Smart City projects generate large amounts of data. However, to what extent does this data help to achieve the goals that the project intended to fulfill? How can we ensure that the collected data fits the purpose of the project? Our research partner Aerovision helps us to answer these questions. Interested in their perspective on this research project? Keep reading!

Public and private organizations acknowledge that to realize Smart City ambitions, accurate location-based information is required to make informed decisions about issues that require spatial solutions. What information fits our use? What is the best source of spatial information? What is the quality of data publicly available (Open Data)? How can the need for information be combined with other users? Answering these questions helps municipalities in decision-making and monitoring of smart city developments.

Climate challenges in urban areas are interesting in relation to smart cities and it is valuable to explore the role that geospatial data can play. For example, are our cities climate-proof? Can remote sensing data have an added value in providing a useful indication (index)? At the same time, municipalities must be assured that their information data service is mature enough to cope with smart city developments and the needs of their inhabitants.

In Aerovision, we assist organizations with defining their needs in smart city activities, based on their public or business goals. We help them to satisfy these needs by using smart sourcing strategies and investigating how geospatial data can have an added value to their projects. You may find an example of this process in the image below. 

We have 3 motivations to be part of this research project: (1) to create awareness of the potential of geospatial data in smart city projects, (2)  to learn more about the controversies that arise because of the use of technology in our cities (i.e.  privacy vs open data) exploring both social and ethical aspects, and (3) to develop concrete cases from stakeholders.

In this research project, our focus is on user needs elicitation. We will play an active role in user requirements elicitation with the relevant stakeholders, and the determination of relevant geo-information in smart city projects.  We hope to be the voice that tells you to ask yourself; why do I need data and is this really the data I need for that purpose?