Finnish developer of environmental and industrial measurement systems Vaisala is partnering with the German Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) developer ICE Gateway to provide Czech Republic’s capital with real-time air quality data, as part of an ongoing smart city project.
Vaisala will supply its state-of-the-art air quality sensors to ICE Gateway’s streetlight-based real-time smart city network in Prague. This is the first smart city project of its kind in Czech Republic, and it includes multiple sensors, such as Vaisala’s air quality products, sustainable lights, traffic data and marketing services.
The objective is to provide Prague with a comprehensive and flexible smart city infrastructure to offer data services to the city authorities and its citizens. Vaisala is contributing to the project by providing its air quality and CO₂ sensors that will help the city government understand the local air quality conditions and to target actions in order to improve the on-street environment.
The project was initiated in 2017 to offer many value-added services for Prague and its citizens using outdoor smart lighting as wireless IoT (Internet of Things) hubs, connected to various sensors and devices, to create a smart city system.
ICE Gateway devices transform the existing streetlights into a connected wireless infrastructure network, providing services that include smart outdoor LED lighting, environmental sensors, traffic and parking information, enhanced logistics, real-time marketing, tourism and security.
The two companies aim to promote high quality and affordable sensor solutions to cities worldwide. In Prague, the sustainable LED lights provided by ICE Gateway offer local intelligence and connectivity to easily integrate Vaisala’s air quality sensors onto any streetlight pole, activate sensor data flow, and provide local maintenance services with real-time environmental data. The connected IaaS system enables cities to focus their operations and management on data-based processes using real-time information at street level.
“The smart city concept integrates information and communication technology with physical devices connected to the network to optimize the efficiency of the city’s services and to connect to citizens,” said John Liljelund, head of air quality, weather and environment at Vaisala.
“With our sensors now installed to the smart streetlights, this project creates an entirely new approach to obtaining important and relevant information for the people in Prague.
“Our products can be built into comprehensive air quality monitoring networks that provide specific information on where pollution is generated and which areas are influenced by it.”
Ramin L Mokhtari, CEO of ICE Gateway, commented, “Vaisala’s high quality sensors, as well as their worldwide leading position and expertise in weather sensors, is a perfect match to our highly secure smart city plug-and-play solution.
“We will work together to offer more advanced local real-time services for citizens, such as e-health information and local data in combination with other sensors such as traffic density.”
