KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI -- Kansas City and Cisco signed an agreement to deploy a Smart+Connected City framework to transform urban services and enhance the citizen experience.
As part of this new framework, Cisco is working with a group of business partners to bring together an ecosystem to develop applications including smart lighting, digital kiosks, a development data portal, and smart water innovation development.
Through this model in Kansas City, the goal is to create a framework to be scalable, repeatable and self-sustainable.
In addition, Sprint will deploy Cisco hardware to construct and manage an intelligent Wi-Fi network that will serve as the backbone of the connectivity platform. Sprint is the first service provider to play an important connectivity role in the development of an U.S. based Cisco Smart+Connected Communities(TM) (S+CC) ecosystem.
Later this year, city leaders, Cisco, and other key partners will collaborate to execute “phase 1" deployments along the downtown Kansas City streetcar path and surrounding areas including:
- An intelligent Wi-Fi network constructed, managed and owned by Sprint
- An Enterprise Mobility Services Platform to enhance the resident and visitor experience over a mobile app
- A “Living Lab” development data portal managed by ThinkBig Partners
- Smart lighting and video as sensors in collaboration with Sensity
- CityPost interactive digital kiosks and mobile citizen engagement
- Future collaborations of smart water innovative solutions with Black & Veatch
- Identifying technologies for next-generation police cruisers
Beyond implementations, entrepreneurs may find value from the technology to further advance job opportunities. One example is that entrepreneurs and start-ups will be able to utilize the development data portal to create and test new apps.
Lights. Sensity. Action.
Cisco’s and Sensity’s intelligent lighting platform transforms each lighting fixture into a sensory node in a powerful, broadband wireless network, creating a Light Sensory Network for municipalities. The joint solution converts city lighting infrastructure into a distributed sensing platform to collect real-time data for smart city applications, such as smart parking, lighting, retail analytics, and public safety and security. At the same time, the platform enables intelligent, efficient lighting control that results in energy and cost savings, more effective and higher-quality lighting, and reduction in both carbon and light pollution.
To bring smart lighting to Kansas City, the Sensity and Cisco joint intelligent lighting platform will be deployed downtown along the streetcar starter line and the adjacent districts of the River Market, Power & Light and Crossroads.
Mobility Takes Shape
Citizens and tourists will now have access to Kansas City at a glance, through a wireless communication network that helps everyone be smarter, safer and better connected.
CityPost broadcasts real-time, location-based information and alerts through a Smart City network that is powered on the street by interactive Smart Signs (City posts) and on smartphones through an easy-to-use mobile application. The CityPost app can be downloaded for free through the city’s public Wi-Fi home page and is augmented by a network of mobile beacons.
The CityPost launch brings promise of a new golden age of civic participation in the heart of Kansas City.
Water Meets Innovation in Kansas City
Global engineering and construction company, Black & Veatch, a collaborator in the effort, indicates that water systems around the world must provide advanced leak detection, innovative predictive maintenance and asset management solutions to reduce costs.
According to Black & Veatch’s 2015 Strategic Directions: Smart Utility report, the data created by smart city programs is being used to improve operations in multiple areas of organizations. While nearly two-thirds of respondents to the survey identified budget constraints as the biggest hurdle to launching data analytics programs, the costs of inaction are being shown to exceed the investment.
Building the Kansas City Smart Ecosystem
Through this Smart+Connected City framework, Cisco and Kansas City are aiming to develop an ecosystem that allows for more collaborators to join the project as it continues to be built out. Long-term goals for the smart city development are to bring on collaborators in private sector, real estate, sports and entertainment, and academia.
The S+CC framework was first announced when Kansas City leaders and Cisco signed a letter of intent for the project.
The partners all announced the collaborations:
City of Kansas City, MO.: “The agreement we are entering today will improve the livability, connectivity, efficiency and economic vitality of Kansas City in ways we cannot yet even imagine, and for generations to come,” said Kansas City, MO., Mayor Sly James.
Cisco: “It’s exciting to see forward looking cities like Kansas City driving innovations that enable cities to connect people, process, data and things, and bring the Internet of Everything to life,” said Wim Elfrink, executive vice president, industry solutions group, and chief globalisation officer for Cisco. “Kansas City is empowering its citizens, helping them become more efficient and more productive, and the city is poised to create significant new economic value. We’re pleased to be part of the team that will deploy a Smart+Connected City framework.”
Sprint: “Sprint looks forward to playing an integral role in this ground-breaking initiative to bring greater connectivity across a wide range of business and consumer applications that support the Internet of Everything in our hometown,” said Stephen Bye, chief technology officer at Sprint. “Delivering Wi-Fi connectivity is a great fit for Sprint, and enables our customers to more easily use both cellular and Wi-Fi for a better mobile experience.”
Black & Veatch: “The existence of robust and resilient infrastructure is critical to enabling smart city initiatives,” said Fred Ellermeier, Chief Operating Officer of Black & Veatch’s Smart Integrated Infrastructure Group. “SII tailors solutions that transform physical infrastructure into interconnected networks and ordinary layers of data into smart analytics frameworks that enable extraordinary results. Clients can now dream big knowing that SII solutions will get them there.”
CityPost: “We believe in the huge value of the city as a smart media platform, which anyone should be able to use and everyone should gain benefit,” said CEO Tom Touchet. “CityPost is the union between the strategic resources in the city and the citizens, who act both as inputs and real users and drivers of the platform.”
Sensity Systems: “There are over four billion high-wattage lights in the world being converted to LEDs, posing as a unique opportunity for municipalities to fundamentally change the way they operate,” said Hugh Martin, Chairman and CEO of Sensity Systems. “LEDs allow cities to also install a network of sensors that gathers data about traffic patterns, weather, parking spots and even terrorism. We are pleased to see Kansas City leading this transformation and looking to implement an advanced lighting system to help the city better manage their downtown.”
World Wide Technology: “WWT, in partnership with Cisco, is excited to participate in the innovative direction that Kansas City is taking with this initiative,” John Rohde, Sr. Business Development Manager, Vertical Markets & IoT, World Wide Technology.