Grant: CCI Applied Research and Development Grants

Smart Cities provide opportunities for innovation and digital transformation in our society. In academia, a smart city is defined as “a city that combines information and communication technologies with human and social capital and public institutions to dynamize its economic, social, environmental, and cultural development”. Emerging artificial intelligence (AI) and web technologies are shaping how smart cities are evolving. Citizen engagement is increasingly becoming an important aspect of smart cities. This engagement is not just with city citizens, but also with the entire urban ecosystem, including city workers, visitors, and businesses. Urban data that is presented in a visual, intuitive, and readily available fashion via interactive web dashboards fosters good relationships with citizens in public matters. The available urban data is huge and unstructured. It is a challenge to visualize so much data in a static or dynamic form. In this proposal, Sheridan’s Centre for Mobile Innovation (CMI), with its experience and expertise in the field of data visualization, web application development and cloud computing, will collaborate with Geotab on the Citizen Insights project, which is composed of the MyGeotab software platform and GO devices. Data collected from GO devices and urban sensors will be used in the project to provide insights into traffic and pedestrian flow, hazardous intersections and roadways, the condition of the roads, etc. The progressive web app will provide up-to-date access to the status and location of operational fleet vehicles such as snowplows, salt/sand spreaders and waste management. Designed especially for the state, provincial, and local government agencies, the Citizen Insights solution will help maintain an open line of communication with citizens while improving safety and transparency. This project will benefit both Geotab and Sheridan. Geotab will integrate the developed prototypes into its Citizen Insights solution, increasing its client base and revenue. Sheridan students will gain valuable skills through their involvement as Research Assistants and interaction with the Geotab team. The project will also benefit Canadian society through improved citizen engagement and increased accountability and transparency.