San Diego, CA pioneers IoT platform
The City is repurposing streetlights to build the world’s largest municipal IoT network.
Newsworthy
From Light To Bright: San Diego Is Building The World's Largest Municipal Internet Of Things | GE News
From Light To Bright: San Diego Is Building The World's Largest Municipal Internet Of Things
From Light To Bright: San Diego Is Building The World's Largest Municipal Internet Of Things | GE News
San Diego Aims to Set the Pace for Smart City Networks
The announcement by the City of San Diego that it will deploy over 3,000 smart sensors as part of an ambitious upgrade to its street lighting system provides evidence that we are on the cusp of a new phase for smart street lighting and city networks.
San Diego Aims to Set the Pace for Smart City Networks
Highlights
San Diego is equipping 3,200 streetlights with intelligent IoT sensors, with another 3,000 sensors to follow – all as part of a $30 million infrastructure project.
The IoT network is expected to cover half of the city by the end of 2018.
Sensor data is used in a host of services, including parking assistance, gunshot detection, and emissions monitoring.
The city is saving approximately $3 million a year thanks to improved, LED streetlights. These savings should pay for the sensor project within 13 years.
Summary
The city of San Diego, CA launched a new project in 2017 to install intelligent sensors in 3,200 streetlights. The sensors will form a vast IoT network, providing data that can be used to enhance citizens’ lives in numerous ways – including improvements to traffic and public safety.
The seeds for this IoT project were sown several years ago, when the city turned to GE for an intelligent way to monitor the status of new LED streetlights. GE provided the LightGrid solution, which connected streetlights through a wireless network to facilitate remote monitoring and management. Seeing the potential that connectivity could offer, San Diego became the first city to pilot GE’s intelligent lighting platform.
San Diego started by installing 40 sensor nodes on streetlights in 2014, which gathered data on light, sound, and environmental conditions. This data was used to help residents find parking spaces, saving drivers time while reducing traffic and emissions.
Cut to 2017, and the city embarked on a $30 million infrastructure project to upgrade 14,000 streetlights and equip 3,200 of them with GE Current CityIQ sensor nodes – covering half the city. In addition to parking assistance, the sensors are powering Shotspotter gunshot detection technology to mitigate crime and aid first responders. Sensor data can also be used to track carbon emissions, monitor traffic, and inform future infrastructure decisions. These applications are only the beginning: the city believes that San Diegans will come up with countless ways to take advantage of the IoT network.
The city is working with GE, AT&T, Intel, ShotSpotter, CivicSmart, and Proximetry to roll out the sensor nodes across the city. Once the initial 3,200 sensors are in place, San Diego plans to install an additional 3,000. The project should be complete by the end of 2018.