What? Smart Cities Case study – SmartSantander

Telefonica’s role? Telefónica is the Programme lead for ‘SmartSantander’, one of the world’s largest wireless sensor networks for M2M experimentation.

How? Over 12,000 sensors are currently installed across the city, measuring everything from light, pressure, CO2 levels, humidity to the movement of people and cars. In its current phase, a significant number of buses, taxis and police cars can transmit their position, mileage, and speed, as well as data from the environment (pollution levels etc). People can even become sensors if they download a special app to their GPS-enabled smartphone.

A central computer compiles the data into one big picture that is constantly updated and allows for the following types of services:

• Real-time view of traffic jams and available car parking
• See where the air quality is bad or noise and ozone levels are exceeding EU limits
• Remotely dim street lamps on an empty street or when there is a full moon, and automatically order new bulbs when needed
• Optimise the amount of watering in city parks so no water is wasted
• Collect garbage from bins only when full

Benefits to the city:

• Real time view of key city metrics – make better decisions
• Better planning of available resources
• Maintenance savings due to process efficiencies
• Publish data – become more accountable

Benefits to citizens:

• Your smartphone becomes a remote control for your city:
• Plan your travel routes based on real time traffic info
• Easily find available parking
• See on a map where the next bus on your route is
• See on a map areas to avoid if you have conditions like Asthma that are badly affected by high levels of pollution
• Report things like potholes with one click
• Access to city data – residents can see how quickly before the pothole was fixed