Skip to main content

Smart cities pilot projects use people as ‘sensors’

The Spanish cities of Malaga, Zaragoza and Santander are the first cities to join CIUDAD 2020, the R&D&I (research, development and innovation) smart cities reference project, led by Indra in partnership with Ferrovial Agroman, Atos, Fagor Electrónica, GFI Informática, Fractalia, Daedalus, Tekia and iSOCO. One of the most novel aspects of the project, which has is aimed at developing a new, efficient and sustainable smart city model in which citizens play a central and active role. People generate a lar
October 3, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The Spanish cities of Malaga, Zaragoza and Santander are the first cities to join CIUDAD 2020, the R&D&I (research, development and innovation) smart cities reference project, led by 509 Indra in partnership with 4419 Ferrovial Agroman, Atos, Fagor Electrónica, GFI Informática, Fractalia, Daedalus, Tekia and iSOCO.

One of the most novel aspects of the project, which has is aimed at developing a new, efficient and sustainable smart city model in which citizens play a central and active role.  People generate a large amount of data through their use of urban infrastructures, such as public transportation and car parks, mobile applications which allow citizens to register incidents in a global platform and social networks that can be used to share user locations and multimedia content such as messages or photos.

Tests are being carried out in Malaga and Zaragoza to locate the areas of each city with the most social activity and points of interest in which to improve management processes using the information provided by social networks. Other tests are being carried out on the creation of new services based on how residents use Twitter. By using the geo-positioning of messages and data mining algorithms, it is possible to identify the most active areas and by analysing them, together with the most common hashtags, routes, etc., the city's behaviour can be modelled.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • PTV's #MobilityIsAHumanRide campaign moves into new phase
    September 15, 2023
    Company pledges donations to World Resources Institute for mobility projects
  • Traffic cameras embrace AI
    December 19, 2022
    Artificial intelligence is spreading into many aspects of mobility – but what about traffic management and enforcement cameras? ITS International invited a few vision experts to ponder a couple of leading questions…
  • Kapsch TrafficCom: 'The city is not made for cars'
    October 22, 2018
    Traffic can be a really big challenge. When you’re stuck, you’re stuck. Everything comes to a standstill. But Alexander Lewald describes how existing infrastructures can be used more efficiently and how demand can be managed. A few figures to start with: in Los Angeles, the average driver spends 102 hours a year in traffic – that’s more than four days. This figure is 91 hours in Moscow and New York, 74 in London, 69 in Paris, 51 hours in Munich and still 40 hours in Vienna. Traffic is what causes
  • Lufft sensors help German smart city
    August 10, 2020
    Using data can increase efficiency. Jerg Theurer of Mhascaro explains how one German town is becoming a smart city – with some help from Lufft sensors in a winter roads project