Articles tagged with "smart-cities"
City Detect, which uses AI to help cities stay safe and clean, raises $13M Series A
City Detect, a startup founded in 2021 that leverages vision AI to help local governments monitor urban health, has raised $13 million in a Series A funding round led by Prudence Venture Capital. The company uses cameras mounted on public vehicles such as garbage trucks to capture images of buildings and neighborhoods, then applies computer vision to identify issues like graffiti, illegal dumping, litter, structural damage, and code violations. This approach enables cities to track thousands of problem areas weekly, a significant improvement over the manual tracking methods currently in place. City Detect’s technology also respects privacy by blurring faces and license plates and can differentiate between street art and vandalism. Currently operating in at least 17 cities including Dallas and Miami, City Detect collaborates with local governments to address urban blight efficiently, often resolving issues without citations. The company has raised a total of $15 million to date and is a member of the GovAI Coalition, SOC 2 Type II compliant, and adheres to a Responsible AI
IoTAIcomputer-visionsmart-citiesurban-monitoringpublic-safetyenvironmental-technology5 world record-breaking megastructures set to reshape global skylines
The article highlights five groundbreaking megastructures currently under construction worldwide, each poised to set new records in height, volume, or sustainability, reflecting a transformative era in urban architecture. The Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia aims to become the world’s tallest building by 2028, surpassing the Burj Khalifa by over 170 meters and breaking the 1-kilometer height barrier. Designed as a vertical city with offices, luxury residences, and a hotel, it presents unprecedented engineering challenges related to wind, materials, and elevators. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Mukaab in Riyadh will be the largest building by volume, enclosing 1.4 million square meters to create a self-contained urban district, pushing the limits of logistics and climate control, with completion targeted by 2030. Dubai’s Burj Binghatti is set to become the tallest residential-only tower at approximately 557 meters, emphasizing luxury living and structural innovations to manage sway and comfort. In Australia, Atlass
materialsenergysustainabilitymegastructuresconstruction-innovationengineeringsmart-citiesHauler Hero collects $16M for its AI waste management software
Hauler Hero, a New York-based startup founded in 2020 by CEO Mark Hoadley and Ben Sikma, has raised $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Frontier Growth, bringing its total venture capital raised to over $27 million. The company offers an all-in-one AI-powered software platform for waste management companies, integrating customer relationship management, billing, routing, and new AI features. Since its inception, Hauler Hero has facilitated 35 million trash pickups and has doubled its headcount, revenue, and customer base recently. A notable innovation includes a system that captures images from third-party cameras on garbage trucks to verify pickups, billing, and fleet monitoring, which has met some resistance from sanitation workers and unions but also helps reduce liability. Hauler Hero is now developing three AI agents: Hero Vision to identify service issues and revenue opportunities, Hero Chat as a customer inquiry chatbot, and Hero Route to optimize routing automatically. The company plans to use its new funding to commercialize
IoTAIwaste-managementsoftware-platformfleet-managementautomationsmart-citiesTraffic jams to power AI as scientists transform roads into computers
Researchers at Tohoku University in Japan have developed a novel AI approach called Harvested Reservoir Computing (HRC) that leverages real-world traffic dynamics as a computational resource, significantly reducing energy consumption compared to traditional AI systems. This method builds on reservoir computing principles by using the complex, naturally occurring interactions within urban road networks—specifically traffic flow—as a "reservoir" to process data. The team, led by Professor Hiroyasu Ando, tested this concept through a combination of scaled autonomous car experiments and simulations of grid-like urban traffic, discovering that predictive accuracy peaks at a critical medium-density traffic state just before congestion occurs. This state offers the most diverse and informative traffic dynamics, enabling accurate forecasting with minimal computational overhead. Importantly, the HRC approach does not require new specialized hardware; it can utilize existing traffic sensors and observational data, making it practical for real-world application. The researchers propose that roads and other social infrastructures can be viewed as continuously operating computers, potentially transforming smart city management
AIenergy-efficiencysmart-citiesreservoir-computingtraffic-managementurban-computingsustainable-technology2025 Highlight: Guangzhou Shows a Potential Future of Clean City Living - CleanTechnica
The article reflects on a 2025 visit to Guangzhou, China, highlighting the city as a compelling example of a clean, sustainable, and livable urban future. The author contrasts Guangzhou’s advanced integration of technology and urban planning with outdated Western perceptions of Chinese cities. Guangzhou’s design emphasizes vertical living with abundant greenery incorporated into balconies, medians, walkways, and rooftops, creating a visually appealing and environmentally friendly urban environment. Parks are strategically placed throughout the city, often atop shopping malls, with transportation infrastructure like roads and subways running beneath, enhancing both accessibility and green space. The piece also discusses the broader benefits of dense urban living, noting that higher population density can lead to environmental advantages such as preserved natural areas, reduced energy loss in buildings, and more efficient mass transit systems. The author contrasts this with the sprawling, car-dependent suburbs common in parts of the U.S., which often lack efficient transit and green space. Guangzhou exemplifies how cities can evolve beyond traditional models to become more efficient
