KELOWNA, B.C. – Canada’s first real-world 5G smart city solution is launching in Kelowna next week in a partnership between the city, Rogers Communications and University of British Columbia (UBC), the municipality announced Thursday.
Over the weekend of March 27, nearly 50 UBC students got together as part of a virtual hackathon to explore how new technologies and improved wireless connectivity could help Kelowna find ways to improve how people move around downtown and increase pedestrian and cyclist safety through design. One of the winning ideas from the hackathon is being implemented as a pilot project in downtown Kelowna, says the release.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Kelowna to build on the work we’re doing to bring smart city technologies to our city,” said Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran. “Transportation has always been a top concern for our citizens and one of Council’s priorities. As we grow, we need to better understand what these travel interactions look like and how can we ensure the safe management of everyone using our streets, curbsides, sidewalks and pathways. The hackathon and this pilot project are great ways to discover solutions developed by smart young minds.”
Next week, Rogers will work with the city to install two light sensors (LiDAR) from Blue City Technology, powered by the Rogers 5G network. The sensors will be installed at the intersections of Bernard Avenue and Water Street, and Bernard Avenue and Pandosy Street, with plans for more sensors to go up at three additional intersections later this year.
“We are focused on bringing together the right partners to build a strong 5G ecosystem and this pilot with UBC and the City of Kelowna will serve as a blueprint for the development of made-in-Canada 5G smart city technology,” said Jorge Fernandes, Rogers’ chief technology officer in the release.
Unlike traffic cameras, LiDAR captures consistent data over the course of a 24-hour period, regardless of changes in lighting or weather. The resolution of the data is insufficient to capture or reveal identifying details about people or permit facial recognition but the smart city project will use these wireless sensors and software to collect anonymous data on vehicle and foot traffic patterns, which will be used by UBC research students to help find ways to improve vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist safety.
This pilot project is part of research being done by UBC through a partnership with Rogers to study 5G applications and develop smarter and safer cities through made-in-Canada solutions.
“Until now, detailed information about the way cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles move and behave in urban environments has been surprisingly difficult to collect and, importantly, share in real time,” said professor David Michelson, lead researcher on the project and director of the AURORA connected vehicle test bed at UBC Vancouver. “This is as close to a perfect academic, public sector and private enterprise partnership as one can imagine. None of us could have done this on our own.”
With the support of Blue City, students will use the data to answer questions about:
- what modes of transportation are being used in Kelowna and where (i.e. on streets and sidewalks)
- where near collisions are occurring between different modes of transportation
- how transit users navigate other corridors when arriving at their stop
- how effective are unsignaled crosswalks
- what parts of a block lend themselves best for pick/up drop off, especially with ride sharing coming to our community
- how can the city can increase the knowledge of emergency responders reporting to a crash scene (i.e. details about speeds, types of vehicles involved and what equipment to bring to be prepared for a specific incident)
