Shaurya Agarwal first heard the term 麻豆精品 S渟mart city 麻豆精品 S� in 2015. He was finishing his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in the city of neon lights (Las Vegas), which would lead him to do research in the city that never sleeps (New York) before teaching in the city of angels (Los Angeles).
麻豆精品 S淔rom the moment I heard about cities being smart, it has always been on my mind, 麻豆精品 S� Agarwal says. The concept resonates for this engineering visionary because he was raised in a small town in India with unstable transportation, electric, water and drainage systems. 麻豆精品 S淚 had a strong feeling that a 麻豆精品 S榮mart city 麻豆精品 S� would benefit everyone living in it, for generations. 麻豆精品 S�
Little did Agarwal know at the time that in 2024 he would be in Orlando, The City Beautiful, as founding director of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Urban Intelligence and Smart City Lab and coordinator of its innovative Smart Cities master 麻豆精品 S檚 program. He could have continued his blossoming career in any major city with a reputable university, but he came to Central Florida because he saw something fresh: under the umbrella of the Future City Initiative, researchers and students from a variety of departments who would soon be working with industry and city leaders toward a singular goal.
麻豆精品 S淪martness, 麻豆精品 S� says Agarwal, an associate professor in civil environmental and construction engineering.
Let 麻豆精品 S檚 just pause for a moment and address a basic question: What exactly is a smart city? The Orlando area has smart people with smart ideas. We have a university with world-renown instructors and a history of groundbreaking tech research in AR, VR, digital twinning, modeling and simulation. Yet with all of these smarts, we still live on a finite piece of land with a finite supply of water, all shared by a rapidly growing population. It doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 take long for such a city to become less beautiful.
Unless it 麻豆精品 S檚 truly smart.
麻豆精品 S淭he concept of a smart city is broad, but in general it means you integrate technology to remove the negatives of daily life, 麻豆精品 S� says Cameron Ford, founding director of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and executive director of the Blackstone LaunchPad. 麻豆精品 S淣o congestion. No sanitation issues. No excess air pollutants. No problems with reliable power or water. A smart city uses foresight to improve livability, sustainability and resilience so residents can enjoy today while preparing for the uncertainties of tomorrow.”
For an example, Agarwal 麻豆精品 S檚 latest research provides a moving picture of what mobility within a smart city might look like: Traffic moving with the harmonious speed and efficiency of a school of fish (as opposed to the stop-and-go crawl of a caterpillar). In this city, autonomous vehicles would use sensors to transmit messages to each other and to the infrastructure. Road travel becomes cooperative and quick. It 麻豆精品 S檚 stress-free, and yes, friendly.
麻豆精品 S淭echnology is the connective tissue between every project in a smart city, 麻豆精品 S� Agarwal says, 麻豆精品 S渁nd it requires a lot of small projects connected together. They become the digital infrastructure. You can 麻豆精品 S檛 necessarily see them, but they make the quality of daily life better. 麻豆精品 S�
Carol Ann Logue is director of programs and operations for UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Innovation Districts and Business Incubation Program. She and Ford are involved in smart city initiatives because at some point every tech-centered project, visible or invisible, comes down to business. Without investment even the smartest idea will never see the light of day.
麻豆精品 S淭he cities that can pull this off have experts from every important sector intertwined into a singular ecosystem, 麻豆精品 S� Logue says. 麻豆精品 S淔or Orlando, it 麻豆精品 S檚 healthcare, transportation, hospitality, education, engineering and business. We have a pipeline of young talent, intellectual property, forward-thinking research 麻豆精品 S� everything is here, due in large part to UCF, to be become fully integrated, and smarter. 麻豆精品 S�
Until recently, however, something crucial had been missing.
麻豆精品 S淔or as long as I 麻豆精品 S檝e been in Orlando, there have been frustrations that the rest of the world didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know about the tech capabilities here, which made it challenging to attract outside investors, 麻豆精品 S� Logue says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut that 麻豆精品 S檚 changing quickly. 麻豆精品 S�
Logue is referring to the presence of Plug and Play, a global startup accelerator with a deep network of investors and companies able to supercharge emerging tech markets like central Florida. Plug and Play opened an Orlando office earlier in 2024 as part of a partnership with UCF, the city, Orange County, Duke Energy and Tavistock, with the goal of advancing Orlando as a smart city.
麻豆精品 S淭his region 麻豆精品 S檚 identity as a tech market is unique, 麻豆精品 S� Ford says. 麻豆精品 S淲e don 麻豆精品 S檛 have major corporate headquarters spinning out talent, like they have in Silicon Valley. However, we do have talented, ambitious students and researchers coming up with new ideas to improve urban life. They 麻豆精品 S檙e developing expertise learning how to turn that expertise into viable business. Plug and Play fills a critical gap by attracting corporate partners and risk capital so those tech startups can flourish. 麻豆精品 S�
Logue says she 麻豆精品 S檇 been aware of Plug and Play for years because she 麻豆精品 S檚 in the world of business incubation. 麻豆精品 S淭hey don 麻豆精品 S檛 just go anywhere. There has to be a culture of innovative technology for them to nurture into a smart-city ecosystem. That 麻豆精品 S檚 exactly what we have here. 麻豆精品 S�
Plug and Play developed its first smart city cohort for Orlando in April. They invited more than two dozen companies to pitch the innovation they would bring to the smart city initiative. Of the 14 companies chosen for the cohort 麻豆精品 S� some local and some from outside the area 麻豆精品 S� four were founded by students, graduates and researchers from UCF: CapaciTech, which builds flexible and high-energy storage solutions; the smart mobility company ConnectedWise; Precision Periodic, which uses nanobeads for water treatment; and Fluix, an energy-saving AI-based autopilot.
麻豆精品 S淢any of the companies from outside the area that pitched said, 麻豆精品 S榃e 麻豆精品 S檝e been interested in moving to Florida, but didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know about the tech capabilities here until Plug and Play came along, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Logue says. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 been a 麻豆精品 S榳ow 麻豆精品 S� for a lot of people. 麻豆精品 S�
They 麻豆精品 S檝e been wowed to find out about UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 aforementioned Smart Cities master 麻豆精品 S檚 program, the only such program that fuses technology with disciplines focused on water and air quality, transportation and land development and public policy. They 麻豆精品 S檝e been wowed to discover UCF working on a $26 million NSF-funded Engineering Research Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3), and a transportation science and tech program ranked among the world 麻豆精品 S檚 best.
麻豆精品 S淭hey 麻豆精品 S檙e also impressed with the collaboration between experts in different fields, 麻豆精品 S� Logue says, 麻豆精品 S渂ecause everyone knows collaboration is the best way to make real progress. 麻豆精品 S�
Less than 10 years ago, Agarwal heard 麻豆精品 S渟mart city 麻豆精品 S� for the first time. Today he 麻豆精品 S檚 helping one come together. Many students in the Smart Cities master 麻豆精品 S檚 program are professionals who are reskilling themselves. One is developing a smart parking system. Another is coming up with a method to ensure healthy water quality in pools. Yet another is researching a way to locate lead pipes underground so they can be removed without tearing up the landscape.
麻豆精品 S淭hese people have always had ideas, 麻豆精品 S� Agarwal says, 麻豆精品 S渁nd now their ideas have the potential to be grown into start-ups, then incubated, and perhaps supported through Plug and Play 麻豆精品 S檚 network. It 麻豆精品 S檚 still early, but that 麻豆精品 S檚 what makes this an exciting time. We 麻豆精品 S檙e just getting started. 麻豆精品 S�
