Defence Enterprise Academy Blogs News Contact About Careers Hadean x Film Soho
Academy Industrial Metaverse Airport Management Smart Cities Transportation

Smart Cities

Cities of the future will operate intelligently, leveraging Metaverse
technologies to deliver higher quality living standards for their citizens

What is a smart city?

A smart city is an approach to urban development that utilises digital twins, VR, ML, IoT technologies and tools to gather data such as those relating to transport networks, utilities, commerce or city governance functions. Intelligence from the data is then used to manage resources and aid in more effective running of services. It is also used in planning for civic activities such as construction, emergency response and reducing environmental impact. Never has there been a more crucial or pressing need for cities and urban development to become intelligent through driving for better efficiency in their operations, prioritising sustainability when planning, and embracing digital interactions in order to engage with and improve the lives of citizens.

Energy and technology
Smart Solutions can enable an interconnected infrastructure that leverages interoperable platforms to gain a comprehensive overview of energy usage to better manage demand.
Infrastructure
Single Synthetic Environments (SSEs) enable potential building works and other planned infrastructural changes to be experienced virtually ahead of approval.
Governance and education
A streamlined civic administration and education platform providing citizens with an always on service. Interactive and immersive educational tools that are fully accessible.
Healthcare and citizens
Healthcare and security provision where emergency response units are all integrated. Secured patient information is made available at point of need.
background picture

Why is there a need for smart cities?

icon

Legacy cities, especially western capitals and urban centres are feeling increasing pressure to upgrade their ageing infrastructure.

icon

Urban growth is not slowing down as populations continue to rise, city planners need to be able to accommodate the increasing population.

icon

Sustainability commitments and targets remain a persistent challenge.

There are constraints on resources, some of which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The power to exploit data for civic good

If there was a time to harness knowledge, both historic and real time, about a city’s infrastructure and gather it together into one cohesive vision in order to improve the various systems operating within it such as emergency services, refuse collection, telecommunications, education or civic administration, it is now. There are already a number of pioneers in the Smart City space.

icon

Metaverse destination:
Smart Wellington, New Zealand

Smart Wellington was developed to improve understanding of social systems, develop more engaged communities and business sectors, create better environments and rebuild and recover following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The smart city utilises an IoT digital backbone to gather data, machine learning and analytic processing to derive insights from the data and VR engagement platforms to ensure that the data being disseminated is relevant and accessible.

icon

Metaverse destination:
Smart Seoul, South Korea

Already one of the world’s most connected cities with a government provided network of free Wi-Fi and 4G or 5G readily accessible to over 95% of citizens, Seoul is probably one of the most advanced cities in terms of Metaverse readiness. The tools underpinning this smart city are digital twins, VR and virtual collaboration. Right now, the focus is on using Metaverse technologies to improve city services. Additional services include an education portal, a business development and other civic administration services.

icon

Metaverse destination:
Neom, Saudi Arabia

Ten years ago Neom may well have been dismissed as the stuff of science fiction but the fact is that the technology has come to align with the aspirations for the city. Promoted as a prototype for a better future, it will be a hub for innovation and is being positioned as a strategic location for global connectivity. Web3 technologies such as 5G, AI, MR, AR and VR, advanced robotics and much more will all be brought to bear in the creation of a cognitive technology infrastructure that will make Neom a fully autonomous city.

Get updated on Academy content: