Glasgow to embark on £24million smart technology programme

Glasgow is embarking on an ambitious £24million programme aimed at using technology to make life in the city smarter, safer and more sustainable. Glasgow City Council received the funding for the initiative after beating 29 other cities to win The Future Cities Demonstrator, a country-wide competition run by the Technology Strategy Board, the UK Government’s innovation agency

“Winning this funding was a major coup for Glasgow,” said Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of the Demonstrator programme. “Now we’re putting the teams and infrastructure in place to realise the potential of a hugely ambitious and far reaching programme, which will permeate all sectors of city life. This programme may be in its infancy but, once complete, we hope it will provide a blueprint for other cities to follow.”

The initiative will see a state-of-the-art technology operations hub created in the East End headquarters of Glasgow Community & Safety Services (GCSS). Intelligent public space CCTV cameras will also replace the existing out-dated network and their operators will be based in the new hub alongside specialists from TRAFFCOM, the team in charge of the city’s traffic lights and traffic cameras.

“As a society we are generating more data than at any time in history, and by harnessing that knowledge we can improve the lives of Glasgow residents, the environment and the economy,” said Councillor Matheson. “Glasgow is keen to embrace new technologies and create a forward thinking environment, which will attract businesses from that sector, creating jobs with long term prospects.”

Glasgow will get more than 400 new digital cameras, whose advanced technology could help avert potential disasters. The cameras can be programmed to automatically detect unusual activity, for example someone leaving a box or bag unattended. Suspicious instances will trigger an alarm prompting further investigation by the emergency services.

The Future Cities Demonstrator programme is looking to work in partnership with public and private sector agencies providing a range of services to the city. They include Glasgow City Council, Police Scotland, housing providers, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, universities, energy providers and Scottish Enterprise.