Austin, Indianapolis, Miami, Orlando, and Philadelphia are the five winners of a challenge grant presented by the Smart Cities Council. Representatives from AT&T, Qualcomm, Telit and a number of other companies will help these cities design and implement smart city initiatives in the months ahead.
Transportation, energy, housing and healthcare will all be on the agenda next week when Austin hosts its smart city workshop. This week the city previewed some of its priorities, and it was clear that Austin’s most ambitious goal is in the area of autonomous vehicles.
“We know shared AV is the wave of the future, we want to be part of that, and we think it needs to be on the electric platform,” said Austin Energy’s Karl Popham. The Austin City Council foresees a downtown transit system of shared, electric autonomous cars and has created an “EV AV shared mobility initiative,” according to Popham.
The Austin City Council has also approved a plan for Austin to achieve net-zero community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Popham said smart grid technology will be key to achieving this goal. He said smart grid technology gives Austin Energy a way to combine the advantages of centralized power generation and with the benefits of distributed generation.
Austin is known for its green spaces the city parks department is counting on the internet of things to keep parks safe. The parks department would like to see free public Wi-Fi in the parks that connects to first responders, smart lighting on the city’s running trails, and park restrooms that could alert rangers if the door jammed shut.
