Smart-City-in-a-Box Solution Aids Timely Decision-Making | WPN World People News

This week, IBM introduced the IBM Intelligent Operations Center for Smarter Cities, a type of Smart-City-in-a-Box.

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority has used smart meters and analytics to quickly identify problems such as water main breaks.

The Intelligent Operations Center is designed to help cities of any size get a grand view of decision-making information across city departments and agencies. Leveraging built-in analytics, city and agency managers will then be able to better anticipate problems, respond to crises and manage resources.

“All cities are made up of a complex system of systems that are all inextricably linked. The Intelligent Operations Center for Smarter Cities recognizes the behavior of the city as a whole, thus providing more coordinated and timely decision-making based on deep insights into how each city system will react to a given situation,” said Anne Altman, general manager for Global Public Sector at IBM.

The Smart-City-in-a-Box solution builds on IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative, which it has conducted over the last two and a half years. That work has involved numerous projects with cities around the world. In particular, the Intelligent Operations Center for Smarter Cities combines patented analytics technologies, created by IBM Research in collaboration with these cities. “With more than 2,000 smarter cities engagements worldwide, we are now applying best practices and solutions that can be scaled to cities of all sizes around the globe,” said Altman.

Gaining Insight

The Intelligent Operations Center for Smarter Cities will enable cities to use information and analytics to make smarter and timelier decisions. For instance, a city might gather information from intelligent water meters and, noting particular changes, deploy water maintenance crews to repair pumps before they break or alert fire crews to broken fire hydrants at an emergency scene. Other sensors might provide information, which upon analysis, could help cities anticipate traffic congestion and prepare scenarios that direct traffic around the potential bottlenecks.

The Intelligent Operations Center for Smarter Cities can be used in a variety of application areas including:

Public Safety: IBM provides real-time analytical solutions that enable public safety professionals to fight crime, protect first responders and improve citizen services while preserving government budget resources. Local, state, federal and nongovernment authorities can harness the intelligence derived from sensors, crime databases, cameras and integrated communications to make smarter, timelier decisions.

Transportation: Traffic is a crucial element of the daily operations of any city. Each year American drivers waste a combined estimated 3.7 billion hours, the equivalent of five days each, sitting in traffic burning 2.3 billion gallons of fuel. Current transportation systems and infrastructures are strained and continue to become even more burdened due to the growing population and increased demands for mobility. IBM uses analytics technologies to provide travelers with real-time traffic information across multiple modes of traffic so they can choose the best route for their commute.

Water Management: There are millions of miles of water pipes hidden beneath cities around the world, many of which are more than 100 years old. Today, up to 60 percent of water is lost due to leaky pipes, but with a thoughtful combination of planning and new technology, maintenance and repair of water infrastructure can take a quantum leap. IBM's near-real-time analytics can track and report on infrastructure conditions from filtration equipment, water pumps and valves to collection pipes, water storage basins and laboratory equipment. The ability to monitor these systems in real time means that potential problems such as a burst water main, a slow leak, a broken pump or a hazardous waste water overflow can be quickly identified and resolved—or even predicted and prevented.

These and other applications of the Intelligent Operations Center for Smarter Cities will allow city planners and managers to improve operations and even be proactive to prevent some problems from happening in the first place.

Source : Smarter Technology