ACUP and Connecthings Help Drive Austin’s “Smart City” Transformation
The Austin CityUP (ACUP) Consortium is leading the effort to turn Austin into a smart city that uses technology, data, and analytics to improves services, infrastructure, policies, and quality of life. One priority is modernizing the mass transportation system, turning it from a means for getting from Point A to Point B into a real-time news and information delivery system. That requires building the network infrastructure, so ACUP has partnered with my company, Connecthings, to create an open beacon network as part of the Smart 2nd Street Project. These beacons will deliver notifications to people on their smartphones with updates on everything from bus arrival times to updates on news and community events and activities.
Working with global transportation provider RATP Dev, which operates the Capital Metro bus system, we’re installing Bluecats Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) beacons and intelligent Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) asset tracking solutions along the 2nd Street corridor. These beacons operate on the Connecthings SaaS platform, ADTAG. Our platform empowers “1 Click” access to relevant and timely information for residents and visitors when and where they want it.
This project represents the first step to creating a city-wide high-speed connected communications network that enables government agencies, transportation modes and local businesses to interact and share information in real-time with residents. Restaurant operators and retailers can connect with people while they’re riding a bus that will drop them off near their stores or restaurants. Government agencies, schools and public safety officials can generate alerts with relevant up-to-the-minute information about a broken water main that is affecting traffic patterns, businesses, schools and homes in the area.
The city of Austin, which has reputation for actively embracing new technology and innovation, is being proactive in addressing one of the primary obstacles that all U.S. cities face: the fact the mass transit system was built before the age of smartphones and other connected mobile devices.
According to Juniper Research’s “Worldwide Smart Cities: Energy, Transport & Lighting 2016–2021”, there are two overarching benefits of smart cities: sustainability and efficiency. Making mass transit smarter is critical to realizing those benefits.
“Congestion and mobility are almost universal issues for cities to address,” report author Steffen Sorrell wrote. “Facilitating the movement of citizens within urban agglomerations via transport networks is fundamental to a city’s economic growth. When addressed effectively, the impacts are substantial: higher economic productivity, potential for new revenue streams and services as well as a measurable benefit in reduced healthcare costs.”
Residents’ feedback will be critical to evaluating how people use and benefit from the network of beacons on 2nd Street. Provided the feedback is positive, the end goal is to create a city-wide network throughout Austin, similar to ones we’ve built in in Rio de Janeiro and 60 cities across Europe. To date, we have installed a total of more than 130,000 beacons to connect everything from street signs and bus stations to airports and shopping malls.
For example, officials in Eurométropole de Strasbourg created a massive network of sensors that constantly collects and disseminates information citywide. It launched the Connected City mobile service in France, creating a network of 1,400 city points of interest (i.e. tourist attractions and bus stops). Residents and visitors use their mobile devices to access real-time, hyper-contextualized information related to transport and nearby city points of interest.
The long-term economic benefits of investing in building a smart transport infrastructure are impossible to overestimate. The key payoffs include reduced traffic congestion, more streamlined logistics, trade and production; local economic development; lower household and business costs and improved quality of life through reduced pollution. The Smart 2nd Street Project is just the first step to realizing those benefits and building the smart city of Austin’s future.
