Amazon leads Greek ‘smart island’ project

A pilot project on the Greek island of Naxos, led by Amazon Web Services (AWS), will trial drone deliveries, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and more.

The Smart Island project was designed in collaboration with 20 Greek and international companies and developed with the support of the Greek government, local authorities and the US Embassy.

The pilot aims to address some of the specific challenges faced by Naxos and other Greek islands. Limited transport options to the main settlement Chora can be a barrier to accessing health services. Infrastructure like the road network, the local marina, car parks, water supply, waste management and power generation can also struggle to meet demand, especially during the summer.

The Amazon-led initiative will introduce solutions such as vessel monitoring and reporting, drones for medical deliveries, smart parking sensors and a telemedicine service.

The marina, energy grid and water management systems will also be upgraded with IoT and digital infrastructure.

In addition, public officials, civil servants and residents will be offered training to improve their digital skills.

Island challenges

In a blog post, Cameron Brooks, Director of Public Sector (Europe) at Amazon Web Services, said: “Due to their geography, islands face several challenges. Often, they are dependent on fossil fuels for energy, bear high transportation and connectivity costs, and have limited economic diversification. However, geography also makes islands ideal laboratories for technological, environmental and economic innovation.

“The Smart Island project will act as a test bed for innovative technology that may help other remote communities around the world overcome similar challenges.”

Naxos is the largest island in the Cyclades and was chosen for the pilot due to factors such as its size, location and internet connectivity.

It is home to 22,000 residents and welcomes more than 130,000 tourists during the summer.

The Naxos Smart Island project will be built around the AWS Smart Territory Framework, which combines AWS services with the global industry standards and open source offerings of the FIWARE ecosystem.

“This will maximise benefits for the citizens of Naxos by allowing non-personally identifiable information (PII) data to be securely and simply shared between government departments and external organisations,” Brooks said.

Partners

The project was developed with the support of the Greek government, the South Aegean Region, and the Municipality of Naxos and Small Cyclades. Other organisations involved with the project include Aegean Neorion Center, Altus LSA, Cisco, Cyclades Chamber of Commerce, CyTech, Deloitte, eFood, ELTA, Eunice Energy Group, Eurobank, Hellenic Space Center, Greek Manpower Organization (DYPA), IoTech, Lambda Automata, National Centre of Scientific Research Demokritos, Network of Sustainable Greek Islands (DAFNI), Nova, Onex Technologies, OTE Academy, SaMMy, Sparkworks, Travelotopos, and Vodafone.

Greece’s Minister of State and Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis said: “This is a great effort that starts from here.”

He said the Naxos project is an example of Greek companies, multinational and domestic start-ups, and state, local and central government working together, and could serve as a case study in Greece and internationally.