Malaysia smart city effort focused on urban sustainability
Japan’s NTT Group aims to launch what it claims to be one of Asia’s first smart city proofs-of-concept (PoC) in the city of Cyberjaya, in Malaysia, this month, the company said in a statement.
The initiative is part of the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ 2019 project called “Research on Smart City Model for Solving Social Problems in Malaysia,” based on the smart city initiatives which have been already launched in partnership with the city of Las Vegas, in the United States.
Through this smart city PoC, NTT Group aims to establish a sustainable business model while verifying the possibility of solving social issues in Asia, utilizing the technologies and know-how accumulated in the smart city field in the United States.
Cyberjaya is a neighboring city of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, and has attracted many ICT companies. In addition, recent 5G network trials has positioned Cyberjaya as a pioneer test area for the smart city concept in Malaysia, the Japanese company noted.
Through field tests using the technology and know-how of smart city solutions which NTT Group has deployed with the city of Las Vegas since 2018, NTT Group aims to improve the living conditions of citizens and the sustainability of cities through smart cities using ICT.
During the field test, based on the vehicle-monitoring solution that has been provided in the city of Las Vegas since February 2019, NTT Group will customize and provide similar solutions to support the needs of local stakeholders. Specifically, by installing cameras at the intersection with the highest traffic volume in Cyberjaya, and analyzing traffic volume and vehicle information, NTT Group aims to reduce traffic congestion, detect stolen vehicles, and support the creation of businesses in the neighborhood.
Based on the results of the field test above, NTT and local stakeholders will analyze the challenges and feasibility of smart city solutions deployed in Las Vegas in terms of system construction and operational aspects in Malaysia, as well as the possibilities of deployment in other ASEAN countries.
“Based on the results of the PoC, NTT Group will promote the deployment of smart city solutions to Cyberjaya and other cities in Malaysia, as well as to ASEAN countries, with the aim of improving people’s living conditions, improving urban sustainability, and realizing a smart society,” NTT said.
In December 2018, the state of Nevada, city of Las Vegas and NTT Group had reached an agreement to advance and accelerate smart technologies, following a smart city proof-of-concept initiative that began in September 2018.
Under the agreement, NTT Group provided commercial smart city solutions to Las Vegas.
The solution deployed by NTT in Las Vegas is a distributed platform that deploys micro-data centers and sensors in the designated area to improve situational awareness through video and sound data, while also integrating historical data sources, such as crime, weather and social media data. By leveraging cognitive analytics, including NTT Group’s corevo artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, the system learns normal patterns and can detect and alert the authorities of patterns that appear abnormal to reduce response times for first responders, NTT said.
The smart city solution is built on NTT’s innovative Cognitive Foundation architecture, which enables remote creation, management and operation of information and communications technology (ICT) resources, from devices and networks to the cloud. It also incorporates Dell EMC’s hyperconverged infrastructure and IoT gateways, as well as VMware’s virtualization software hosting predictive analytics applications.
