What Happened?
This past spring, two international events were held to discuss how the latest communications technologies can make municipalities more efficient while improving the quality of life for residents. Municipality leaders and technology industry veterans attended the events to hear presentations and experience demonstrations on the social and economic benefits expected from the latest solutions.
The Goal
Integrated communication technologies and other networking solutions are helping government departments and agencies stay connected while relying less on physical infrastructure. Cities across the globe are looking to new technology resources to engage better with citizens, increase data security, simplify the role of government and accelerate the rate of change throughout a municipality. With increased use of wireless and cloud-based solutions, cities are preparing to implement more energy-efficient structures and improve accessibility to services and information, just in time for an estimated 70 percent increase in urban populations worldwide by 2050.
Smart Cities
In June, the Smart Cities Workshop was held in France to explore how local governments are utilizing communication and social networks to improve the performance of governance, energy usage, water and waste management, healthcare, transportation, security and education. The integrated communication technology solutions being tested aim to connect government agencies with up-to-date data, as well as user-friendly portals to share information with the public. Speakers from different industries presented at the event to address:
-Economic and social aspects of integrated communications technology solutions and implementations
-Potential benefits of cities that have invested in the technology
-Technology trends on the rise worldwide and initiatives in place by industry
-Prerequisite needs cities must meet before adopting certain technologies
-Best practices and new ideas on how the latest solutions can overcome a plethora of challenges to urban development.
CPS Week
In Philadelphia, the 5th CPS Week was held this past April allowing participants to take advantage of tutorials and workshops on how to improve public sector technology use. The week-long event combined five conferences focused on the development of cyber-physical systems and their application in governmental organizations. Cyber-physical systems are embedded in the physical environment and generate real-time data to enhance decision making.
One tutorial addressed the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle that allows city officials to manage a device remotely while collecting information in the community. The six-rotor helicopter contains positioning sensors and a flight control computer to analyze external data without requiring staff to be in the field.
Another program discussed medical device interoperability, safety and security assurance to improve safety and efficiency of healthcare. The presentation touched on the benefits of integrated medical device systems, distributed control and sensing, patient modeling and simulating solutions, and real-time networking infrastructure to increase security.
Planning For Tomorrow
Gov1 has closely followed the latest technology adoptions by municipalities worldwide. Some communities are upgrading communication solutions to better serve the public, adopting more social networking capabilities to engage residents, and investing in mobile-optimized solutions to increase security.