CitCom.ai

Introduction

Do you know that Europe has a New European Bauhaus (NEB) EU program? It is the soul of the European Green Deal, defining how it can be achieved. The NEB calls on all of us to imagine and build together an enriched, sustainable and inclusive future that is beautiful for our eyes, minds and souls.  CitCom.ai will be instrumental in producing AI and robotics innovations that can allow the NEB to achieve its objectives. CitCom.ai aims at supporting and connecting AI Data and robotics innovators to real-world needs that are linked to Green Deal issues. Hereto the project will test and experiment in our cities and communities. In addition, CitCom.ai will also increase the awareness and knowledge of such new technologies allowing them to be used in ways that best address the climatic adaptation and mitigation.  The consortium consists of 33 partners funded by the EU.  Its budget is 19mio€ for a duration of 60 months.

What is it about?

CitCom.ai proposal is highly synergistic with the Commission’s Green Deal policy. In the proposal algorithms will be improved and validated having the potential to take better decisions towards the EU Mission 100 Climate-neutral Smart Cities. Hereto, several CitCom.ai TEF (testing and experimentation facilities) sites have been identified. They will be hosted in cities that have been selected to participate in this program, like Copenhagen, Arhus, Brussels, Valencia and Tampere. The proposal is organised around 3 essential concepts: POWER, MOVE, and CONNECT. POWER is about innovations that transitions energy consumption and production in cities and communities. MOVE refers to mobility and logistics where we see a great potential to improve quality of life in cities and communities. CONNECT refers to the need to connect citizens, infrastructures, AI and robotics services securely in cities and communities. Each of these three CitCom.ai themes contain a number of sub-themes. The combination of policy, themes and subthemes provides the conceptual grounding of the societal needs that, together with the market needs, drive the direction of the project. We, in Belgium will focus on TEF sites for AI algorithms that pertain to the movement of people and goods – a topic which we have been working on for years- by offering datasets (e.g. Mobilidata) and living lab testbeds (e.g. City of Things) in cities and communities.

Why is it important?

Brussels, which will host one of the two TEF sites in Belgium together with Mechelen, has been selected to become one of the 100 Climate Neutral Smart Cities in Europe. So, do you have a practical example ? Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is set to revolutionise urban transport. It brings together multiple transport networks (and their data) into a single cohesive user experience and enables citizens to use multiple modes of transport to complete their journeys. MaaS removes the complexity from navigating in cities and different methods of getting around. To achieve this, MaaS benefits from the widespread adoption of smart phones, fast networks, intelligent vehicles and devices, as well as new advances in applications and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Transport networks have existed for decades, and in some cases even hundreds of years, but they have remained largely in silos. Each system has operated independently with limited information sharing. Shared Data Spaces are thus needed, and CitCom.ai TEFs are piloting these concepts now in real life for the first time to improve standardization and efficiency to both citizens as to the solution providers and stakeholders.

AIM

CitCom.ai delivers a European Artificial Intelligence Testing and Experimentation Facility (AI TEF) for Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SSCC). The CitCom.ai consortium brings together world-leading TEF capabilities around the three themes POWER, MOVE and CONNECT, as three “super nodes” Nordic, Central and South with satellites and sub-nodes located across 11 countries the European Union.

METHODOLOGY

Building on established initiatives such as the Living-in.EU efforts and the Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms, and projects such as OrganiCity (testing and Experimentation Facility for Smart Cities and Communities) and SynchroniCity (Large-scale pilot for AI and IoT in Smart Cities and Communities), CitCom.ai leverages the best available experience and expertise in Europe, and in the world.

IMPACT

After the project period of five years, a clear business plan will be developed from strategic and technical perspectives, aligned with the needs of cities and communities in Europe.