SmartCity Lab Project Meeting

On January 31, 2024, a project meeting for SmartCity Lab, a new initiative implemented by the ITS POLSKA Association, was convened at the Chełm City Hall.

The gathering commenced with welcoming remarks by Dr. Eng. Marek Litwin, President of the ITS POLSKA Association and the driving force behind SmartCity Lab in Chełm. Mrs. Dorota Cieślik, Vice-President of the city of Chełm, also addressed the participants.

Representatives from the city of Chełm, including key City Departments, Municipal Companies, the Police, and City Guard, were in attendance.

Additionally, project partners such as A-STER, ELDRO, HIKVISION, iKOM, LENOVO, and SWARCO participated in the meeting. The event also saw the presence of scientific supervisors and students from the Department of Computer Science at the State Academy of Applied Sciences in Chełm and the Faculty of Transport at the Warsaw University of Technology.

The primary focus of the meeting was to discuss the objectives of three projects related to Road Traffic Safety (BRD), C-ITS, and the establishment of Smart City Lab (SCL) alongside network security.

SmartCity Lab (SCL) represents a pioneering initiative for technological advancement in Poland. Beyond intelligent transport systems, it encompasses a wide array of projects within the broader domain of smart cities, encompassing information and communication technologies aimed at benefiting both cities and their inhabitants. The laboratory, situated within the newly constructed Chełm Economic Activity Center, features a testing environment, with the city of Chełm and other collaborating cities serving as the production environment.

It was envisaged that each SCL project would be executed through collaboration among representatives from academia, the public sector, and technology companies within the SmartCity Lab, established and cultivated for this specific purpose.

The convergence of the public, scientific, and business sectors within the Laboratory will spur the development of innovative technologies, including intelligent transport solutions. SmartCity Lab marks a groundbreaking endeavor for advancing new technologies in Poland.

The inaugural project of Smart City Lab will be conducted in collaboration with the City of Poznań, Poznań University of Technology, and PTV Group—a member of ITS POLSKA. This project will focus on developing an operational planning model for public transport in Poznań.

Subsequent SmartCity Lab projects, discussed during the meeting, will be implemented jointly with the City of Chełm.

The city laboratory extends an invitation to all research and development centers, companies, and the public sector to engage in collaborative efforts. Dr. Eng. Marek Litwin, President of ITS POLSKA and initiator of the SmartCity Lab project in Chełm, emphasized the integral involvement of all three sectors in each project.

A website, www.smartcitylab.pl, is currently under development to facilitate seamless dissemination of information regarding projects undertaken at SCL. The website, presently in the testing and content addition phase, will also be accessible via the website of the ITS POLSKA Association, www.itspolska.pl.