Smart City Technology Solutions
Paradox Engineering is part of the Japanese Group MinebeaMitsumi, leading global provider of Electro Mechanics Solutions™ with a notable history and track record of technology excellence. Thanks to our vision and innovation capabilities, the Group is accelerating its success in the Internet of Things market and developing cutting edge technologies for Networked Lighting, Smart Cities and any other connected environments. Being a MinebeaMitsumi company, we can leverage the Group’s technological, manufacturing and commercial assets, at the same working with a consolidated network of highly skilled partners. Our ecosystem includes Tinynode, Swiss company specialized in wireless vehicle detection systems and Smart Parking technologies.
PE Smart City Applications
Smart Urban Network is a breakthrough for Smart Cities.
Providing a revolutionary and next generation connectivity and applications ecosystem, it is a platform to manage urban services more efficiently and improve citizen satisfaction, making Cities more agreeable, livable and safer.
PE Smart Urban Network enables wireless mesh network with an interoperable infrastructure, to manage both multi-sensor Wireless IoT and Wireless Highspeed IoT device. These may include both sensor based applications and high-bandwidth applications. In this way, Cities connect and control a number of smart applications, sensors and actuators, on a single platform.
What does an interoperable technology look like?
First of all, it is based on open standards, thus it is brand-agnostic, allows seamless integration of third-party systems and custom applications, and grants the confidence of a continuity of supply over time allowing Cities to select best-of-breed technologies and partners to design present and future services. When relying on open standards, a City can unlock its real innovation potential. Every City manager knows that implementing service-specific solutions to manage urban applications one by one adds fragmentation, complexity and costs, jeopardizing the possibility to build efficient, sustainable, and open communities.
That’s our continuous commitment. While interoperability is a key feature of our breakthrough solution for Open Cities, we are active members of uCIFI Alliance, TALQ, and Zhaga to contribute to the development of open, multi-supplier, interoperable, multi-transport wireless communication solutions for Smart Cities and utilities.
PE Smart Urban Network is a true future-proof investment: being completely standard-based, it imposes no limits to the integration of new or additional sensors, and the design of new services.
The main components of PE Smart Urban Network are:
- PE Smart CMS, the open management platform for smart, secure City services, controlling networks from a few to over 200,000 objects.
- PE Smart Nodes, the IPv6/6LoWPAN hardware radio devices to interface and connect field objects such as streetlights, parking lots, meters, and others.
- PE Smart Gateways, leveraging IPv6 and IPv4 protocols, and operating as border routers, network coordinators and data concentrators.
PE Smart Urban Network
Showcase
Building Smart Cities for the People
Smart Lighting Smart Parking Environmental Sensing
Located in Santiago Metropolitan Region, Las Condes is a lively and well-off city with about 290 thousand inhabitants and a significant floating population. The rapid urbanization and growth have been carefully managed in the last 15 years to provide good public services and high quality of life, at the same time ensuring a sustainable development with low environmental impact.
The “Las Condes, Mejor para Todos” (Las Condes, Better for all) claim is a clear statement of the city’s willingness to constantly improve its governance and services for the benefit of the entire community, always taking care of citizens’ wellbeing and satisfaction.
Therefore, people were at the core of Las Condes’ Smart City journey, which began in 2018 by replacing most of the streetlights with energy-efficient LED lamps and implementing a wireless IoT network to manage and control public applications that were added over time, including Smart Parking and traffic surveillance.
Based on PE Smart Urban Network, the cybersecure 6LoWPAN infrastructure currently connects over 17,500 streetlights, more than 1,000 parking lots, 6 systems for traffic surveillance, 55 smart totems and over 320 environmental sensors to measure outside temperature, air pollution and noise levels. An application to remotely manage irrigation is also being tested. All urban objects and all device-generated data are collected and monitored through a single centralized software, PE Smart CMS.
The municipality is highly satisfied with the achievements. The replacement of streetlights with LED lamps resulted in about 2 million USD annual savings (-48%), and additional 160 thousand USD (7%) are expected to be saved every year by the optimization of lighting and dimming patterns via PE Smart CMS.
Thanks to Smart Parking, the municipality tracked a relevant reduction of congestion due to parking search, and vehicle movement data allowed more effective traffic management decisions.
