Researchers from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom, the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and Aarhus University in Denmark are working together on the five-year “Smart Cities and Open Data Re-use” (SCORE) project, with the specific aim of achieving a ten percent reduction in the cost of municipal services and a 20 percent improvement in the quality of those services. It is hoped that the cities could save up to $50 million by 2021.
As part of the project, the SCORE partners will define 12 shared challenges to improve municipal services, covering services like the environment, water, parking and sustainable transport. They will then be tested in ‘living labs’, with the data and insights generated shared across all partners, helping them to implement these solutions.Some of the proposed technologies include interactive garbage cans that can sense when they are full, intelligent car parks that can highlight empty spaces, and real-time flood-warning information data that could save lives.
Dr. Dhaval Thakker, lecturer in computing and SCORE project principal investigator at the University of Bradford, said: “The aim is to improve the delivery of public services, using innovative software and data sharing. Our role is to use our expertise in creating solutions, to assist cities in developing more efficient ways of delivering essential services. We’re coming up with a variety of solutions to improve what is currently being offered. Our particular role will be making sure all the data is shared, and all the data we produce is open and clear. We already specialize in big data technologies. All these cities are very different, and have very different infrastructures. Everyone will be able to learn from each other in this project. It will be very significant for Bradford to have that visibility. It is a very good thing for the city to be involved in. It will also be great for the university.”
