Cities across Europe are facing growing challenges in managing urban infrastructure. This includes tackling issues such as growing traffic and reducing pollution and managing road conditions while ensuring a good quality of life for their residents. A major obstacle in tackling those challenges is that traditional sensor networks used to gather city data are expensive, hard to maintain and don’t always cover every area evenly.

A new pilot project called CitySense is offering a smart and affordable solution to that challenge. Instead of installing thousands of fixed sensors across a city, CitySense uses existing public vehicles like buses and garbage trucks to collect important data while they move around during their regular routes. This creates a mobile network of sensors that gives city officials real-time information about what’s happening on the ground, all at a much lower cost.

Improving traffic safety, road maintenance and air quality

CitySense’s goal is to show that mobile sensing can be more effective than traditional sensor networks. The project aims to improve traffic safety; help maintain roads before they become dangerous and provide better air quality information for residents.

In the long run, the data from CitySense could help cities make smarter decisions about urban planning, reduce costs and support more sustainable living while meeting the goals set in development strategies like Estonia 2035 and the New European Bauhaus.

Want to get involved?

 CitySense is open to collaboration:

• Cities can join as future pilot sites or early adopters.
• Tech companies can build new sensor tools to add to the CitySense system.
• Researchers can use the data for studies in urban development and the environment.