Two hours from Warsaw, the town of Kazimierz Dolny has hardly changed since the Renaissance, when it thrived as centre for the grain trade. T-Mobile Poland has just announced plans to make it the country’s “first multifaceted smart city”.
Deutsche Telekom, parent of T-Mobile Poland, has said little of the technologies and partners that will help it drive this digital transformation. But the plans bring together no fewer than a dozen smart city solutions – according to its parent’s maths, at least.
Most of these are familiar, already; they follow the template set down by the most successful smart city deployments around the world, invariably revolving around lighting upgrades. Nevertheless, the Deutsche Telekom strategy in Poland looks up-to-date, and comprehensive enough.
Here is a rundown…
1. Traffic updates. T-Mobile Poland will use big data technology to analyse vehicle and pedestrian movements, and provide drivers with live traffic updates.
2. Easy parking. Drivers will get alerts and directions to free parking – congestion and emissions will be reduced, and everyone will be quicker about town.
3. Clean air. Sensors will be deployed to identify harmful emissions; the city will be able to make plans because of the scores.
4. High security. Forty video cameras will be installed in the town centre; advanced algorithms will detect incidents, from social unrest and affray to emergency scenarios (everything from feinting to larger-scale attacks).
5. Bright lights. Light intensity will automatically adjust according to the season and time of day; faults in the system will be automatically detected.
6. Tourist info. Forty Wi-Fi hotspots in the town’s most visited areas will put info at visitors’ fingertips – and allow businesses to advertise. Crossover with numbers 9 and 10.
7. Bike hire. The city is making available 60 bikes and electric vehicles to rent, to complement public transport and ease mobility.
8. Car charging. Three electric vehicle charging stations are to be installed as apart of an “ecological public vehicle system”.
9. Tech Support (part 3; see entries 6 and 9). Solar-powered bus shelters and benches will enable locals and tourists to charge their phones, access Wi-Fi, and check bus schedules.
10. Digital screens. Digital screens (this time) will display info about the weather, points of interest, or, even, emergency situations, as well as relevant messages from the city administration. Crossover with 6 and 9.
11. City dashboard. A dashboard for the city, providing comprehensive management of all of the a above solutions.
12. TBC. Unclear; the Deutsche-Telekom dozen stops here.
But one might easily throw in any number of ‘soft’ benefits associated with the above-listed applications just to make up the numbers, including the hard-to-calculate impacts on the local economy, through greater productivity and even innovation.
There should probably be a smart grabage application in there, too – to stand alongside parking and lighting and round out the holy trinity of smart-city functions in Kazimierz Dolny.
