At SCS Schreder, our goal extends beyond simply illuminating public areas. We aim to actively shape vibrant, efficient, and intelligent urban environments. Throughout the past year, a handful of technologies have been developed that enable this vision. An emerging idea is the installation of advanced edge AI sensors. Already, smart sensors are driving significant improvements in city management, public safety, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability.
Introducing Edge AI Sensor Technology
Edge AI sensor technology stands out due to its ability to process data directly on the pole, attached and powered by the lighting fixtures themselves. This enables the hardware to crunch the numbers and run algorithms without ever sending large datasets back to distant cloud servers. By managing data locally, these sensors substantially reduce delays (latency), use less network bandwidth, enhance data privacy, and enable public anonymisation. By embedding these intelligent systems into streetlights, Schreder enables cities to proactively respond to their dynamic urban contexts.
One key example of this capability is enhanced urban safety and energy savings. Traditional street lighting often runs on rigid schedules, incapable of adjusting light levels to the current conditions. In contrast, Schreder, working with Ausgrid, has begun creating automations that take in the traffic data, analysing vehicle speeds, density, conditions, and weather, amalgamating all parameters to dynamically adjust illumination levels based on real-time conditions. Rather than simply detecting movement, these sensors interpret patterns of pedestrian and vehicle traffic. For instance, during quiet hours, the system dims lights to conserve energy but rapidly increases brightness when there’s increased traffic or poor weather, ensuring optimal safety without wasting resources.
Deeper Urban Insights with Real-Time Monitoring
AI edge sensors enable cities to gain deeper insights into their environments. These sensors monitor crucial urban metrics, including air quality, weather conditions, ambient noise, and pedestrian flow. The sensors have been utilised and installed by Logan City Council and Ausgrid to look at pedestrians’ usage of specific seating, pedestrian routes, behaviours, and even extending counting dogs in a park, and tracking scooter riders on pathways. This technology enables measurements previously unattainable, offering unprecedented insight into urban dynamics.
Another significant advantage of edge AI lighting solutions is their approach to data privacy and security. As urban areas increasingly deploy connected technologies, protecting personal data has become essential. By performing all data analysis locally, the sensors significantly minimise the risk of sensitive information exposure. The system transmits only anonymised key metrics, enabling councils to make informed decisions without compromising individual privacy.
From Smart Alerts to Smart Insights
Combined with a CMS, these sensors can also provide near-real-time alerts, issuing notifications when someone is driving too fast, being too loud, in restricted areas, or even when a specific phrase or sound is detected. As more sensors are deployed, cities can begin to build a more sophisticated understanding of their wider environments. Currently, sensors provide detailed statistics and reveal local patterns within specific streets or public areas. However, as the sensor database increases, interconnections among sensors can be established, allowing cities to understand deeper underlying relationships between locations.
Looking towards the future, the full potential of these sensors is yet to come. One promising avenue for leveraging this extensive data is through AI digital. These digital twins can enable highly accurate simulations under different conditions, addressing hypothetical scenarios such as “what if we converted this street into a public park?” or “Would traffic conditions improve if we added a new road here?”.
Revolutionising Urban Planning
With comprehensive, real-time sensor data, cities could significantly reduce their reliance on traditional methods like traffic surveys, feasibility studies, or pilot trials. Digital twin technology can simulate realistic outcomes rapidly and accurately, providing actionable insights without significant investments into preliminary assessments. For example, before permanently altering road layouts or urban spaces, city planners could virtually simulate multiple designs and evaluate their impacts on traffic flow, air quality, and public safety.
Moving even further into the future, there may be AI systems that proactively optimise city management. An AI could analyse extensive sensor datasets, identify critical issues, and propose optimal solutions, automatically highlighting areas for improvement and suggesting the most effective solutions for long-term benefits.
While much of this remains speculative, the current value of sensor technology is already clear. These sensors lay a robust foundation for smarter urban management while also opening numerous possibilities for innovative, data-driven maintenance and planning strategies.
Collaborating with Cities for Smarter Outcomes
Here at SCS Schreder, we aim to provide the most effective and valuable tools to assist cities and councils in managing their assets. But to go further, our goal is to facilitate smarter decision-making that enhances safety, fosters environmental benefits, and equips cities to adapt proactively. We are always working diligently on the forefront of technology, with AI edge sensors representing just one of the many areas we are excitedly developing.
