US/Morocco Workshop on Sensors and Wireless Networks for Smart Cities

University Of Houston, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

This project supports US researchers' participation in a joint US/Moroccan workshop on research frontiers in the field of devices and wireless networks for smart cities. The workshop will bring together experts in a collaborative framework to discuss current challenges and converge on needed research directions in sensors and wireless technologies that will enable smart cities. In the smart cities area, most of the advances have been in deployment of technologies and mostly in advanced countries. Significant research activities are still lagging in this field. Morocco is very interested in applying smart city concepts in the country, and is indeed building a new city envisioned to include smart electric power grid and other smart city infrastructure. There is therefore a real and timely need for advancing smart city research globally, and for helping to establish strong smart city research in Morocco. Through this workshop, US researchers in the field of sensors, wireless networks, and computing for smart cities will be able to share experience and research ideas with their Moroccan counterparts. The researchers will identify complementary collaborative research projects, as well as ideas for enhancing education and training. Successful implementation of the workshop recommendations can provide an important example for other developing nations for planning of smart city applications. The research challenges addressed by this workshop are global in nature and there is great potential for broader impacts that address energy issues and grand challenges and national needs in the arena of smart grid, smart transportation networks, smart building, human modeling and efficient development across a range of scales from individual space planning to urban and regional planning and development. Gathering interdisciplinary experts from around the world to address these issues presents broader impact opportunities. The broader impacts and implications of this project stem from the fact that Morocco is a developing country and there is opportunity to develop new cities from the ground up whereas US technologies can be broadly applied and marketed. Recent technical achievements in sensors and controls integrated with active systems can allow for the ability to control the built environment and tailor it to societal preferences, while still maintaining optimal operation, energy conservation, sustainability and resiliency. With the use of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), cities can move toward the concept of smart cities. A smart city behaves as a cyber-physical system (CPS) that deeply integrates sensing, computation, communication, and control. However, implementation of smart CPSs that are reliable and autonomous face many challenges, as future CPSs are composed of heterogeneous systems. The workshop will address research challenges related to the development and implementation of smart cities and (1) produce a research agenda in sensors and wireless networks that addresses issues needed to effectively implement smart cities; (2) foster collaboration between US and Moroccan scientists and engineers; (3) induce educational progress to match new technology developments through (a) Participation of US and Moroccan faculty, and (b) Suggestions for changes to existing education curricula, through brainstorming sessions.