Smart Cities Seeking Mobility Ideas
The Smart Cities and Communities European Innovation Partnership is gathering innovative energy-saving technologies, including ones related to mobility, to showcase at a conference in June.
Ideas are invited in the three main thematic areas of the Smart Cities initiative. Besides mobility, the themes include energy efficiency and buildings; finance; and energy networks. All ideas will be gauged by their potential to curb CO2 emissions and running costs and thereby make our cities “smart”. It hopes to display the best at its first annual conference in June in Budapest, setting the stage for a European Smart City Roadmap. Interested parties can start by joining the Smart Cities Stakeholder Platform, an open-invitation group already 1,000-members strong. Members include technology producers, energy providers, decision makers and other urban stakeholders. Submitted ideas have thus far come from the private sector and academia. Some are in the concept stage, some already implemented. These are some examples, by key area: Mobility and Transport, including: - Providing real-time information that helps motorists locate available parking space at their destination before and during their trips; and - A smart-phone app that helps older passengers plan public transport journeys that satisfy their special needs for comfort, safety and convenience. Energy Efficiency and Buildings, including: - Economising on household electricity use by letting your home PC turn appliances on and off depending on power supply and price; and - Using heat pumps to exploit thermal energy from sewage. Energy Supply Networks, including: - Using “smart power grids” to make small communities 100% energy self-sufficient from a combination of solar power, biomass and heat pumps; and - Integrated infrastructure networks for combined heat and power. The ideas will be boiled down to a shortlist through discussion and multiple rounds of voting by platform members. In June the best ideas, together with policy recommendations, will be showcased at a conference in Budapest attended by high-tech producers, solution providers, and representatives from European cities and the EU. Get more information here.
Author: Spencer Greg
