National initiative for smart connected communities takes shape in Veberöd
By collecting, sharing and using data in real time, municipalities and regions can make both faster and more informed decisions. Digitalization and smart connected solutions can accelerate the necessary transformation of society, but they are most often not used to an adequate extent today. Many initiatives get stuck in the pilot phase and never scale up.
National Living Lab
Now goes Region Skåne together with Smart Villages, Future by Lund, Collage Communication starts a new initiative to create a national Living Lab for smart communities. The base will be in Veberöd, but the goal is to show a way forward for the whole country. Project partners are also Lund Municipality, Region Jönköping, Jönköping Municipality and Nässjö Municipality. The initiative is part-funded through Region Skåne and the strategic innovation programme IoTsweden.
“The goal is to create a concrete model and long-term development node for how we can develop and scale sustainable and smart communities for real,” says Anna Gillquist, digitalisation strategist at Region Skåne.
“When we connect our IoT platform with the test environments in Veberöd, we build new bridges between technology and business. With our combined experience, we contribute to the green transition by shortening the path from idea to benefit,” says Simon Hillfors, Development Manager Region Jönköping County.
Scalable model, not just a local test
The initiative is based on over eight years of experience from the village of Veberöd, where Smart Villages has conducted about fifty tests with everything from digital twins, AI and self-driving delivery robots to apps for citizen dialogue and sustainability data. What is unique is not only the technology, but the way the test environment has been built with real anchoring of residents, rapid iterations and open sharing. Now a common organization is being formed around the test bed.
Smart Villages have been an important part of the SOM, Smart Public Environments, and FLOW projects led by Future by Lund. The projects have aimed to investigate how sensor technology can be used to create solutions that bring benefits to society. Smart villages have been able to assist with an opportunity to test how smart technology can be used in a village, but at the same time it turned out that the small village has many advantages, such as that people know each other to a large extent and thus give feedback and that it is quick to start testing with sensors.
The model that is being built should not stay in Veberöd. Transparency, interoperability and documentation create a platform that other municipalities, neighbourhoods and villages can easily take part in and build on.
“We have tested the future in mini format. Now is the time to build something long-term,” says Jan Malmgren, founder of Smart Villages.
A long-term platform — even after the project
At its heart is the creation of a Living Lab for Smart Communities, where municipalities, businesses and researchers can come together to test, validate and disseminate smart solutions. At the same time, an independent, non-profit organisation will be established to manage and develop the work in the long term, even after the end of the project.
The initiative includes, among other things:
• A physical test environment with digital twin
• An app for resident dialogue and sustainability data
• Technology interoperability tests
• Workshops with municipalities, companies and academia
• An open knowledge platform
• A future “village university” for practical research
National and international interest
Several universities, companies and municipalities have already shown interest in joining the initiative. The new organization will open up membership for municipalities and regions, companies, academia and cluster organizations, in order to work together for transition.
Read about the project Innotech Taskforce