From streamlined waste systems to efficient public transport, technology is transforming global cities. And it needs to. It is predicted that by 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. Cities will need to embrace innovation or suffer the consequences. The fate of our future urban areas may hinge on an ability to capitalise on the huge volume of information being created today by smart devices and sensors. If we can get it right, planners, citizens and the environment are all poised to benefit.
The Connected Cities competition, run by BT Infinity Lab, aims to find and nurture SMEs that have bright ideas about how to do this. A total prize pot of £30,000 is on offer for ideas around digital products and services in three categories. The Smart City winner will work with the city of Milton Keynes to turn the concept into a reality while the Connected Society prize will go to an SME whose idea enlists ICT to help cities run more sustainably. The Internet of Things prize will reward the SME with the most innovative tech-based solution to capitalise on today’s data explosion.
Will Pryke is head of BT Infinity Lab, which has a programme of events and competitions which seek to showcase ideas from the UK’s startup and entrepreneurial community. He explained how this competition, the eighth in a series, came about: “We are moving to a world where just about everything we own or buy is connected to the internet and producing lots of data. Defined as the Internet of Things, this data will allow us to improve and automate lots of services. We believe that BT has a part to play in securing and enabling these new innovations and we want to find partner companies that share that vision.”
Pryke admits he’s frequently inspired by the smaller companies nimbly toiling away on digital innovation. “We work with many partners around the world, be they strategic, academic or in industry, and recognise the opportunity to work more closely with the startup and entrepreneurial community in the UK and Europe. The digital SMEs are evolving the business models and coming up with services we haven’t seen before.”
Pryke believes the UK startup community has become a truly global force over the last few years, and pinpoints an ever-widening breadth of innovation as the most significant trend. So, with cities set to play such a central role in the future, how can making them better connected also make them more sustainable?
“The connected city is simply more efficient,” says Pryke. “It uses less energy, has fewer traffic jams, creates less waste. It provides improved facilities, transport and a cleaner environment. This is what sustainability is all about.”
While the Internet of Things is now no longer new, some areas of innovation are more developed than others, and many advances have been made in silos, he believes. Collaboration holds the key to a rapid uptake of ideas that will make cities more efficient and sustainable, he says, and larger companies have a responsibility to nurture smaller firms that are brimming with great ideas but lack the capacity to grow and spread them.
“The use of public data, for example, about highways, and the sharing of data will bring greater benefits to all parties. I’m looking forward to seeing the breadth of innovation in this space.”
Infinity Labs is operated by BT in partnership with TechHub, an independent entrepreneur community who run co-working spaces around the world. The overall winner in the Connected Cities competition will receive a £15,000 cash prize as well as six months membership at the TechHub based in Tech City, east London, and six months mentoring by BT. Each category winner will receive £7,500.
SMEs have until 11 March to enter and can find out more here.
Content on this page was produced to a brief agreed with BT, sponsor of the technology and innovation hub
