Lucy Zodion deploys LoRaWAN enabled smart city ecosystem in Aberdeen
Via LoRa Alliance
Apr 16, 2019
SOWERBY BRIDGE, UK: Lucy Zodion Ltd, LoRaAlliance member and specialist in the development of smart city solutions, is helping Aberdeen City Council to make 3,500 streetlights throughout the city more intelligent and efficient. The organisation’s LoRaWAN enabled smart city ecosystem Ki. will be deployed to give the city complete control over its street lighting system, with enhanced efficiencies and cost-savings key benefits.
The project is part of a city-wide upgrade programme that will convert current street lighting infrastructure into connected points across the city, with LED lanterns installed alongside Ki. Nodes. This upgrade means the Council will be able to control and monitor their street lighting schemes remotely, via the Ki. Platform (an Internet of Things interface), aiding quicker fault and maintenance repairs, as well as more intuitive streetlight dimming.
The Ki. ecosystem – optimised by openness
The Ki. ecosystem is optimised by openness; it connects streetlights and communicates the data they generate bi-directionally via a LoRaWAN compliant wireless network. The Ki. Platform then translates this data to provide insights at a glance, which enables Aberdeen to ensure metrics, such as energy use, are in line with their goals and objectives. This helps to improve municipal efficiencies and enhance the lives of citizens by offering instant insights into the performance of urban assets.
“We are at the forefront of transforming the digital infrastructure in Aberdeen which will bring benefits not only to the council through savings, but also to residents by being smarter about getting our lights repaired,” said John Wheeler, councillor, Aberdeen City Council.
Being interoperable, Ki. also gives Aberdeen the opportunity to seamlessly deploy a number of other smart city solutions across the city, both now and in the future, in line with their digital transformation strategy. This is made possible by the LoRaWAN enabled ecosystem that provides a tertiary layer of connectivity throughout the intelligent city-wide network.
The project – Collaboration
Lucy Zodion has collaborated with Pinacl, communications network coverage provider, to deliver this project. Lucy Zodion is a member of the LoRaAlliance, which encourages collaboration to drive the success of the LoRaWAN protocol, which is a leading open global standard for secure, carrier-grade IoT LPWAN connectivity.
Creating a bi-directional data flow requires a reliable network that will support the masses of data running through the city each and every day. Lucy Zodion has worked closely with Pinacl to ensure Aberdeen City Council can continue using the Ki. Platform at all times so smart city assets constantly communicate and transmit valuable data. The city-wide network employs LoRaWAN to enable this.
Richard Perry, Lucy Zodion’s Smart Cities Business Development Manager, comments: “Ki. has been developed to give city leaders better control over their urban infrastructure. We have worked with Pinacl to ensure Aberdeen City Council can consistently and effectively monitor & control their street lighting, via a strong communications network that is enhanced by LoRaWAN.
Richard adds: The Ki. Platform will be a valuable tool for the Council, not only for streetlight management but for gaining a deeper and more contextual understanding into their smart city. Being LoRaWAN compliant means these insights gain more traction as additional smart devices are deployed, thanks to the seamless integration aided by the standard.”
The Aberdeen intelligent street lighting initiative is one of the first of its kind in Scotland, which is set to help the Council save 60% of its energy, with cost savings of approximately £1.1m per year once the streetlights have been upgraded with LED lanterns and Ki. Nodes.
Alasdair Rettie, Technical Director at Pinacl, says: “We are delighted to be working with the Council to help them achieve their Smart City vision. The new city-wide intelligent network provides a third layer of connectivity that will allow Aberdeen City Council to efficiently deploy a variety of Smart City solutions across the city.”
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