We visited the Siemens City of the Future recently to learn more about Siemens’ portfolio of innovative solutions for a sustainable future. City of the Future was inaugurated in March 2009 at the Siemens Center in Singapore, led by Siemens’ Center of Competence for City Management and working with other business divisions. It includes a public gallery and the City Management Solutions Center.
At the public gallery outside, visitors can use the interactive UBIQ touch screens to navigate the content using their fingers, like Tom Cruise in Minority Report. The gallery showcases Siemens’ innovative portfolio of Green, Smart, Mobile and Safe city solutions.
Inside the City Management Solutions Center, we found several interactive applications on city management:
City Game
This interactive game is to help participants understand the importance of cross-functional collaboration across city departments and agencies, when building and managing a sustainable city. They must consider aspects such as water, energy, transportation, finance and security, which is dynamic and changes according to the decisions made.
Green IT Solutions
A holistic approach towards exploiting IT across communication, energy, real estate and other platforms can help individuals and companies reduce costs and be green at the same time. One solution is the use of smart energy meters and appliances that can monitor energy and water consumption, and suggest usage during periods when the energy prices are lower.
Smart Solutions
City authorities can use information technology to help deal with the complex and growing challenges within a city. One solution is the City Cockpit, which is an integrated Management Information and Decision Support System to assist authorities in managing the growth of a city based upon key performance indicators such as traffic, environment, and finance, and to ensure that the city is sustainable for the future.
Mobile Solutions
Mobile solutions, from intelligent real-time information systems and fleet management for public transportation to traffic offence management, can help to reduce a city’s transportation and congestion problems. One solution is the Mobile Parking, which allows car users to pay for parking fees using their mobile phones, instead of using parking coupons. This solution is convenient for car users, and helps the authorities to reduce the infrastructure and maintenance costs.
After touring the Siemens City of the Future, we gained new and better insights on how cities can manage their challenges and growth, and plan for a sustainable future through the use of innovative IT solutions across different industries and platforms. We look forward to seeing some of those solutions being implemented in Singapore in the near future.
Source and images credit: Siemens Pte Ltd
