Image source: City of Edinburgh Council
City of Edinburgh Council has officially opened its new City Operations Centre.
It has been delivered in partnership with IT service and solutions provider North as part of a £2.6m contract, funded by the council and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme known as ‘Scotland’s 8th City – the Smart City'.
The latter is contributing £712,000 in grant funding towards the project.
It is replacing an outdated control centre to receive real time data from the council’s CCTV network 24/7, which will be integrated with other technologies with the aims of improving traffic flow, transport infrastructure and city planning – and reducing the city’s collective carbon footprint.
The council said that advanced analytics will help it and its partners respond to emergencies and manage large scale events such as the Hogmanay and August Festivals.
Cutting edge, low carbon
At the official launch of the centre Council Leader Cammy Day said: “This new operations centre has been years in the making and it’s fantastic to see it live in action. With cutting edge, low carbon technology designed to keep the city moving and our communities safe, it drastically steps up our capabilities as a council.
“We’ve completely overhauled the technology we use within the control centre and across the city – replacing outdated analogue cameras with intelligent internet enabled devices. This means we can analyse events and traffic in real time.
“Particularly as our city grows, our investment will support the safety of the public and wider community, deterring and preventing anti-social behaviour and crime like we sadly experienced recently on Bonfire Night and Remembrance Sunday.”
He added that the council is also rolling out waste and housing sensors, new digital learning opportunities in schools, and an urban traffic management control system.
