Sensing infrastructures (Module 3)
The inclusion of sensors in systems such as geographical regions, cities, and organisations creates sensing infrastructures able to learn and react to changes in the physical environment.
Sensor devices measure physical attributes such as light, heat, motion, moisture, and pressure that can be read, or processed, by a human or artificial observer such an actuator or a warning system.
Sensing infrastructures offer the proposition of transforming the design of urban space, by means of connected sensors, big data and the participation of citizens as codifiers or interpreters of new sources of information.
For instance, in the field of disaster and emergency management, information coming from mobile phones, social media, weather radars, seismic monitoring systems, and alike, can be merged and analysed to anticipate disasters and communicate with populations.
Within smart city projects, sensing infrastructures are used to monitor air pollution, traffic congestion and energy consumption. Citizens can even contribute by feeding information into sensing infrastructures using their connected devices, such such smartphones, tablet computer, laptops, smart meters, or wearables.