The city of Las Condes in Chile will soon be launching its Urban Monitor Centre, which will serve as the city’s ‘brain’ for data collected from the sensors and cameras located throughout the city.
The city’s sensor system began in 2018, when more than 45,000 public lights were switched to LED. Along with the LEDs, the city installed sensors that enabled it to remotely control the lighting in order to save energy. The lighting system was connected to Cerro Dominador – the largest solar plant in Latin America – which powered the system. That reduced the city’s carbon footprint and helped reduce energy costs on lighting by 25%.
Sensors and cameras are now used to collect a variety of information:
- public transportation – providing information about traffic conditions and potential traffic jams;
- air quality data – which is shared on an online platform, so that residents with health problems may make informed decisions regarding their outdoor activities;
- the public parks’ irrigation system – checking for leaks and monitoring water usage; and
- security – a network of 1,900 cameras across the city includes analytical software on board each camera that can recognise more than 50 situations that may lead to crimes. The information is automatically provided to the police.
In March of this year, the city will launch its Urban Monitor Centre. The center is designed to aggregate data from silos, including transport, security and the environment onto one platform. The city expects that this will aid in implementing smart city principles, allow it to design social programs and public policy programs based on the data, and provide citizens with better information.
“The main point is to develop public policy based on data and to be able to analyze all that data,” Mayor Daniela Peñaloza Ramos said. “For us, a smart city is not about gadgets; it’s a strategy and of course, it’s always evolving.”