Thanks to these successful results, the overall Smart City project ended up in self-financing. The best example is Smart Parking: public parking areas were licensed to private operators developing new services for drivers, including mobile apps to fasten parking search and online paying options.
Citizens are totally engaged in any project development. They have free, online access to key data through the city portal, and are invited to contribute to surveys, polls, and research studies.
The city-wide IoT network will be extended soon to enable full remote management of existing services and host new ones. Operating parking, environmental sensing and traffic surveillance applications will be further developed, while while the City is looking at innovative solutions for solid waste collection and drain monitoring to be integrated into PE Smart Urban Network infrastructure.
A $5,000,000 Cleantech Investment
Smart LightingSmart ParkingPublic WirelessTraffic Survelliance
The City of San Leandro is making great strides in reaching its Climate Action Plan goals by investing in infrastructure retrofits and smart city applications. In early 2016, the City Council selected Climatec, an energy services company, to install USD 5.2 million in energy and water saving equipment, asking for a guarantee that savings would cover 100% of the costs of the improvements and related debt services.
Climatec replaced 4,730 street lights with smart LED lamps, implementing as centralized management and control system. The existing City’s fiber optics network was used for high-speed communications, and Paradox Engineering’s infrastructure prepared the City to support multiple smart city applications and services, such as integrated parking systems, public wireless internet service, traffic video surveillance, and more.
PE Smart Urban Network
In Summer 2017, students from Harvey Mudd College (including a San Leandro High School graduate) interned with Pilot City to develop a for street trash cans that connected to PE Smart Urban Network.
Smart Waste Monitoring pilot solution
“San Leandro embodies sustainability in action. We invest in green infrastructure and programs to ensure that San Leandro furthers it legacy as a smart and sustainable city”
Mayor Pauline Russo
Climatec calculated that the entire investment will generate $8 million savings over 15 years through strategic reductions in energy and water use, and $1.5 million in positive cash flow over that time. In addition to the financial benefits, San Leandro’s investments in clean infrastructure will reduce GHG emissions by 1,390 metric tons annually, the equivalent of 3.3 million miles driven in a year.
“As we continue to live with limited natural resources, it’s important that the City lead by example in being more efficient with municipal operations. Realized budget savings on our utility bills will be turned back into funding additional municipal efficiency projects”
Debbie Pollart, Public Works Director at the City of San Leandro
Chiasso, a truly Smart City in Switzerland
Smart LightingTraffic Survelliance
The Swiss municipality of Chiasso is strongly committed to sustainability and innovation, and was awarded the “Energy City” label for its forward-looking energy efficiency policies. Together with AGE SA, the local utility managing water, electricity, gas distribution in the area, Chiasso is always looking for new ways to conserve natural resources.
In 2013, the City started to invest in its street lighting infrastructure to reduce energy consumption, pilot future proof technologies and improve quality of service. The Smart Lighting project was kicked off by replacing existing lamps with LED devices and implementing PE Smart Urban Network as advanced system for remote monitoring and control.
“Investments we are shouldering to improve street lighting are paying relevant benefits back to Chiasso citizens and businesses, as well as to local government and AGE itself. Thanks to LED transition and the possibility to calibrate each light point from remote, we estimate a 70% cut of daily energy consumption in Via Dante Alighieri, and similar results in the other areas. As for service quality, we can ensure every street, crossroad and crossover to be properly lighted, using the light intensity which is indeed needed. Management and maintenance costs have been reduced too.”
Corrado Noseda, director at AGE SA
AGE and the City of Chiasso decided to gradually leverage to manage other urban applications, such as in some city areas, traffic video surveillance along the ring road, and a pilot project. has been implemented in a popular facility in the city centre, and discussions are in place to test some pioneer drone applications in the same area, thus pushing the idea of Smart City even further.
Working for a smarter Cambodia
Smart LightingSmart ParkingSmart Metering
In the Kingdom of Cambodia, MinebeaMitsumi developed a High-efficiency LED Streetlight Implementation Project, working with Paradox Engineering and Iwasaki Electric. About 8,000 streetlights were replaced with LED luminaires and connected to a to allow remote monitoring and control, covering four different locations in Phnom Penh City, Siem Reap City and Angkor Wat ruins area.