energysmart-citiesurban-sustainabilityclean-energyelectric-transportationenergy-efficiencysustainable-livingAutolane is building ‘air traffic control’ for autonomous vehicles
Autolane, a Palo Alto-based startup, is developing an “air traffic control” system for autonomous vehicles aimed at coordinating critical handoff moments such as pickup and drop-off locations. With $7.4 million in new funding from investors including Draper Associates and Hyperplane, Autolane plans to create both physical infrastructure—like signage at designated spots—and software to manage autonomous vehicle arrivals on private properties. The company has already partnered with Simon Property Group to implement this system at shopping centers in Austin and San Francisco, focusing initially on robotaxi services but with ambitions to support a broader range of autonomous vehicle tasks in the future. Autolane’s CEO, Ben Seidl, emphasizes that the startup operates as an “application layer” in the autonomous vehicle ecosystem, orchestrating and coordinating vehicle movements rather than building the vehicles or fundamental technology themselves. Seidl points to real-world challenges, such as a Waymo robotaxi getting stuck in a Chick-fil-A drive-through, as examples of the operational chaos
robotautonomous-vehiclesrobotaxitransportation-infrastructuredriverless-technologymobilitysmart-cities7 smartest cities of world that could define urban living in 2025
The article highlights seven of the world’s smartest cities poised to define urban living by 2025, based on the 2025 Global Innovation Index (GII) by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). These cities lead in technological innovation, sustainability, and smart urban management, collectively generating over 70% of global patents and venture capital. Zurich exemplifies a well-planned smart city with integrated public transport, waste heat reuse, and digital tools for sustainable construction, while Oslo stands out for its green initiatives, including a high adoption of electric vehicles and renewable hydro power, supported by programs like FutureBuilt and an automated toll system promoting zero-emission transport. Geneva advances smart city innovation through the Smart Canton project, focusing on renewable energy integration and environmental monitoring technologies such as LoRaWAN, alongside strong public participation and green spaces. Dubai, making the largest leap in the Smart City Index, aims to be the “happiest and smartest city on Earth” by leveraging AI-driven traffic management
smart-citiesgreen-energyrenewable-energyelectric-vehiclesIoTurban-innovationsustainable-developmentWaymo approved to start autonomous vehicle testing in New York City
Waymo has received New York City’s first-ever permit to test autonomous vehicles, allowing the company to deploy up to eight Jaguar I-Pace SUVs in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn through late September 2025. The testing requires a trained safety operator to remain in the driver’s seat with at least one hand on the wheel at all times, and the vehicles are not permitted to pick up passengers without additional licensing from the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. Waymo must also regularly report data and meet with the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) as part of the permit conditions. This approval marks a significant milestone for Waymo as it moves closer to launching a robotaxi service in New York City, which presents a more complex and challenging environment compared to its current operations in warmer cities like San Francisco, Austin, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. The company has been preparing for this step since 2021 by manually mapping the city and engaging with local lawmakers and organizations. The permit was granted under a new
robotautonomous-vehiclesWaymoself-driving-carsurban-mobilitytransportation-technologysmart-citiesFrom surveillance to public service: the rise of drone swarms
The article discusses the evolving role of drone swarms from primarily surveillance tools to vital assets in civil protection and public service. As climate-related disasters increase and urban environments become more complex, drone swarms—autonomous aerial systems capable of decentralized collaboration and real-time adaptation—offer faster, smarter, and more reliable responses to crises. The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi is at the forefront of this innovation, developing AI-driven drone swarms that mimic natural behaviors to self-organize and perform tasks such as searching for survivors, mapping hazards, and assessing infrastructure damage during emergencies. Beyond disaster response, these swarms also support crisis prevention by monitoring traffic, air quality, and structural integrity in smart cities, aligning with digital governance goals like resilience and sustainability. TII’s work is closely tied to the UAE’s AI Strategy 2031, emphasizing ethical AI development and positioning drone swarms as tools for public good rather than surveillance or militarization. Despite their potential, public perception remains a challenge,
robotautonomous-dronesdrone-swarmsAIsmart-citiesdisaster-responsepublic-safetyUber & WeRide Expanding Robotaxi Partnership to 15 More Cities
robotrobotaxiautonomous-vehiclesWeRideUbertransportation-technologysmart-cities