The “Digital Regions – Today and Tomorrow” trade fair was dedicated, among other things, to visions of the future whose infrastructural, economic and social requirements are emerging today. These topics include, above all, the concept of the smart city, which aconium GmbH already tackled in a project years ago. Clear visions and the exchange of knowledge are considered promising concepts for success for companies and cities in the smart city market. At our trade fair, we spoke to Jan-Philippe Schilt, Junior Project Manager at eco – Association of the Internet Industry, about specific applications in the smart city sector and the importance of networked thinking.
aconium GmbH: You have published a comprehensive study on the market development of smart cities in Germany for the years 2017 – 2022. What were your findings? What is the status quo in Germany and what developments do you expect in the next five years?
Jan-Phillippe Schilt: In the next five years, the smart city market volume will double, which means that we will be much more connected than we are today. Every city around the world is approaching the topic of “smart cities” differently, with goals ranging from energy savings and services for citizens, as in Germany, to strong traffic monitoring and control, as in the Emirates and East Asia. In the medium term, we mainly see pilots in the individual segments in Germany, while smart city platforms are already being integrated across all segments in Asia.
aconium GmbH: What specific applications and concepts are already being implemented today? In which areas are investments being made?
Jan-Phillippe Schilt: Personally, I’m particularly interested to see which traffic management solutions will be implemented. Induction loops that detect when a car is in front of traffic lights have been around for a long time, as have traffic lights that give buses the green light more quickly. However, technology only becomes smart when sensors are also networked and enable situational adjustments. In Holland, for example, buses that are running late are given the green light more quickly than if they are on schedule. When cars cross a junction, the light switches to red immediately after the last car. In Berlin in particular, more and more people are giving up their own cars and transportation is becoming more multimodal. In general, society’s demand for technical innovations is growing with the newly created technical possibilities.
aconium GmbH: What approach do you recommend to companies and cities on their way to becoming a smart city?
Jan-Phillippe Schilt: Smart City is an interface and ecosystem topic. This means that relationships between very different actors such as citizens, business, politics and technology – these can be tangible objects, but also algorithms, for example – are becoming increasingly networked and intertwined.
For decision-makers in cities and companies, this means defining goals narrowly and breaking down data silos in order to network them with each other, just like employees and specialist departments. It makes sense for cities to carry out projects in stages according to the greatest savings potential and try to market their most high-profile projects well in order to inspire their citizens and obtain funding. Companies must close gaps in technical equipment and employee knowledge, think holistically and enter into partnerships across the entire value chain, while cities must also consider which partnerships they do NOT want to enter into and where they want to position themselves in the area of tension between open data/data sovereignty.
aconium GmbH: Mr. Schilt, thank you very much for the interview.
Photo above: Jan Phillipe Schilt (Project Manager, eco – Association of the Internet Industry) during his presentation at Digital Regions – Today and Tomorrow on October 26, 2017 in Berlin.
Photo credits: aconium GmbH / Florian Schuh