SCitE

Status quo

Within a smart city, there are usually a variety of systems that manage and provide data. This data comes from various sources such as environmental sensors, networked streetlights, or smart devices. Nevertheless, it also includes data such as energy and water consumption. Since these systems are mostly not compatible with each other, the creation of data silos is increasingly promoted. As a result, this data is not shared with additional stakeholders or made available for collaborative use. In addition to the emergence of new valuable collaborations, the integrated use of this data provides an excellent opportunity to develop new innovative services. They can help improve citizens' quality of life and offer added value to all other actors in a city at various points. In this way, the attractiveness of a city can be increased at the same time.

SCitE-Solution

These challenges are addressed by the Smart City Ecosystem (SCitE) project, which develops technical solutions for securely networking existing data silos within a technical ecosystem via an interface in compliance with data protection requirements. SCitE harmonizes existing and future data silos as a system of systems without replacing already established systems and data silos. Thus, silos can continue to be heterogeneous in design and operated by different actors, such as participating cities or companies. In addition, as data is managed and used collaboratively by municipalities at the transitions of city boundaries and with respect to specific focus areas such as public transport, SCitE enables these cities to connect in the context of data usage to create maximum value for all stakeholders. 

To help cities build their smart city ecosystem, the project is divided into two sub-projects: SCitE.Data and SCitE.Reconstruction & Operations.

SCitE.Data focuses on data exchange: with the help of SCitE.Data connectors, the secure and data protection-compliant exchange of data is ensured. This includes, among other things, the prior verification of previously defined guidelines for data use and exchange. Only if they are met will the data be used or exchanged. The connection of these data silos or systems is addressed utilizing plugins, which act as an interface between the respective connector and the system.

SCitE.Reconstruction & Operations focus on the secure and straightforward provisioning and operation process of the SCitE.Data connectors and plugins. Methods from the field of Model-Driven Engineering are used to optimize this process. Furthermore, the derivation of SCitE.Data Models from existing solutions are also addressed, enabling companies to easily integrate SCitE into their existing infrastructure.

Based on the data acquired on-site, the project team is developing application scenarios, so-called use cases, for the collaborative use of the data to enable new and innovative services for the smart city. In a follow-up project, the concepts developed are to be further implemented and tested in practice.