Global challenge launched to create smart cities

The US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and several partners have kicked off the year-long Global City Teams Challenge to help communities around the world work together to address issues ranging from air quality to traffic management to emergency services coordination.

NIST is inviting communities and innovators to create teams that will foster the spread of smart cities that take advantage of networked technologies to better manage resources and improve quality of life.

“Many established cities have similar goals of improving air quality or delivering better health care–and emerging regions want to be smart from the start. But those projects often address only one city or region at a time,” said Chris Greer, Director of NIST’s Smart Grid and Cyber-Physical Systems Program Office. “The Global City Teams Challenge will help communities around the world work together on shared challenges. They will identify standards and measurements to guide technology innovators in creating solutions that can work anywhere and lay the groundwork for a future of smarter cities.”

The Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) will support the challenge by assisting US companies that want to export their products or services overseas for the first time or expand their international client base, and by connecting participants with government officials around the world.

Smart cities rely on effective networking of computer systems and physical devices. These Internet of Things (IoT) and cyber-physical systems (CPS) currently account for more than US$32 trillion in global economic activity, a number that is projected to grow as they bring improvements to health care, advanced manufacturing and a host of other industries.

“The challenge will be a good opportunity for public chief technology officers and private industry innovators to come together,” Greer added. “Participating will help cities and innovators use IoT and CPS concepts in ways that improve quality of life in urban centres and also bring improvements to agriculture, manufacturing, transport and more.”

The challenge will begin from 29 September, 2014, with a two-day workshop at NIST’s Gaithersburg campus that will bring together city planners and representatives from technology companies, academic institutions and nonprofits. The challenge is open to participants around the world, and international representatives will be able to participate in the opening meeting via webcast.

To support the challenge, NIST has teamed with US Ignite, a nonprofit focused on the creation of next-generation Internet applications and from the private sector, Intel, IBM, Juniper Networks, Extreme Networks and ARM Holdings.

To register for the September 2014 workshop see: http://www.nist.gov/cps/global-city-teams-challenge-workshop.cfm.