CES 2019: Livin' an ENGIE solution for smarter cities

Livin’ has existed for one year. It is an urban data management platform that monitors, controls, visualizes and creates value from data from connected infrastructures. It is intended to help cities with the complex issues like traffic, air quality, parking and energy efficiency.

Livin' is deployed in France in La Baule, in Brazil (Niteroï), and in Italy (Bari). We plan to deploy in other cities and add other features to process data from other types of infrastructure.

Are these essentially mobility-related infrastructure systems?

For the moment in La Baule, the platform provides the city with data from parking meters, parking availability, variable message signs and other networks that help manage traffic and parking in the city overall.

In Niteroï, the platform helps control traffic signal systems, traffic lights and cameras, on a bigger scale than La Baule but addressing similar issues.

In Bari, we use sensors installed on public buildings to track air quality. This is a first step for us prior to a fuller rollout.

So, it is a multifunctional platform that you can deploy based on the needs of your customers.

Yes, but it is important to note that we are committed to achieving outcomes. Issues such as traffic congestion are multi-factor and the more connected infrastructure we have, the more we will be able to master the different elements and reach our objectives.

The platform operates on two levels: the hypervisor and the supervisors.

• Supervisors are the management software that can interact and control infrastructure such as street lights directly.
• The Hypervisor level then collects data that it uses to create scenarios that allow specific situations to trigger certain actions. We will gradually integrate artificial intelligence to anticipate situations and react preventively.

Using the data you collect, for example, can you advise cities on network extensions, or others?

Yes, but that part will take place a bit later on, when cities will have collected more data that we can help them use to plan. For this aspect that we have planned to integrate Siradel into the platform to visualize the data for planning purposes and present it in an understandable way.

What are you going to show at CES?

At CES, we will show the software as it has been rolled out, using real data from La Baule and Niteroï. We will show several use cases through an interactive tablet, which will allow people to enter the system.

This will show how one can interact in the case of La Baule variable message boards, or how different events can be triggered via the platform.

What are your expectations of your presence at CES?

Even though the CES audience is very international, we hope to meet an American audience with the ambition to expand in the United States. We would like to find technology partners to expand Livin's areas of activity and the kinds of connected infrastructure we work with. For example, we are interested in connected street furniture: bus shelters, benches, etc. By giving the public access to wifi or the ability to recharge their phones, these infrastructure become sources of data for the cities and give them and the public access to information about usage patterns in various places... in short, allowing them to create value in different ways.

The CES will therefore be an opportunity for us to identify partners, but also to contribute to the innovative image of ENGIE by showing that we are at the forefront of the platforms that are increasingly demanded by the cities.

How do you see the Smart City in 2030?

The city of the future already exists, it is 98% built. Today we are making processes more transparent, communicating better with citizens about what is happening, saving money and energy, but also making the city more sustainable, more fun and pleasant for citizens.

I do not see a radical transformation between the city of today and tomorrow in physical terms, but I hope that platforms such as Livin’ will make it possible for citizens to better understand each other and to discuss the changes that are changing the faces of our cities all over the world.

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