Digitised public highways network coming to city

Sheffield’s highways network is about to receive the UK’s latest smart tech overhaul.

The city council’s highways contractor, Amey, has partnered with the firm Connexin to build the newest UK Smart City, starting with digitised roads and the Internet of Things.

By spring, Amey will have created a digitised public highway network for Sheffield, with thousands of individual wireless sensors.

Amey intends to deliver a more efficient service for the citizens of Sheffield via a platform provided by Smart City operator, Connexin.

It will use an Internet of Things (IoT) foundation, which sees computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data.

Amey will use Connexin’s CityOS platform to integrate, view, manage and respond to information to improve highway maintenance services and revolutionise service delivery across Sheffield.

The platform will digitally connect essential highway maintenance services and inform operatives about the condition of street assets in real time.

For example, when to: empty high street bins to avoid overflowing, water trees for preservation, refill grit bins ready for icy conditions and clear gullies to reduce the risk of flash flooding.

The system will also cut air pollution, with staff making fewer journeys across the city while able to avoid spots where air quality levels are poor.

Cabinet member for Environment, Street Scene and Climate Change at Sheffield City Council, Councillor Mark Jones, said: “This is very much about us working better and smarter towards a greener and cleaner future for Sheffield.

“By investing in this initiative, our contractors will be undertaking fewer journeys, which in turn will result in a reduction in energy consumption, pollution and congestion, whilst ensuring our streets are kept clean and our bins are emptied using a more efficient and effective approach.

“Using technology in this pioneering way will help the council in its efforts to tackle the climate crisis, whilst improving standards.

“Following installation, those who live and work in our city should see a positive impact in their neighbourhoods fairly quickly.”

James Haluch, managing director of transport infrastructure at Amey, said: “Technology is becoming more and more part of our everyday lives.

“Working with our partners in the public and private sector, we have to make radical changes to the way we deliver services.

“I’m delighted that we’re embracing Connexin’s technology, which is one of the first times it’s been used in a city environment, that will benefit our service delivery and help to improve local communities.

“It will also offer a more environmentally sustainable solution to reduce our carbon footprint and maximise the use of resources, allowing us to provide a continually evolving service for Sheffield residents.”

Rob Bullock, chief sales officer at Connexin, said: “We’re thrilled to be supporting Amey to deliver services in Sheffield, further demonstrating that the digital economy and innovation is thriving in the North.

“Our complete solution is built on the CityOS platform, bringing together the best of breed capabilities from Cisco Kinetic for Cities and the Atlantis Smart City platform from Quantela which together present the city’s assets in a single aggregated view.

“This project has far reaching, long term benefits that go beyond simply delivering service efficiencies. A city with reduced service vehicles contributing to traffic congestion and air pollution is a benefit to everyone and has the potential to become the “new norm” for how services are delivered to cities.”

Stu Higgins, head of smart cities and IoT, Cisco UK & Ireland, said: “With so many components to a Smart City, from sensors creating data to insights that need to be actioned, by introducing an operating system for services in the city,  Sheffield and Amey will be able to create true value for those living and working in the city.”

Amr Salem, COO at Quantela, says: “With councils and service providers looking at more efficient ways to manage assets and services, digitisation will aid in extracting efficiencies and unlocking economic value.

“Our endeavour is to help our partners and clients to bridge different islands of information, deliver new insights and improved services for the city and its residents, businesses and visitors.”