Wireless network
A reduction of about 70% of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions was gained in Phase 1, comparing the new solution with conventional High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting providing the same level of brightness. About 55% of GHG emissions saving is accountable to LED technologies, while an additional 15% to the wireless control system.
Energy saving will increase to 80% in Phase 2 thanks to the implementation of advanced LED streetlights further cutting energy consumption, and the optimization of dimming patterns.
Positive results were also achieved in terms of grid safety. Each node now continuously monitors grid voltage variations, supporting the electricity supplier in designing and operating the grid according to visualized peaks and drops. This contributes to energy optimizations and minimizes the risk of blackouts.
Working for a smarter Cambodia, MinebeaMitsumi is creating a comprehensive network platform to monitor and manage different urban applications, integrating devices such as parking sensors, electricity meters, surveillance cameras, etc. MinebeaMitsumi will continue to forge ahead with developing in Cambodia the most advanced Smart City showcase in the world, as well as concentrating the Group’s latest technology to contribute to environmental measures and reduce electricity use in the country.
A great historical heritage meets smart technologies in Siracusa, Italy
Smart LightingTraffic SurvelliancePublic Wireless
Siracusa is a historical City located in the southeast corner of Sicily, Italy, with a population of around 125,000 people. Committed to sustainable growth, the City is building its own future by investing in smart technologies to improve urban services, increase energy efficiency, simplify internal processes and encourage citizens’ participation.
In February 2015, the City launched the “Siracusa SmaRt” project to renew the existing public lighting infrastructure with LED-based devices, also developing a remote control and data transmission system. Citelum and EBF Costruzioni Impianti won the contract by proposing a true Smart City project for the small island of Ortigia, representing the heart of Siracusa’s historical center.
About 1,530 lighting points were replaced with energy efficient LED lamps – old-fashioned artistic lanterns with warm white lights to enhance buildings’ and monuments’ colors, and connected to PE Smart Urban Network platform to enable remote management and control.
Citelum can now remotely manage breakdowns, plan maintenance routines, turn lights on/off and adjust brightness upon pre-defined lighting patterns, with the possibility to trigger variations whenever necessary. This step was completed in less than two months, paying particular attention to some of the City’s most ancient locations and monuments such as Cathedral Square, the Arethusa’s fountain, and Saint-Joseph Church.
The Smart Lighting solution has been operating since December 2015, and the City estimated a reduction of power consumption up to 60% in selected districts.
Video surveillance is implemented using 10 IP cameras located in Ortigia, while 2 variable message panels offer useful traffic guidance and 3 digital boards display tourist information. Additionally, Paradox Engineering’s platform enabled a pilot Smart Metering project, connecting 12 electrical meters to the network for remote reading and energy consumption control. In 2016, free Internet access through 26 Wi-Fi access points was installed in Ortigia, leveraging existing Paradox Engineering’s smart devices.
Gijón, Spain: Smart Lighting
Smart Lighting
With about 280 thousand inhabitants, Gijón is the largest municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. The City has covered a long path towards digital transformation and modernization, also becoming a notable example for its commitment to intelligent sustainability. The City roadmap includes a series of projects to introduce advanced technologies to improve key urban services, such as street lighting, ensuring a more efficient use of public spaces and resources, as well as a higher quality of life.
Smart Lighting was kicked-off early 2016 with the modernization of 1,150 luminaires in the city center and the switch to LED-based devices. Taking advantage of T-Systems’ expertise and Paradox Engineering’s platform, Gijón moved further and decided to turn the existing infrastructure into a truly intelligent network to better control energy consumption and increase lighting efficiency.
PE Smart Urban Network
Gijón municipality is now able to define customized lighting patterns for single districts, streets and even single lamps, triggering on/off and dimming actions according to programmed schedules or on demand.
The City of Gijón estimated double savings from the Smart Lighting investment, acknowledging a significant reduction of energy consumption on one hand, and a relevant financial saving for municipal coffers on the other hand, valued at around EUR 100,000 a year.
In March 2016, Gijón initiative was awarded as “Best Smart City Project” at the 6th edition of the National Congress for Innovation and Public Services (CNIS).
