Manchester City Council has chosen three companies to deliver new smart city demonstrator projects as part of an ongoing effort to make the city smarter.
These new smart city demonstrator projects were developed as part of a call to address challenges identified in the council’s city centre review. The review noted a number of areas which are priorities for smart city development, for the benefit of citizens, businesses and visitors.
The companies chosen to provide new smart city demonstrator projects are:
- Tracsis, which provides transport surveys and captures traffic data;
- Apadmi, a mobile technology provider; and
- Retail Sensing, an internet of things device manufacturer.
The companies will explore the potential of new technology by launching a series of small scale demonstrations, with results expected as early as this summer.
What kind of projects are the companies developing?
The new smart city demonstrator projects being undertaken by the three companies will address a broad range of areas, which will provide Manchester City Council with smart solutions to help to improve the city.
For example, Tracsis is employing its expertise in transport to undertake people-counting surveys using smart sensors in the city centre and at four of the city’s railway stations. The project will collect data on the flow, density and movement of people, and this data will then be used by the city council to improve understanding of crowd behaviours and improve event planning.
Apadmi, meanwhile, has designed and developed a communications app which allows citizens to report environmental problems, which will be trialled by council employees working in the city centre.
What has Manchester City Council said?
Richard Elliott, head of policy, partnerships and research at Manchester City Council, said that the projects developed by the three companies would contribute to the wider CityVerve initiative. CityVerve is a consortium of 20 partners led by Manchester City Council, which aims to change how cities use big data to deliver smart solutions.
Elliott said: “I’d like to congratulate the three successful firms who have been chosen to become recognised CityVerve suppliers. This is a fantastic platform for them to showcase their business, contribute to the wider CityVerve project and demonstrate how digital innovation can work for Manchester.”
