Commercial buildings move to IoT adoption phase

smart building IoT

The number of internet of things (IoT) connected devices installed in commercial smart buildings reached more than 1.5 billion in 2022, according to smart building research specialist Memoori. This represents around 11.8 per cent of the total installed base of connected devices worldwide. It forecasts that the number used in commercial smart buildings will grow at a 13.7 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2023 and 2028, reaching an estimated 3.25 billion devices by 2028. IoT adoption phase Memoori reports that growth in the total installed base is…

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Dubai launches citizen engagement platform

Dubai digital city

Dubai is launching a platform to encourage citizens to provide feedback and contribute to enhancing its government services. The platform will allow officials and stakeholders to directly receive and respond to customers’ opinions, suggestions, and ideas and any challenges they may face through a three-step process. Digital Dubai The launch of 04 platform aligns with Dubai’s 360 Services policy, which places customers at the heart of developing government services and provides them with a unified platform to voice their opinions, offer suggestions and raise any challenges or complaints. It was…

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Neom progresses circular water economy strategy

Neom

The Saudi Arabian greenfield development of Neom has chosen Worley to provide engineering and advisory services to its energy and water company, Enowa. It will provide the water supply infrastructure that will deliver up to two million cubic meters of desalinated water per day to the site, which will include The Line smart city development. Water infrastructure projects The project scopes relate to water production, brine beneficiation, management, and storage. The water infrastructure projects will be powered by renewable electricity, and the desalination process will not discharge any brine into…

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EHang conducts first autonomous passenger flight over Japan

The electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), the EH216

The electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft flew along the coastline of Tanoura Beach in Oita city, carrying two passengers and without a pilot. Urban air mobility (UAM) technology platform provider EHang has completed its first passenger-carrying autonomous flight demonstration in Japan. The electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), the EH216, flew along the coastline of Tanoura Beach in Oita city. Autonomous air mobility In July 2022, EH216 completed Japan’s first eVTOL point-to-point demonstration flight for air mobility in Oita City, Oita Prefecture. EHang and its partner, Okayama Kurashiki…

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Zimbabwe breaks ground on $500m smart city near Harare

Zim Cyber City

Mount Hampden, New Harare, has broken ground on a new $500m (Dh1.83bn) hi-tech park near the Zimbabwean capital Harare. Zim Cyber City, being developed by UAE-based diversified industrial conglomerate Mulk International is currently under construction. Mixed-use development The master plan for the 2.5 million square feet mixed-use development includes a newly completed parliament building, ministry buildings as well as high-end residential and commercial buildings. Zim Cyber City will facilitate the use of blockchain and digital assets licences, bank accounts, office space and high-end residential living for all entities and individuals…

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Seoul launches first phase of its metaverse

RoadMap Metaverse Seoul

The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) is officially launching the first service phase of its virtual municipal world, Metaverse Seoul. It purports to be the first-ever platform of its kind globally, after having undergone a beta test of various administrative services such as economy, education, and tax affairs. Metaverse Seoul SMG said Metaverse Seoul is designed to provide various public services while focusing on “freedom, inclusion, and connection” as the three core values of the platform. It aims to establish a hyper-realistic community space of creativity and communication that is accessible…

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Is this the smartest, most sustainable cycleway in the world?

The Loop Dubai

Dubai has unveiled The Loop, a 93 km sustainable urban highway that aims to become the smartest cycling and running infrastructure in the world and which aligns with the emirate’s 20-minute city initiative. Designed by sustainable cities developer Urb, it seeks to connect more than three million residents with a healthy mode of transport and key services and locations within minutes. Climate controlled environment The Loop will provide a climate controlled all-year environment, to make walking and cycling the primary mode of transport for Dubai’s residents for daily commutes for…

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Micromobility alliance publishes incident data on e-scooters

2021 Incidents with personal damage on shared e-scooters in Europe

Micro-Mobility for Europe (MMfE), the EU association of shared micromobility providers, is releasing incident data involving shared e-scooters in Europe. The aggregated data is based on the usage of e-scooters from its six founding members of Bird, Bolt, Dott, Lime, Tier and Voi. Road safety policies The association has published a factsheet of the data and hopes such transparency will inform road safety policies that reduce incident risks for vulnerable road users, such as e-scooter riders, cyclists, pedestrians, in close collaboration with EU and local authorities. Based on over 240…

