(NYSE:GE)—Cities on both U.S. coasts will soon begin piloting new
GE technology designed to help them become more intelligent and
efficient. San Diego, California, and Jacksonville, Florida, will both
be trialing a new GE LED solution, which uses LED street lighting
installations to connect, collect and analyze data being generated,
harnessing the power of the Industrial Internet to help their city run
better while providing new services and conveniences for residents and
visitors.
From high street lighting costs to traffic congestion, parking
allotments and emergency response, cities across the world juggle a
variety of challenges. GE is developing solutions that will help cities
solve these problems through their existing infrastructure. By
repurposing street lights with LEDs containing sensors, controls,
wireless transmitters and microprocessors, a city will be able to create
new opportunities for reducing cost, optimizing their operations and
creating value-added services for residents, making their cities even
more livable and workable.
Driven by Predix*, GE’s innovative software platform that connects
machines, data and people to help improve asset performance management,
the intelligent-cities-enabling technology will provide a platform for
the future development of intelligent applications that will deliver
efficiency for the city and convenience for citizens.
“This solution truly presents endless possibilities for cities to learn,
connect and improve both their operations and everyday life for their
citizens,” says Maryrose Sylvester, president and CEO of GE Lighting.
“In the pilots with San Diego and Jacksonville, we will be working with
the cities to analyze data trends and determine where the solution holds
the most value and how it will ultimately be used.”
The potential opportunities are truly endless, giving a city access to
real-time data that never existed before.
For instance, parking downtown may be a pain, but not in the intelligent
city of the future. Networked LED street lights will have the ability to
direct drivers to available spaces with the help of built-in sensors and
wireless transceivers. The same street light could serve as a sensor and
give warnings in the event of a hurricane or other event through a
public-address speaker concealed within the light post. In another
scenario, microprocessors and other sensors could work together to give
emergency responders real-time views of an area as they are responding
to a 9-1-1 call, before they even arrive on the scene. These features
are examples of what could be driven through this solution in the future.
Jacksonville Pilot
Jacksonville, the largest city in terms of area for the continental
U.S., will trial the GE solution in the summer of 2015.
“Jacksonville is excited to be on the front lines with this pilot
project, using new technology to increase efficiency and drive
innovation, at no cost to taxpayers,” said Jacksonville Mayor Alvin
Brown. “This is another example of how public-private partnerships can
drive innovation and provide a return on investment for our taxpayers.
This technology has the potential to transform how our city solves
problems by allowing us to use the power of data to drive outcomes that
give us flexibility, efficiency and new, creative actions to enhance
life in our city.”
In addition to piloting the intelligent-city-enabling solution, the city
will also pilot LightGrid™, a wireless controls technology, which will
provide significant energy savings to the city. LightGrid allows for
more efficient management of street lights. With remote monitoring and
GPS mapping, municipalities are able to instantly identify usage and
performance of street lights within specific locations.
The city of Jacksonville has utilized public-private partnerships under
Mayor Brown to leverage public- and private-sector resources to improve
the quality of life in Jacksonville. Past projects include redevelopment
in the downtown area, collaborations to activate increased exporting and
Downtown investment, and support for resiliency and emergency
preparedness.
Read more about the Jacksonville announcement HERE.
San Diego Pilot
The first-in-the-nation pilot in San Diego adds sensor technology to
existing GE smart LED street lights, with a focus on parking solutions
in its urban core.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said, “San Diego has proven that
intelligent infrastructure saves energy and taxpayer dollars. We believe
that this collaboration will help us go further in creating truly
intelligent infrastructure that helps us improve services to the public.”
In 2014, San Diego became the first U.S. city to widely use GE’s LED
lighting fixtures with LightGrid outdoor wireless controls technology.
The technology, deployed on more than 3,000 city street lights, saves
the city more than $350,000 annually in energy and maintenance costs.
Read more about the San Diego announcement HERE.
About GE Lighting
GE Lighting invents with the vigor of its founder Thomas Edison to
develop energy-efficient solutions that change the way people light
their world in commercial, industrial, municipal and residential
settings. The business employs about 13,000 people in more than 100
countries, and sells products under the Reveal® and Energy Smart®
consumer brands, and Evolve™, GTx™, Immersion™, Infusion™, Lumination™,
Albeo™ and Tetra® commercial brands, all trademarks of GE. GE (NYSE: GE)
imagines things others don’t, builds things others can’t and delivers
outcomes that make the world work better. For more information, visit www.gelighting.com.
*Predix is a trademark of General Electric Company
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