IDC Smart Cities Awards: Edge Computing is Helping Virginia Beach Tackle its Flooding Crisis

Premio Banner Ad

 

In remote and disaster-prone areas, the rapid deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) has opened new vistas for emergency management and community safety in smart cities. These leading IoT deployments, highlighted at the recent announcement of the IDC Smart Cities Awards winners, solidified the role that edge computing is going to play in realizing some of the most important smart city projects of the era.

The yearly IDC Smart Cities North America Awards showcase some of the most innovative use cases & deployments for smart city technology on the continent, including the use AI-powered and edge computing-dependent IoT projects tackling different slices of the smart city ecosystem, from civic engagement, to public health, to transformation, and more.

One of the standout winners included a flood resiliency initiative in Virginia Beach, VA. FloodVISION-AI, a cutting-edge project in Virginia aimed at enhancing flood resilience, was made a winner at the IDC Smart Cities Awards for its innovative approach to water management. This initiative, part of the broader StormSense Project, employs machine learning to interpret water levels from advanced 4K web cameras with infrared capabilities, set up in 2022. The deployment of these cost-effective and energy-efficient sensors marks a significant advancement in water level sensing, complementing the active sensors maintained by USGS and NOAA. Critical to the success of this project was the use of edge computing solutions, which are allowing for data processing to be done close to where data is collected, including in extremely rugged environments and use cases like flood monitoring.

What makes this IDC Smart Cities Awards winning project and its use of IoT ecosystems such a success? How important will edge computing be, especially at the rugged edge, in these types of environmental insights projects for successful smart cities? Iain Murray, Ph.D., a pioneer and leading researcher in the field of IoT, and a John Curtin Distinguished Professor at the School of EECMS at Curtain University, explains why, for these kinds of mission critical operations in rugged environments, constant uptime to perform critical computations and make decisions in real-time without needing a continuous connection to the cloud is so paramount.

“Having the processing at the edge, absolutely crucial in disaster management where you can lose internet, but also crucial in many other instances where we have unreliable or very low bandwidth connections,” Murray said.

Article written by Daniel Litwin.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

blue collar
Building Efficient and Engaged Blue-Collar Workforces Begins with Leadership Rooted in Personal Development
November 20, 2024

According to a study by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, over 2.1 million manufacturing jobs could remain unfilled by 2030 due to a lack of skilled talent. This workforce shortage reveals a critical gap in leadership within blue-collar industries. Without strong leadership to develop teams and foster growth, businesses face inefficiencies, low morale, and…

Read More
Paying it Forward: Empowering Career Migration Journeys | Sinead Carbery and Gillian Williams | EP05
Paying it Forward: Empowering Career Migration Journeys
November 20, 2024

On the latest episode of Care Anywhere: The Global Health Workforce Podcast, host Lea Sims sits down with Sinead Carberry, President of International Staffing Solutions, and Gillian Williams, MSN, BS, RN, Senior Director of Clinical Operations, both from AMN Healthcare. The episode delves into the complexities of global career mobility for healthcare professionals, with…

Read More
Healthcare access
Improving Healthcare Access Through Nontraditional Benefits and Discount Plans
November 19, 2024

Healthcare costs are rising steadily, while insurance benefits struggle to offer sufficient coverage, driving demand for practical solutions like nontraditional benefits and discount plans. As premiums rise and coverage limits remain stagnant, many individuals and employers seek alternative ways to manage costs and improve healthcare access. With chronic conditions on the rise, the stakes…

Read More
CSR with Kelem Butts
Leading the Change in Corporate Social Responsibility with Kelem Butts: Tackling Health & Educational Challenges in a Disrupted World
November 19, 2024

In an era where corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies are rapidly evolving, adapting to new challenges is paramount. As digital transformation accelerates societal shifts, organizations like United Way of Metropolitan Dallas are at the forefront of addressing critical issues, from education to economic mobility. This episode of DisruptED dives into the dynamic world of…

Read More