In Miami-Dade County, a network of sensors and scanners are quietly collecting data about the areas population and relaying the information to local government. Meters embedded in public pipes rapidly gather data about water usage, sometimes identifying leaks before they spread.
Analytical software combs through records using algorithms to identify high-probability suspects for particular crimes. The county is piloting security cameras capable of recognizing faces, intended to alert police if sex offenders appear in public parks. Miami-Dade is one of several counties and cities using IBMs Intelligent Operations Center, a software system designed to help city leaders collect and process large volumes of data.
As part of its Smarter Cities initiative, IBM works with leaders to select appropriate analytics programs for each problem sometimes it is the companys proprietary software, other times its provided by partner firms often for an annual licensing fee.
Public agencies in San Francisco, Boston and Honolulu, among others, also use the platform. IBM introduced Smarter Cities five years ago as a division of Smarter Planet, the companys sustainable development initiative.
IBM projects that Smarter Planets revenue will reach $10 billion by 2015. Since the products launch, IBMs development team has been refining the product to accommodate a greater number of uses, Smarter Cities Vice President Karen Parrish said. Contrary to expectations, not all cities use data the same way, she said. Urban leaders tend to fall into two camps: those running cities that are experiencing a rapid influx of people[…]
Source www.news-herald.com