Smart cities or intelligent cities are not only about technology improving city services, but they are about improving the community experience as you live, work, and play. Yes, much has changed over the past 18 months, but city projects are moving forward and with a boost of energy because of the pandemic and new funding sources. The industry as a whole is finding new project opportunities centered around automation, remote operations, contactless services, public health and safety, and new ways to deliver legacy services to avoid the face-to-face interaction for safety purposes. A few key technologies directly aiding in smart city initiatives include Internet of Things (sensors, connecting assets, tracking assets, real-time alerting or intelligence), mobile applications, augmented or virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

Historically, smart city projects have centered around traffic management, smart lighting, and city asset management, and while those areas are expected to continue to be areas of focus, new use cases are coming into the mix. Under the American Rescue Plan and Coronavirus Relief Fund (CARES ACT), cities and public schools are receiving emergency funding to support in projects related to safety, healthcare, and administering city services in new and safe ways.
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A week ago, I sat down virtually with Brandon Branham, Chief Technology Officer and Assistant City Manager of Peachtree Corners (PTC, one of the first cities in the United States powered by real-world smart city infrastructure, which also features ‘Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners’) to get an update on all of the progress being made in making the city smarter, more interactive, and inviting to technology innovators around the globe. Peachtree Corners launched an innovative living smart city lab about 1 year back that leverages autonomous technology, IoT, AI, machine learning, edge computing, virtual reality, and other advanced technologies to advance city operations, mobility, and introduce economic development.

Some of the more interesting key facts about PTC include the following:

• A 17 square mile city located in the state of Georgia
• 3-mile Autonomous Zone and Roadway Track (1.5 mile autonomous test track with driverless vehicles interacting with and driving alongside driven vehicles and everyday residents)
• Living Test Environment (city-owned smart city connectivity/infrastructure, roadway, 5G connectivity, equipment, etc.)
• A 500 acre office park houses ‘Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners’
• 8K employees with 1K residents residing within the 500-acre office park
• Level 5 autonomous shuttle tested from September 2020 to February 2021, partnering with Local Motors (Olli electric shuttle); actual residents utilized the shuttle on real roads while the company engaged in intensive technology development, invaluable learnings in a real-world environment, etc. 
• Sprint 5G upgraded in April, now T-Mobile

PTC has a long list of accomplishments, powered by the innovation lab and a host of advances technologies to test real-life smart city and urban mobility use cases. The city is also testing edge compute, a hot topic of discussion across the IoT sector. More specifically, PTC is using edge computing to analyze pedestrian and other road activities across a 3-mile stretch. This technology will also allow the teleoperation of e-scooters –delivered and ready/waiting for passengers at bus stops and where people will most likely need and use them. They are also deployed  autonomous technology where the scooters will drive themselves back to the charging hub, which has long been a problem in cities where scooters are left all over the city and not in the proper location.
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Below is a video that will showcase some of the advancements being made at PTC and within Curiosity Labs. 
​Living Lab of today brings to life technology of tomorrow from Tytan Pictures on Vimeo.

The innovation being embraced at PTC comes with the value it is placing in partnerships, leading technology company initiatives, and the live testing environment it provides to tech companies, OEMs, and startups around the globe. They currently have roughly 10 vendors with 15 different device types generating data across their network across around 15 or so different software systems. On the embracing of global companies, it is also working with a Tel Aviv company called IPgallery, that brings together city insights and intelligence using a real-time AI data platform that provides visualization (visual map) across PTC to monitor, analyze and secure all IoT devices across the ecosystem, buses, cameras, applications, etc. In addition, traffic flow and pattern data are being collected to adjust and make real-time rerouting decisions to improve public transportation.

PTC recently announced a partnership with Bosch, where they are implementing a sensor connected intersection and intelligent traffic management system to capture video including vehicle identification, vehicle recognition of objects (car, bus, scooters with drivers or without, pedestrians, etc. using machine vision). This partnership will allow real-time adjustments to traffic signaling, share the flow of traffic activity, and identify the type of vehicle in that flow for improved traffic management. PTC's Curiosity Lab will allow for a living city environment for Bosch to leverage its leading edge solution within a live, real municipality.

A few other projects on the horizon include the following:

• Solar powered Roadway system, including vehicle charging with solar energy partnering with French company, Wattway 
• IoT Sensor system for environmental monitoring utilizing data collected from vehicle traffic, with the use of VR and GPS location technology
• Visual and Digital Display technology showing real-time alerts and messaging to pedestrians, drivers, and city residents
• Cybersecurity initiative at the Innovation Center (Lab) partnering with the Secret Service with on-site training and simulation
• Fully cellular Smart Lighting and Camera solution partnering with CIMCOM Lighting, using edge computing technologies.
• Predictive Analytics and AI engine partnering with Derq (grant initiative), focused on pedestrian and roadside safety

All of these activities would not be anywhere without the public-private partnerships (3Ps) in place. PTC has a process to test in their live environment, receive funding from 3rd parties or commercial entities (for some projects), decide on whether the project is scalable, and then the city decides and will invest as needed. This is a prime example of how business and government can and should work together to advance the smart city vision.

On a final note, below is a list of key differentiators that enable PTC be the groundbreaking innovator in smart city solutions:

• Live 5G wireless environment (launched by Sprint last year – now T-Mobile), provided to companies testing IoT/smart technologies in the city, completely free of charge.
• The City Government is the only governmental agency that needs to approve deploying/testing/developing IoT technologies. They are all in: they move fast, much like a startup (rare for government)
• Not charging technology companies for the use of the smart city ecosystem/infrastructure. Completely free of charge.
• Peachtree Corners does not require intellectual property rights when companies invent, develop, etc. technologies there.
  • Respecting proprietary data (IoT and otherwise) that’s created/generated at the city (there is a central control room where data is collected and analyzed, for example).  
• A world-first: general liability insurance for the driven traffic, in addition to the driverless traffic. provided by Lloyds of London 

 
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