Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs has shelved its controversial Toronto smart city plans, citing the impact of coronavirus and “unprecedented economic uncertainty”. The abrupt announcement marks the end of a project that had been delayed several times and received strong criticism in some quarters from citizens and privacy campaigners to its own advisors. The project, dubbed Quayside, had aimed to transform Toronto’s Waterfront area into a smart city delivering the likes of autonomous cars, intelligent rubbish collection, smart air quality measurement and heated streets. Waterfront Toronto, which was created by the…

The largest 314 cities in the US (those with over 100,000 residents) are converting to LED streetlights and interest in connected or smart street lights has nearly tripled, according to a report. The Northeast Group also reports that the US is projected to invest $8.2bn in street light modernisation over the next decade. Smart city building block Smart street lighting is generally regarded as one of the fundamental building blocks of smart cities. And such initiatives are becoming more important than ever to help build resilience and achieve cost-savings for…

The autonomous aerial technology platform company will build the e-port in the city of Hezhou in China’s Guangxi Province to accelerate the commercialisation of AAVs in the tourism industry. Autonomous aerial technology platform company, EHang, is to build what claims to be the world’s first e-port for autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) services in the city of Hezhou in China’s Guangxi Province. EHang will cooperate with a local partner to build the e-port, which will accelerate the commercialisation of EHang AAVs in the tourism industry. Tourism innovation The city of Hezhou…

China-based Ping An Smart Healthcare, an affiliate of Ping An Smart City, has launched a smart audio screening system for COVID-19, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) to strengthen epidemic control and prevention. It claims to have already used the technology to complete over 580,000 screenings in 47,000 households in 17 communities in Wuhan, and successfully identified more than 1,600 suspected cases for tracking. Smart healthcare Ping An Smart Healthcare is available to nearly 800 million people in more than 70 cities in China and Southeast…

The Dutch Government plans to double green energy subsidies to €4 billion in 2020, from a previously planned €2 billion to meet its promise to cut CO2 emissions. Eric Wiebes, minister for economic affairs and climate policy, and member of the cabinet of the Netherlands, wrote to parliament explaining the measure was aimed at reducing CO2 emissions by 25 per cent by the end of 2020. Energy transition “There are a large number of projects that can offer a cost-effective contribution to further development, making the energy transition more sustainable,”…

Five cities in New York State will be chosen as smart city testbeds with funding support of up to $2 million. The smart cities programme has been launched by New York State’s economic development organisation, Empire State Development, in collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority. Designated smart cities Five cities will be designated smart cities and work with technology companies and academic experts throughout the state. They will use emerging technologies to improve government services and citizens’ quality of life. Local governments can apply to be a designated testbed site…