British smart city applications provider Telensa has announced that the company was selected by Sunshine Coast Council to install its intelligent street lighting system in the Maroochydore City Center for a 24 month pilot smart city project. Meanwhile, in Chicago, 76,000 LED smart streetlights were installed as part of the city’s four-year modernization program.

(Image: Business Wire)

Through deploying Telensa’s PLANet smart street lighting system, it is expected that the Maroochydore City Centre development will create a new capital city for the region with smart technology embedded. The system will consist of wireless nodes connecting individual lights, a dedicated wireless network owned by the city, and a central management application. The purpose of the pilot project is to demonstrate the social, environmental and financial benefits of adaptive street lighting. It will also show the potential for adding smart city sensors such as for air quality, traffic analytics and waste monitoring. The system is due to be deployed in September.

Chicago has initiated a four-year modernization program since last year, aiming to replace 270,000 lights with LED streetlight and to install a lighting management system by 2021. One of the purposes of the new streetlight installation is to light up the areas which have higher risks of crime and public safety concerns. Reliable lighting is expected to help to increase safety in those neighborhoods.

The new lights are also expected to consume 50-75 percent less energy compared with the high-pressure sodium streetlights. According to the mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, it is estimated that the city will save up to US$1 million in electricity cost in the first year and US$ 100 million for the next decade, which will offset the upgrading expenses.

“This project demonstrates how the Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT) can drive community investments that benefit the city’s residents and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods. We look forward to continuing our work on much needed public infrastructure initiatives that will create equitable economic development in our neighborhoods for years to come,” commented Kurt Summers, chair of CIT, and Chicago treasurer.