innovation like this is key to keeping London moving efficiently and making our roads safer for everyone to use.”

The first pedestrian-based SCOOT systems will be tested at intersections outside the Balham and Tooting Bec Underground stations.

“We are fully committed to improving road safety for all road users across London, especially pedestrians,” said Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at Transport for London. “These new trials of pedestrian detection technology will allow our traffic signals to become even more intelligent, bringing huge benefits to those waiting to cross the road where there is heavy pedestrian demand.”

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Local generation, better data boost energy security

via Greenbang:

There is little doubt that utilities today face a major challenge in maintaining sustained access to energy and in safeguarding its long-term delivery to consumers. In light of this inescapable reality, it is encouraging to see the Technology Strategy Board show support for local clean energy generation with its latest program, through which it will invest up to £11 million to support research and development to stimulate innovation in localized energy systems.

While currently geared at stimulating innovation among small businesses, the initiative could very successfully be adapted to drive progress across the entire country. With the smart meter rollout imminent and the smart energy market expected to grow by roughly 30 per cent each year across the EU, innovation in this space is most welcome, and quite frankly necessary for any economy looking to keep up with this fast pace of innovation.

Grid operators, who are already tasked with ensuring the safe, secure, reliable flow of power to consumers, will face many new challenges as the grid gets linked to a growing number of localized energy networks. To overcome these difficulties and successfully manage the integration of new technologies onto the grid, energy retailers will rely on smart-grid technology, and on the network management systems that will allow them to balance demand and supply more effectively.

An intelligent grid

As dynamic, intricately connected webs, utility networks present unique engineering and safety challenges that make them particularly complex to manage. To facilitate the move toward localized power generation and help support the accelerating adoption of renewable energy sources, grid operators will need to adapt their network infrastructure and IT resources to keep networks running smoothly even as new energy sources are added to them.

For energy utilities, the key to modernizing their network management systems lies in the data they will collect and analyze from the smart grid. This will include not only consolidating the vast amount of information that next-generation grids will provide them, but also quickly converting this into valuable network insight.

With the heightened awareness of network behavior they will gain with the smart grid, operators can then take a more proactive approach to managing energy flow and deliver a more stable and reliable service to their customers.

Applied to localized power generation sites, this means that the grid can provide utilities with data-driven insight into network behavior that will allow them to accommodate flow disruptions caused once these new energy sources are added to the grid. To add to this, data analytics tools can help energy retailers optimize distribution to keep wastage to an absolute minimum.

Putting data to good use

As the smart grid rollout takes form, utilities will begin collecting and analyzing information from a growing number of data points to better understand how voltage is being distributed throughout their networks. Modern network management systems can help utilities make the most of the information they collect from charging stations by allowing them to automatically adapt demand response to network conditions in near real-time.

With the ability to automatically balance power supply and demand in the grid, utilities will be able to tailor their energy distribution strategy to match real-world network behavior, and open the door to new levels of power efficiency. Once they can redirect flow as required in this way, energy retailers can drastically reduce the risk of localized overloading or outages. This level of control will help utilities avoid overburdening transformers to the point of failure, and preclude the significant damage to network assets that these malfunctions can cause.

Ultimately, network management systems will allow energy utilities to unite complex processes across the grid to optimize load distribution, which will in turn help them accommodate the addition of major new energy sources such as localized generation centers and renewables. These solutions can also provide utilities with continuous updates on the status of their network assets, and therefore give them a valuable head-start on crucial maintenance and repair works.

Making a meaningful change

The search for more affordable and sustainable forms of energy production such as green power initiatives and renewables will continue to gain momentum. As the energy gatekeepers for the general public, utilities will need to facilitate change while maintaining a high standard of service.

An intelligent energy management strategy will be vital for grid operators as they work to achieve this. The data analytics tools and cutting-edge IT applications that support their smart grid operations will help them make sure green technologies integrate seamlessly with the national power infrastructure and provide the public with a meaningful and reliable energy supply.

This was a guest post and an exclusive from Mike Ballard, Oracle’s senior director of utilities strategy EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

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From London Olympic site to ‘disruptive’ tech hub

via Greenbang:

Part of the former London 2012 Olympic site will be redeveloped as hub for creative and digital innovation and business.

