Smart Dún Laoghaire and Smart Balbriggan are delighted to announce that we have been successful in securing funding to research and develop an innovative solution that will transform public service vehicles into mobile data collectors. This project, known as CitySense, will use new mobile sensor-technology to gather new data using public service vehicles. CitySense started as part of the FinEst Smart City Challenge 2024. The challenge was presented by Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and was supported by several other European cities that were looking for better ways to collect and use urban data.
The ‘CitySense’ project is set to revolutionise how cities collect and use data. Traditionally, gathering real-time information about the public realm has relied on static sensors, which can be expensive to install and maintain. CitySense takes a bold new approach: transforming public vehicles, like buses, taxis and waste collection trucks, into moving data collectors.
By equipping public service vehicles with compact, cost-effective sensor kits, CitySense enables continuous monitoring of air quality, traffic infrastructure and road surface conditions (eg: potholes) as these vehicles travel their daily routes. This approach dramatically increases the coverage and frequency of data collection, providing a far more detailed and dynamic picture of urban conditions than stationary sensors alone.
The project is being tested in three cities:
· Tallinn, Estonia – focusing on detecting damaged or missing traffic signs
· Dublin, Ireland – monitoring air quality and allergens
· Pula, Croatia – mapping potholes and road surface problems
The project team includes researchers from Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Dublin City University (DCU) and tech companies.
Citysense is the second ‘Dublin’ project to be awarded funding by the FinEst Smart City Challenge, the other being the ‘UrbanSplash’ project. As CitySense rolls out, Dublin and its partners are excited to share insights and best practices with other cities. Stay tuned for updates as we continue our journey towards a more connected and sustainable future with CitySense!