All told, the White House is investing over $160 million in federal research money and leveraging more than 25 new technology collaborations to help local communities.
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AT&T announced during Smart Cities Week that it has joined the Smart Cities Council.
The news comes as the White House is hosting a Smart Cities Forum, which coincides with the Smart Cities conference and tradeshow happening in Washington, DC this week. “But communities that are making the most progress on these issues have some things in common”, Obama said in a statement.
US Ignite has received a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to build what it calls a “living lab” of testbeds that will show the utility of gigabit applications in 15 USA communities.
Aside from the federal contributions, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation provided $1 million earmarked for the part of the program that links cities with universities.
The Department of Transportation is announcing over $40 million in new funding to spur the development of next-generation transportation systems, including the first wave of Connected Vehicle Pilots to address congestion midtown Manhattan and in downtown Tampa. The data collected will be used for researching “smart city” applications. Another $11.5 million will be available to develop and scale next-generation Internet application prototypes at gigabit speeds. It will also fund research on connected and autonomous vehicles as well as the integration of mobile devices and travel data. The Department of Energy (DoE) will also lead efforts with multiple private sector groups to leverage the work of the existing Better Buildings Energy Data Accelerator to promote improved access to building energy data in new cities across the US.
City leaders from 10 winning communities will participate in Envision America’s workshop in January in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they will work with leading experts from industry and academia to diagnose needs, workshop solutions, and develop new smart initiatives for their community. As part of the 2016 GCTC, AT&T will direct a team that helps more cities adopt Smart City solutions. The Network will provide a platform upon which established and emerging city-university relationships can share successful projects, coordinate multi-city, multi-university research efforts and compete for research and project funding. This network of 500 Internet-connected sensors deployed throughout Chicago will continuously measure the physical environment at the city block level. The agency has also been instrumental in transitioning these technologies to widespread use, as in the case of the US Ignite initiative, which seeded the development of numerous new “gigabit applications” that can process large amounts of information, from improved regional radar systems to interactive fitness apps. “We are thrilled to have so many pivotal organizations on board as charter members of the Dallas Innovation Alliance, and are looking forward to executing a smart cities program with the goal of creating the most consumer focused Smart City strategy in the world”.
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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) also said it plans to invest $5 million in Smart Cities this year.
