AT&T working with Chicago, others on smart city tech
The carrier also said it is developing a digital dashboard to help those cities and others gain a comprehensive look at power outages, water leaks, traffic and more, the carrier said. That dashboard, called a Smart City Network Operation Center, is expected to monitor thousands of sensors and networks in a community, for near real-time observations.
Chicago already has smart city innovations underway that include sensors for its water system and improved energy efficiency. Chicago CIO Brenna Berman said in a statement that AT&T's smart city technology will provide near real-time data to "create a safer, cleaner and more efficient city."
The Georgia Institute of Technology will work with the city of Atlanta and AT&T on smart city development. Meanwhile, AT&T named seven major technology providers involved in its work with cities: Cisco, Deloitte, Ericsson, GE, IBM, Intel and Qualcomm Technologies.
AT&T's working in cities is to connect utility meters, street lights and water systems into a smart grid with cloud computing connections. The company will be expanding to include remote video monitoring of roads, bridges, buildings and parks for events like slick roadways that might freeze in winter weather. Video and other sensors can also be used in public safety to monitor pedestrian traffic patterns at busy intersections and stadiums, and even to detect when a gun has been fired, from where and how many times.
AT&T demonstrated some of its smart city innovations here at the start of CES.