A smart solution to address e-parking issues in France and Norway
Smart ParkingEV/HEV Charging Management
Norway and France are the top two countries in Europe for e-mobility, closely followed by Great Britain. Most cities are installing public charging stations for electric vehicles (EV), coupling them with dedicated parking spaces. Being certain to find an available lot is fundamental for EV drivers, as most cars currently in use have a driving range around 100 miles and require regular charging.
G2Mobility, a French company pioneering intelligent recharge solutions for electric vehicles (EV), was selected by Syndicat départemental d’Energie d’Eure-et-Loir and Syndicat Electrique Intercommunal du Pays Chartrain to install EV charging points throughout the French Eure-et-Loir department.
G2Mobility selected Tinynode to complement its charging stations, to prevent unauthorized use of parking lots dedicated to EV recharge, and to provide drivers with real-time availability information.
About 120 Tinynode car detection sensors were deployed in 2015 in Eure-et-Loir. Devices were integrated with G2Mobility systems, pairing vehicle occupancy data with power drainage from charging stations to ensure a reliable and effective monitoring of EV charging stations usage. Results are very positive, and recent surveys confirm a high user satisfaction.
A similar project was recently completed in Oslo, Norway, where ITS and traffic solutions provider Swarco is acting as system integrator on Akershus Parking facilities. Swarco was entrusted to provide EV charging stations to 90 parking lots, and worked with Tinynode to equip each of them with car detection sensors.
By integrating Tinynode systems with Akershus Parking guiding system, it was possible to increase usage of EV charging stations, at the same time reducing abuses and unauthorized parking.
PE Smart Urban Network is a high performing, reliable, and scalable platform with a foundation built on our Smart Lighting solution. By controlling light points to adjust brightness according to daily solar times, ambient light levels, human or vehicle presence roadway lighting can be optimized to reach up to 70% savings on electricity spend while significantly reducing greenhouse emissions.
PE Smart Nodes interfacing with luminaires may also be integrated with additional connected motion sensors, traffic monitoring, tilt sensors and other devices, triggering condition-based dynamic lighting.
Smart Lighting, Smarter Cities
Small to large-scale projects
PE Smart Urban Network allows municipalities and operators to remotely monitor and control parking facilities, collecting and taking advantage of a full range of parking-related data, such as the number of available lots in a specific area, the duration of each parking and possible abuses (such as unauthorized parking.)
These pieces of information enable a smarter management of existing facilities and the increase of average usage rates. By integrating the solution with mobile apps, variable message panels and traffic guidance systems, it is possible to alert drivers with real-time parking availability and route them to the nearest parking area.
Smart Parking, Smarter Cities
A unique sensor technology
Smart Car Parking
PE Smart Urban Network includes a ready-to-use Smart Waste application for City and utility managers to enhance municipal solid waste collection. By equipping waste bins with Paradox Engineering – MinebeaMitsumi 6LoWPAN sensors, it becomes possible to collect and send data about the level of filling, date and time of latest waste collection, and predict when the bin will need emptying.
PE Smart CMS also generates alerts in case of fire, vandalism or unauthorized bin movements.
The intelligent routing software can correlate data including types of container, their locations and ownership details, sorting centers, truck fleet operation history as well as maps and traffic, dynamic routing and weather information. This allows trucks to be dispatched when the bins are close to full.
Thanks to PE Smart Urban Network, Cities can optimize solid waste collection and the process of route-planning and scheduling for trucks, reducing the number of truck rolls and the mileage associated with them, which in turn reduces the fleet carbon footprint and urban congestion.
Supporting both Wireless IoT and Wireless Highspeed IoT, PE Smart Urban Network enables the remote management and control of a variety of urban services.
Cities today are facing new challenges due to rapidly changing climate conditions. In order to more effectively monitor the impact of climate change on residents, municipalities can integrate environmental sensing units into their smart city platform. While traditional weather sensing equipment is large and expensive, MinebeaMitsumi’s solution packs a suite of sensors into a compact package less than 4 inches tall.
Eight different sensors are able to provide data to city managers such as rain intensity, wind speed, solar illuminance, UV strength, temperature, humidity, air pressure and acceleration. Cities can then alert residents to any potential hazards like flooding and UV exposure in real time.