The three main buildings that once served as press and broadcast centers are to be converted into an innovation center, an auditorium and a space with a data center, office space, educational facilities and more. The “Here East” project, being led by the company iCITY, was approved this week by the London Legacy Development Corporation, which is in charge of redeveloping Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London.

“With over one million square feet of space, it will offer some of the most advanced digital infrastructure in the world, including almost unlimited bandwidth connectivity and the highest capacity power,” stated the announcement from iCity.

David Bickle, a partner at the HawkinsBrown architectural firm working with iCity, said Here East will be “a new neighborhood that will support a thriving community of industrious makers, digital natives, free-spirited thinkers, curious researchers, mold-breaking broadcasters, disruptive startups, creative practitioners and entrepreneurial businesses, who are open to the opportunities of collaboration and social exchange.”

The development’s key tenants, expected to move in in 2015, will include Loughborough University, Hackney Community College and data center operator Infinity SDC. The entire development is scheduled to be completed by 2018.

The project is slated to be showcased during the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, next month. SXSW has been the launching pad for such tech companies like Twitter (2007), Foursquare (2009) and Storify (2011).

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London cycling good for health, could be safer

via Greenbang:

London’s “Boris bikes” are proving to be a health boon for men and older cyclists. However, the city’s bicycle hire program could deliver even better health benefits to citizens in general if cycling safety were improved.

A study published in the BMJ found improvements in lifelong disability adjusted life years (DALYs) for users of the London cycle hire scheme between April 2011 and March 2012. The largest measurable health benefits were for men (who account for the majority of the program’s users) and for cyclists over the age of 45.

Higher injury risks, though, practically eliminated the potential health benefits for female cyclists, the researchers found.

Reducing the risks of injury for cyclists could help improve the program’s overall health benefits, the researchers concluded.

“Although the benefits from increasing the share of trips by older users are larger, it may be more efficacious to reduce the risk of injury first as this is the most commonly given reason for not cycling in London,” the researchers wrote. “In the Netherlands, a comprehensive and well maintained system of cycle tracks, physically protected from fast motor traffic, have helped to make cycling widespread at all ages and reduce the risks of injury. Providing similar quality infrastructure in London might help realise the substantial potential health benefits that cycling could offer at population level.”

“If cycling in central London was as safe as in cities in the Netherlands, the health benefits from initiatives like the cycle hire scheme would be far more substantial,” said James Woodcock, lead author of the study and a researcher with the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Diet and Activity Research.

Introduced in London in July 2010, the cycle hire program offers users 10,000 bicycles at 723 docking stations. Available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, the program attracted more than 578,000 users who took a total of 7.4 million trips over the course of the year-long study.

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Isotera wants to make LED efficiency easy

via Greenbang:

It wasn’t that long ago that LED lighting was viewed as a great, efficient technology of the future … that is, a technology you weren’t likely to see widely used anytime soon because of its high cost and limited functionality.

Today, though LED (for “light-emitting diode”) lighting is easy to find at anywhere from small dollar stores to giant home-improvement retailers, and you can find lights in all sorts of forms too: dimmable, submersible, color-changing, rope, panel and so on. While they’re still more expensive than other light bulbs, LEDs have also generally become more affordable.

Until recently, though, they were still costly to install if you wanted to update an entire office building, hospital or school with LEDs. That’s because LEDs require constant-current power instead of the typical constant-voltage power delivered by power mains and batteries. As a result, LEDs typically need LED drivers to regulate the power from traditional sources. Wiring drivers, fixtures and controls across a large space tends to be effort-intensive, time-consuming and costly.

Isotera aims to change that.

A UK-based startup, Isotera operates from the principle that installing LEDs should be “as simple and as fun” as building with LEGO blocks. Its “contactless power” technology combines a single power hub and cabling with clips that connect LED lights to the power source quickly and easily without exposing live wires. The approach, says founder and director Marc Ottolini, makes it simple to convert a space to LED lighting without complicated electrical work.

“We don’t do the LEDs (themselves), but we’ve reinvented the backbone,” Ottolini said. “We have created basically a new universe in lighting systems.”

