Project

Preliminary Study SCiLABS

Smart City Labs Ruhr

DigitalisationEnergyMobility

A current path to holistic and sustainable urban development is the transition to the smart city, the digitally connected city of tomorrow. The objective of the preliminary study SCiLABS is to identify research needs in the field of smart cities, as preparation for a following project: the creation of a smart city IT platform.

Starting Point

A current path to holistic and sustainable urban development is the transition to the smart city, the digitally connected city of tomorrow. This is happening within the context of urbanisation, digitalisation, and diverse interconnection, which today presents cities with immense challenges, such as how to handle the social, demographic, climate, and digital revolutions. The uncertainties deriving from these processes affect municipalities and require adjustments in their institutions. Their objectives are improving the quality of life, reducing the use of resources, and positively developing the technological revolution.

Our Solution

The objective of the preliminary study SCiLABS is to identify research needs in the field of smart cities, as preparation for a following project: the creation of a smart city IT platform. For this purpose, major elements of a smart city research laboratory are being built, which should function as a collaborative space for actors from the economy, the scientific community, and public and municipal institutions. In the future, it will be used to explore and develop smart energy and smart mobility use cases, based on the current state of science and technology; these can be used as input for a business cases development. To this end, elements of interconnected living laboratories in urban areas, such as devices and sensors, will be used to gather the necessary data. Using a client-server model for data (sensor) transmission and 3D visualisations for buildings and city neighbourhoods, the project also explores digital twin investigative approaches.