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Strategic alliance to deploy EV chargers in Latin America

Blink Charging Latin America

Blink Charging has announced a collaborative agreement with Citybest, a transport mobility app, to deploy electric vehicle (EV) chargers in Latin America and help advance the EV charging ecosystem in the region. Initially, 70 EV chargers are scheduled for installation through this alliance in Mexico and Chile to help meet driver demands – according to Americas Market Intelligence data more than one million electric vehicles will be sold in LatAm by 2030. Free charging Through the agreement with Citybest, Blink will install 50 Blink MQ 200 chargers at hotel chains…

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Soofa enhances hyperlocal content with Facebook widget

Soofa Brings Facebook to the Sidewalk

Soofa, a provider of solar-powered street-level furniture used for outdoor advertising and smart city communication, has introduced a feature allowing city landowners to display Facebook updates to passersby. According to Soofa, as many cities and municipalities use Facebook to communicate with constituents in their community, the ability to share current Facebook updates at eye-level to passersby in the right-of-way adds another level of connectivity with community members. Hyperlocal content It also reinforces the power of hyperlocal content that attracts people to the signs’ 42-inch electronic ink displays, Soofa claims, making…

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EHang to create urban air applications demo area in Qingdao

Qingdao West Coast New Area in China

Autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) company EHang is partnering with Qingdao West Coast New Area in China to create an urban air mobility (UAM) applications demonstration area. The AAV company will also establish a Northeast Asia regional headquarters as well as a national firefighting business centre in the area. Smart urban air mobility solutions Qingdao West Coast New Area is one of China’s national new areas in Shandong province. It will facilitate the local governments’ applications of EHang’s full range of products while providing support to the company’s local business operations,…

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Cologne deploys GeoAI for municipal wastewater management

Cologne Germany

The German city of Cologne has deployed a geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) digital twin solution for streamlining the its wastewater operations. The solution automatically detects changes in paved surfaces that affect drainage, enabling Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln, AöR (Cologne StEB), Cologne’s municipal wastewater authority, to calculate wastewater taxes on private lands more efficiently. Labour-intensive Prior to the use of Hexagon’s GeoAI, the tax assessment process was labour-intensive. Property owners rarely reported the addition or removal of paved areas, requiring Cologne StEB to collect and record data manually, then validate the information with…

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Green urban infrastructure spend to reach $978bn by 2030

The Ellinikon

Global public and private investment levels in green urban infrastructure are expected to increase from $606bn in 2022 to $978bn in 2030 across a wide range of green assets, according to new research. The extent of this includes city parks, urban forests, blue spaces such as ponds and lakes, rooftop gardens, green walls and buildings, and pedestrianised green streets as part of new urban concepts. Neom Regreening Example projects from global technology intelligence firm ABI Research’s Green Urban Infrastructure report are the green makeover of the Champs Élysées in Paris…

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China plans world’s largest driverless ride-hailing area

China autonomous city

Artificial intelligence company Baidu has announced plans to build what it claims will be the world’s largest autonomous ride-hailing service area in 2023. The plans outline a goal to expand the operation area for its fully driverless robotaxis, allowing Baidu company to reach more potential customers. Driverless ride-hailing cities Since August 2022, Baidu has operated fully driverless ride-hailing services in the cities of Chongqing and Wuhan, with access to hundreds of square kilometres of operational area. It will continue to expand on this area next year. Additionally, Baidu revealed a…

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Energy costs expediting move toward more efficient buildings

buildings clima energy

Rates of Retrofitting buildings, considered essential to reduce energy costs and help combat the global energy crisis, need to treble to meet the goals in the Paris Agreement, according to new research. JLL’s Retrofitting Buildings to be Future-Fit research warns that net-zero carbon (NZC) intervention measures directly impact a building’s bottom line and that failing to decarbonise leads to “significant financial risk”. Decarbonisation targets For many buildings, meeting 2050 decarbonisation targets put forward in the Paris Climate Agreement is grounded in retrofitting current spaces, which can also garner higher rents,…

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