Peter J. McNerney and Ning Zhang. 2011. Smarter Cities: Making societies smarter. XRDS 18, 2 (December 2011), 48-48. DOI=10.1145/2043236.2071895 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2043236.2071895
Abstract: In this article we outline the technological characteristics and features of “smart cities,” describe how these are being implemented in the real-world, and explore some of the challenges these characteristics present to communications technologies.
Using ICT to improve the multiple facets of cities has, rather obviously, captured the attention of some of the giants within the computing industry. IBM and Cisco are both involved in the creation and deployment of smart city technologies. IBM’s Smarter Cities initiative is a component of its larger Smarter Planet initiative. Smarter Cities looks at how increasingly populated cities can be better equipped technologically to drive a more prosperous and sustainable future. The main focus of the initiative is to build intelligence into a city’s interconnected smart systems. In doing so, IBM hopes people and objects can interact in new ways in order to deliver greater prosperity to citizens.
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As older technologies are used in new ways and as new technologies continue to enter our lives and our cities, the threat landscape associated with these technologies continues to change. Mitigating the effects of new and evolving threats is a necessity in smart cities, since technology is at the core of what makes these cities “smart.” Moreover, with the potential for an increasing use of monitoring technologies in our homes and in our bodies, the preservation of people’s privacy is paramount. Generating and maintaining people’s confidence in smart city technologies requires security issues to be addressed; security is likely to be a key driver of people’s acceptance of the ever-expanding role that computing technologies play in their day-to-day lives.
So where do all of these smart city technologies get us? We—society—probably won’t get far unless the users and beneficiaries of these technologies know how to exploit them to their full potential. To quote a key tenet of the Manchester SMARTiP project, “Smart cities require ‘smart citizens’ if they are to be truly inclusive, innovative and sustainable.” Advances in technology should be mirrored with advances in citizens’ acceptance of and interaction with such technologies. The landscape of smart cities may therefore contain challenges and hurdles that are not solely of a technical nature. Computer scientists continue to develop the technologies of tomorrow to help meet the social, economic, and environmental targets of today; but the effective use of these smart city technologies rests in the hands of governments, businesses, and citizens, who must be empowered to cultivate a sustainable existence for today, tomorrow, and beyond.
Cisco Smart+Connected Communities
http://www.cisco.com/web/strategy/smart_connected_communities.html
via Mashable
The Kapten PLUS Personal Navigation Device
The DynaVox EyeMax System
The Car for the Blind
Google’s Driverless Car
The DEKA Robotic Arm
Cochlear Implant
The iBot Stair-Climbing Wheelchair
Tanya Shaw is trying to implement a fitting system to give shoppers an idea of what size they should try on first in various stores. Her company MyBestFit is setting up airport-like body scanning kiosks in malls that measure people with radio waves and record about 200,000 body measurements. The system matches these numbers to clothes in its database and gives customers a list of items that should fit. Currently there’s only one kiosk in a Pennsylvania mall, but there are plans to expand to 13 more locations on the East Coast and in California by the end of the year. (via Jezebel: A Full Body Scan Might Help You Find Pants That Actually Fit)
02.28.11 @ 16:33♥3
Women 2.0 Incubating Women Entrepreneurs
Recognizing the importance of incubator and accelerator programs that support women entrepreneurs, Women 2.0 Labs is a pre-incubator for men and women. The mission of Women 2.0 “is to increase the number of female founders of technology startups, by enabling entrepreneurs with a network, resources and knowledge to take your startup from an idea to launch.”
Women 2.0 Labs is a five-week program - “five engineers, five more engineers, five designers, five business mavens, five teams, five weeks, five days a week, five product releases, five minimal viable products released.” The teams are formed organically at the start of the program, and by its end are hopefully in the position to apply to an incubator program or be ready to launch. The program takes place in the evenings and on weekends, so that participants can keep their “day jobs.” Visiting advisors have included Steve Blank, Eric Ries, Dave McClure, Ann Muira-Koo, Mari Baker, and Theresia Gouw-Ranzetta.
02.27.11 @ 12:28♥8
via ComputerworldPressed for higher productivity, yet pinched by flat wages, many IT workers are ready to pop.
via Computer WorldWomen in mid-management are leaving IT at an alarming rate. The tough economy may be a help — or a hindrance — in keeping them
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