The Centre for Integrated Sensing and Communication Enabling Cognitive Cities (ISAC³) will bring together researchers from engineering, computing science, cybersecurity and public health, alongside specialists in innovation, business, social science and urban planning.
The centre’s focus is on integrating sensing, communications and computing so that urban systems can move beyond real-time monitoring towards predictive operation using artificial intelligence and advanced sensor networks.
The university said cognitive city approaches would build on the concept of smart cities, which typically provide live information on city operations, by applying AI analytics to data gathered from distributed sensors and mobile devices.
These systems are seen as enabling sensing, communication and action to operate in parallel, with the aim of spotting developing problems earlier and supporting more timely interventions by city operators.
In a statement, Professor Qammer H. Abbasi, founding director of ISAC³ and Professor at Glasgow University’s James Watt School of Engineering, said: “Cities around the world are facing a series of challenges, including population growth, the effects of climate change, cybersecurity threats, and the urgent need for decarbonisation.
“Next-generation technologies like real-time data collection, advanced communications, quantum-secured infrastructure, cyber physical systems and artificial intelligence-driven analytics will provide the tools required to turn urban spaces into cognitive cities.
“Glasgow University has expertise in all of these areas, and bringing together those researchers under the banner of ISAC³ will help to encourage groundbreaking new interdisciplinary collaborations.”
The centre plans to work with industry and academic partners, as well as local and national government and civic organisations, to develop a roadmap for the deployment of cognitive-city technologies and to shape research programmes intended for translation into practical applications.
ISAC³’s first-year activity will include workshops and webinars with international specialists in integrated sensing, communication and computing, aimed at developing a deployment roadmap for prototype systems.
A stated priority for that roadmap is ensuring technical innovation is matched with safeguards for data collected from sensors and personal devices.
To validate early concepts, researchers will use Glasgow University campus as a testbed to trial prototype technologies in partnership with industry partners including BT, Virgin Media O2, Ericsson, Interdigital and Neutral Wireless Ltd.
The centre also intends to collaborate with academic partners including the Universities of Manchester, Leicester and Strathclyde, Queen Mary University of London, Kings College London and Imperial College London.
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