http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/i/5141/?cid=3

Computer giant Intel has announced a five year collaboration with two UK universities to use smart technology to tackle urban issues like energy supply and environmental problems.

The move is part of a $40 million investment programme in Intel Collaborative Research Institutes (ICRI), which bring together experts from academia and industry to work together on future technologies.

The ICRI for Sustainable Connected Cities with Imperial College London and University College London will turn the capital city into a test bed for an urban cloud platform to manage realtime data to help deal with energy and water supplies, extreme weather events and transport, as well as other issues.

The institute will use fixed and mobile sensors - including attached to 'intelligent' vehicles - across London to collect data on emissions, traffic flow and weather to help city planners.

"The Institute will use this data to develop models for 'sustaining sustainable behaviour', in areas such as community energy management and water conservation," explains Justin Rattner, chief technology officer at Intel.

The computer giant says it chose London because it is the fifth largest in the world, has the largest GDP in Europe, has around 200 diverse ethnic communities and over 300 languages spoken and is, of course, going to host the Olympic Games this summer.

"We plan to use the event to understand the experiences of a city under pre-planned stress," says Rattner. "What systems worked or didn't work and why? How were the daily lives of the citizens, workers, and businesses of London affected?"

The new research institute was launched at Number 10 Downing Street in the presence of Chancellor George Osborne.

"The new ICRI programme underscores our commitment to establishing and funding collaborative university research to fuel global innovation in key areas and help address some of today's most challenging problems," adds Rattner.