The city’s Information and Technology Director Michael Sherwood explains some of the city’s newest technology being implemented on the streets of Las Vegas, Thursday Jan. 4, 2018. This new high-tech modular street lamp allows for interchaging of LED lights and cameras, as well as automated software that detects and adapts itself to various situations.
Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 | 10 a.m.
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Partners in the city of Las Vegas’ Innovation District will be showcased next week when CES features its first Smart City Marketplace.
Since its inception in 2016, the Innovation District downtown has hosted tests for emerging transportation and energy technologies, some tied to CES. Audi’s vehicle-to-infrastructure test and the launch of the driverless shuttle project have helped Las Vegas advance its reputation as a Smart City innovator.
“(The CES presentation) will mainly feature Smart City product vendors for things like sensors, the Internet of Things, video analytics that analyze video data and other stuff that allows you to have situational awareness of your city,” said Don Jacobson, IT product manager for the city. “We’re looking forward to not only ourselves, but our partners to talk for those four days with the visitors about what we’re doing in the Innovation District.”
The four main vendors are:
Cisco. The technology giant will show its connected digital platform, in which the city of Las Vegas takes all data from all various sensors and displays information on cars’ dashboards. Motorists can get a general sense of safety in the area in which they’re driving and receive alerts as safety problems occur in real time.
Hitachi. The company will display its dashboard information system, which shows motorists what is occurring on the roads around them, giving them updates on traffic lights and pedestrian activity in intersections in the area. The project is aimed at making intersections safer by compiling data from connected vehicles.
T-Mobile. The communications company will have information about its project concerning air quality monitoring along the Third Street corridor. City officials aim to study environmental changes before, during and after construction projects to see if traffic improvements helped reduce carbon dioxide levels in the area.
Genivi Alliance. The nonprofit automotive industry alliance will share how its driverless shuttle project is performing downtown, what data is being recorded and how it’s being utilized.
Information from other smaller partners in the Innovation District will be presented throughout the four days of CES.
“Our intention is, people can come talk to our vendors, to see why we partnered with them and what we’re learning from them and our shared projects,” Jacobson said. “Then of course there will be plenty of literature and handouts for people to be able to contact us outside of the few minutes they’ll spend at our booth.”
Smart signs
At City Hall today, Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Soofa Chief Executive officer Sandra Richter presented the latest addition to the Innovation District — smart signs.
Soofa’s solar-powered digital information boards will be installed at the seven stops for the Downtown Loop’s free shuttle. They will provide real-time information, including how long the wait is for the next shuttle on the 20-minute loop.
“They'll get up-to-the-minute information of where the shuttle is at and when the next one arrives,” Jacobson said. “The shuttle has a GPS unit and the data about its speed and location goes up in the cloud. From the cloud, we take that data … and determine how far away that particular shuttle is for this particular stop.”
The signs will also be located at City Hall, Neonopolis, between the Fremont Street Experience and the Fremont East Entertainment District.
