Kickstarting Hull’s Smart City: Morning Event (Invite Only)

Morning Session | Kickstart - call to action (Invite Only)

If you have not received a direct invite to the morning session please email dr@c4di.net to check whether you are eligible for entry. 

Brief Description:

The morning session is to set the direction and approach.  We want to find out how much appetite there is and to find a way of collaborating for mutual benefit. This is a key session for decision makers and those setting policies.

LoRa (short for Low Powered Radio) will be a major component of the smart cities and neighbourhoods of the future and we think it is crucial that Hull should be at the forefront of these developments.

We believe LoRa is an important component of a Smart City and offers solutions to varied problems covering topics such as air quality improvement and adult social services.  Hull should be part of the leading wave of innovators and we intend to start a programme of activities and projects to explore the capability of LoRa.  We want to bring together organisations who could benefit from the technology with those who can implement it, so we can get started - we would like your participation!

Itinerary (Morning)

Kickstart - call to action (9:30 to 13:00)

9:30 Arrival and registration (with coffee)

10:00 Welcome - objectives and agenda Robin Harris

10:20 Introduction to LoRa Rob Miles

10:45 Experiences Building a LoRa Community Paul Foster

11:30 Coffee

11:45 Call to action - facilitated discussion All
Offers to contribute - problems, people or resources
Steering Group
Infrastructure
Projects to build understanding and momentum
Smart City Hackathon
Hull infrastructure
Activity groups
Scheduled meetups

13:00 Lunch

Full Description:

LoRa (short for Low Powered Radio) will be a major component of the smart cities and neighbourhoods of the future and we think it is crucial that Hull should be at the forefront of these developments.

Smarter Cities aim to use technology to solve a variety of problems from transportation challenges to air quality improvement and adult social services.  Our aim is for technology to be used to address some of these challenges locally.

The Kickstart event at C4DI will bring together potential users of low-powered radio networking and technical expertise to implement it, to jointly set a trajectory for the development of the technology in this area.  Cities around the world are using LoRa to improve traffic flows, waste management, street lighting, predictive maintenance and air quality.

We would like to see anyone who would like to contribute coming together help us set the direction and to collaborate on this important technology.  We particularly want to hear from potential users of LoRa to understand the opportunities offered by low power radio devices and we want to see local technology providers working together to provide the infrastructure that will underpin the network.

If you have an interest in Smart Cities, or the Internet of Things, you should come along.  It’s free to attend. The only thing you’ll be investing is your time finding out about this exciting new technology.

What will be happening on the day?

LoRa (short for Low Powered Radio) allows small, low powered devices to connect to a wide area network using a radio system with a range of up to a few kilometres or so. It is not a universal panacea for connecting Internet of Things (IoT) devices, but it does have huge potential for products and services. One major purpose of the event is to raise awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of LoRa and how it can be used. We also want to take a first step in setting up a LoRa initiative in this area.

The morning session is to set the direction and approach.  We want to find out how much appetite there is and to find a way of collaborating for mutual benefit.  This is a key session for decision makers and those setting policies.

In the afternoon we look in more detail at the technology.  This session is aimed at those who might want to learn more and potentially participate in projects.

Why are we running the event?

We believe LoRa is an important component of a Smart City and offers solutions to varied problems covering topics such as air quality improvement and adult social services.  Hull should be part of the leading wave of innovators and we intend to start a programme of activities and projects to explore the capability of LoRa.  We want to bring together organisations who could benefit from the technology with those who can implement it, so we can get started - we would like your participation!

Why should you come?

To find out more about the technology and its capabilities and to see what other people and organisations are doing.  And to find out how you can participate in the developing LoRa in our area.

Who is organising the event?

In association with the C4DI,

Rob Miles has been teaching computer programming for more than 25 years. An expert on Visual C# and a Microsoft MVP for Device Application Development, Rob enjoys inspiring new and experienced programmers. As well as writing his own games, programs, and poetry, Rob has consulted on a wide range of commercial software projects.

Robin Harris has managed IT in large organisations and has lead a variety of innovation projects.  Since leaving the world of large business, he has run his own IT recruitment company, taught scuba diving and consulted on digital innovation.  He is a keen maker of Internet of Things devices and experiments with digital technology.