The savings in installation times are considerable, Ottolini said. With Isotera’s system, LEDs can be installed anywhere from 50 to 60 percent more quickly than before. What’s more, lights can be added safely while the power is on, meaning problems with any one fixture can be identified immediately and overloads are instantly detectable.

Isotera has also extended its approach to emergency lighting: its iEscape modules clip easily onto power cables for contactless charging of backup batteries.

“It’s a major step in how emergency lighting is done,” Ottolini said.

Up until now, Isotera has worked primarily on retrofitting existing buildings with LEDs, and many of its projects have come through its partnership with the lighting company Havells Sylvania. Having worked on projects in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Russia, it is looking to expand elsewhere, including into the US. Because of the ease of installation its technology allows, Ottolini said, Isotera’s system has great potential both in places where labor costs are high as well as in locales where there are skills shortages.

“At the end of the day,” he said, “the system has global appeal.”

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NYC eviction data could predict family homelessness

via Greenbang:

By analyzing eviction data from New York City’s Department of Homeless Services, the SumAll Foundation is working to better identify individuals and families at the greatest risk of becoming homeless.

According to the Coalition for the Homeless, more than 53,000 people — among them 12,000-plus families with more than 22,000 children — were living in New York homeless shelters last November. Eviction is one of the leading reasons that people land in homeless shelters, the coalition says.

Insights from city data on evictions could help provide smarter, more targeted social services to keep families in stable housing and out of the shelter system, according to the SumAll Foundation.

“Identifying families at risk of becoming homeless early in the eviction process presents a huge prevention opportunity,” said Stefan Heeke, executive director of SumAll.org, the non-profit arm of the big-data company SumAll. “We are in the process of creating the algorithm that helps find these families in need and detect future homelessness hotspots in New York City.”

Analysis of data so far shows that, depending on where in the city a family lives, an average of four to five month passes from receiving an eviction notice to moving into a homeless shelter. Compared to other areas, eviction orders in Central Brooklyn and the South Bronx appear to be more likely to eventually land a family in a homeless shelter.

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Smart-city news in review: Nov. 15, 2013

via Greenbang:

• Greenbang founder Dan Ilett will be hosting a panel session on the keys to the future of energy at the Smart City Expo in Barcelona next week. The Greenbang team will be at the event. If you would like to meet us, please get in touch.


• Infra-red parking bay sensors are to be installed across London’s West End to minimize congestion and carbon emissions – and improve the chances of finding a space in the middle of the city. The sensors will detect whether parking bays are occupied and produce real-time mapping of the available parking spaces for a smartphone app. It is hoped the scheme can reduce congestion in the area by around 20 percent.


• Analyst house Gartner has predicted that the Internet of Things (IoT) will create new markets and a new economy as the traditional IT market continues to whither. Peter Sondergaard, global head of research at Gartner, said: “The traditional IT market is not going to grow at a faster rate any time soon, if ever. Increased growth will come from the non-traditional IT market.” The research highlighted huge opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs: “Half of this activity will be new start-ups and 80 percent will be in services rather than in products.” Gartner predicts the verticals leading the adoption of the IoT are manufacturing (15 percent), healthcare (15 percent) and insurance (11 percent). Read more on the Gartner website.


• The Guardian reports that new methods of energy creation and consumption are fundamental to the success of smart, sustainable cities. The article states: “The convergence between digital technology and the world of energy, or Energy 3.0, will pave the way for a new ecosystem of services which will enable both a better quality of life and reduced energy consumption.”


• The launch of Formula E, a driving championship featuring cars powered exclusively by electricity, will have a big impact on the electric vehicle market. That’s the view of a report by consultancy EY, which predicted the new racing series will result in additional sales of around 77 million vehicles over the next 25 years. EY said the championship will help push forward the technology and “break down many of the misconceptions around electric vehicles”. The report predicts the boost will be worth €142 million (£119 million) to the electric vehicle industry. In addition, the move to electricity will save four billion barrels of oil, prevent 900 million tonnes of carbon emissions and result in a reduction in air pollution-related health costs of €25bn (£20.75m).


• FastCompany looks at the 10 smartest cities in the US. The research ranks them against 28 indicators collected directly from cities. Category rankings include economy, government, living, mobility and smarter people. FastCompany will unveil rankings for smart cities in Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America in the coming weeks.

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