Professors and students at the University of Buffalo will have access to an innovative technology platform
The city of Buffalo has deployed an internet of things (IoT) network through a partnership between French IoT company Sigfox and the University at Buffalo’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Sigfox said that its network at UB provides coverage to the Buffalo Niagara region.
“It’s really cutting-edge technology for UB researchers to conduct groundbreaking experiments that could lead to great societal benefits,” said Josep Jornet, assistant professor of electrical engineering at UB. “We’ll also be able to implement the network into our classrooms, offering students an immersive, hands-on course specifically about the internet of things.”
As part of that course, UB is working with the city of Buffalo to identify how students can apply the technology to improve services.
“We are excited the University at Buffalo chose Sigfox LPWA network as the backbone to support the internet of things academics,” said Sean Horan, director of sales and partners at Sigfox North America. “What can be achieved through IoT is limited only by human imagination, and providing universities with IoT technologies, where imagination is fostered, we’ll see a whole new wave of innovation powered by IoT.”
“The network will provide a state-of-the-art technology platform for professors and students, as well as for entrepreneurs and existing companies looking to innovate,” said Liesl Folks, dean of UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Sigfox’s network is present in 32 countries and on track to cover 60 by 2018. The IoT network covers a population of 589 million people.
Ten Asian cities to become smart cities by 2025
In related news, a total of 10 cities in the Asia Pacific region are expected to become smart cities by 2025, according to a recent study by Frost & Sullivan.
The study highlighted that 50% of these cities will be located in China.
“Several government agendas in this region are driving the building of smarter cities in Singapore, Japan, China, and South Korea. Investments are expected to grow from $55.6 billion in 2013 to $260 billion in 2020,” Hazmi Yusof, SVP at Frost & Sullivan, said. “Eight emerging cities also have standalone smart city projects, which when scaled-up, can achieve the smart city status by 2030 and beyond.”
