Smart cities get their own operating system

[Tom172]

Cities could soon be looking after their citizens all by themselves thanks to an operating system designed for the metropolis.

The Urban OS works just like a PC operating system but keeps buildings, traffic and services running smoothly.

The software takes in data from sensors dotted around the city to keep an eye on what is happening.

In the event of a fire the Urban OS might manage traffic lights so fire trucks can reach the blaze swiftly.

The idea is for the Urban OS to gather data from sensors buried in buildings and many other places to keep an eye on what is happening in an urban area.....

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15109403

 

[Ink]

Oh wow. This looks very interesting.

The underlying technology for the Urban OS has been developed by McLaren Electronic Systems - the same company that creates sensors for Formula One cars. The Urban OS was unveiled at the Machine-2-Machine conference in Rotterdam.

 

[HeffeD]

In the event of a fire the Urban OS might manage traffic lights so fire trucks can reach the blaze swiftly.

Not so sure this is necessary. At least in the US, traffic lights have sensors that pick up the strobe patterns of emergency vehicles flashing lights and will switch accordingly (shut down all cross-traffic) as the emergency vehicle approaches.

Interesting concept though.

 

[Tom172]

It certainly is an interesting concept. Imagine how robust and fault tolerant this network would have to be though.