Smart Region, a regional initiative for Murcia’s Smart Cities

The Smart Region project is the roadmap for the region’s smart territories.

Smart Region project

This initiative of the Region of Murcia will make available to all municipalities in the region (45 in total) the possibility of evolving towards a Smart City with developments and solutions of the last generation. This project seeks to use the new technologies (ICTs) for public administrations & citizens to facilitate the understanding and management of the city, and to evolve towards the objectives of the European Green Pact, which seeks to transform Europe into a global reference against climate change.

The first step of this project is based on a platform at the regional level of Smart City in which 2 million euros will be dedicated between 2020 and 2021. This platform will act as the basis for the Smart Region and will be global, allowing this process to be carried out in all territories regardless of their size. In this way, the management team of the region pretends to create Smart City opportunities equally throughout the region.

Smart Region will create to create Disruptive Technology Demonstration Centers to show projects related to Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things and Big Data to place the Region at the forefront of the digital transformation.

Javier Celdrán, president of the Regional Ministry of Presidency and Finance, highlights the priority to collect information from our cities. This action will be included within this Smart Region project allowing municipalities to access other new funding such as the Innovation Fund, from the European Green Pact. These funds, aimed at combating climate change, require an initial environmental diagnosis of the territory and compliance with the KPIs proposed through the subsidised initiatives to receive 100% of the requested funds. Therefore, Smart Region also seeks to provide its municipalities with the necessary infrastructure to be able to know the state of the territory, to be able to define some concrete actions to be carried out, based on data and to be able to evaluate the impact of these actions through IoT infrastructures and thanks to the Big Data.

Smart Region: Monitorización de datos de calidad
Smart Region: Monitoring of high-quality data for European Initiatives such as Green Deal, Innovation Fund, ERDF and Next Generation

Smart Region Conference “The Future of Intelligent Territories”

As one of the first actions to raise awareness in the Region of Murcia and to disseminate the possibilities within this project, the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, together with the Integra Foundation, has organised a conference called The Future of the Intelligent Territories. These sessions have been promoted by the Directorate of Economy and Finance and by the ERDF funds. During October, November and December, these sessions discussed topics related to mobility, tourism, intelligent beaches (Smart Beach), intelligent lighting, waste management, social welfare and different success stories of Smart solutions.

Sesiones Smart Region
Sesiones Smart Region: HOPU pitch for the 5 sessions about success stories

 

On December 1st, in the session focused on the success stories of Smart solutions, a more realistic view of solutions already on the market was shown. Francisco Abril, General Director of Local Administration of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, opened this online event by highlighting the role of companies in the Region of Murcia that is dedicated to this sector of the Smart Cities to place Murcia as a technological reference on the map. In the same way, the Director-General urges companies to evangelize citizens and administrations so that they know that not only smart cities are for big cities, but also small municipalities must start their way towards this evolution. 

Francisco Abril has highlighted initiatives such as “5K”, a project where eight municipalities under 5,000 inhabitants (Villanueva, Ricote, Ulea, Ojós, Albudeite, Campos del Río and Aledo) are going to become a testbed for smart solutions to promote other municipalities in the region to take this technological step.

During the case study session, different solutions of all kinds were presented by companies such as Neosistec, HOPU, IURBAN, A4RADAR, NEUROMOBILE MARKETING.

From HOPU, we have highlighted our role as a company focused on the monitoring and visualization of environmental data, to contribute to the sustainable urban design of the territories and our aim to develop solutions designed for easy management and understanding of the data by the different administrations. 

Antonio Jara, CEO of HOPU, highlights the territorial expansion of this SME, which is already working in more than 35 cities throughout Spain such as Cartagena, Madrid, Algeciras and at a European level, with more than 500 sensors deployed. HOPU’s mission is to help municipalities combat climate change. As a company involved in research, HOPU has a strong presence in European initiatives such as the Green Deal or Next Generation (NEXT CARM in the Region of Murcia).

Based on his experience in the Smart Cities market, the CEO of HOPU highlights the importance of metrics that allow municipalities to transform all data coming from sensors, databases and other sources into clear indicators of the environmental situation of the territory. An example of this use case is the indicator service that HOPU has already deployed in cities such as Cartagena, which makes it possible to identify where a city’s pollution comes from and to differentiate the percentage produced by traffic and by industry.

 

Finally, from HOPU, the catalogue of sensor services for air quality (gases and particles in suspension), noise, climate and other aspects related to tourism such as noise and flow of people has been exhibited. As a FIWARE company and from the role of Antonio Jara as a Member of the FIWARE Board of Directors, the use of this available technology has also been promoted, which is accessible and affordable for all municipality.

The event was closed by Joaquín Gómez Gómez, General Director of Strategy and Digital Transformation, who highlighted this last session based on innovative solutions in the region. He underlines that in this Smart Region project, they intend to promote first regional companies when implementing Smart City projects. In the early months of 2021, the platform of the project will be tendering, and they are working on other projects to make the Smart City more dynamic, some of which have already been started, such as La Manga 365 as another global solution for various municipalities (San Javier and Cartagena).  

As a novelty, the Director-General mentions a new line of financing that will come to light during the first four months of 2021, which will allow the different municipalities in the region to acquire technology and integrate it into the Smart Region platform.

 

Access to the pitch of Antonio Jara, CEO at HOPU on 5 session about success stories

 

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International Fair of Smart Destinations FIDI2020

At the end of November, the first International Fair of Smart Destinations (FIDI) was held, organized by the Cities of the Future Institute, the National Technological University of Buenos Aires and in collaboration with the State Mercantile Society for the Management of Innovation and Tourist Technologies SEGITTUR, dependent on the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. During the 10 days of the fair, more than 200 speakers participated in seminars, conferences, exhibitions and workshops where more than 20,000 online visitors from the entire Smart Cities sector.

HOPU CEO Antonio J. Jara participated on Friday, November 27, in FIWARE AMERICA DAY where he presented the case of success under FIWARE technology in Smart Cities that we have developed in cities such as Madrid, Cartagena, Ceutí, La Palma, Onda, Berenguer , Helsinki (Finland) and Mechelen (Belgium), among others.

 

The HOPU solution exploits FIWARE to the maximum where we contextualize city data such as air quality, mobility, influx and movement of people, noise and others where we create a global vision of the urban health of the city thanks to Intelligence Artificial algorithms and Big Data management.

“We are a company whose mission is to help urban authorities and cities to use the FIWARE platform to understand better what is happening in their city and to help them make decisions through data and evidence, while technology is and more usable by people. We are specialized in the integration of air quality sensors, gases, particles, pollens, sonometry and the influx of people.” Antonio J. Jara

 

SMART TOURIST DESTINATIONS
During FIDI2020, real experiences of Smart Tourist Destinations participated and how introducing innovative elements are serving to bet on inclusive sustainable tourism with the city and the natural environment, and improve the quality of life of local residents.

The DTIs aim to integrate tourism with the daily life of the city in such a way that it does not have a negative impact on the natural environment or the residents. Attracting new businesses, responding to the needs of visitors and contributing to the local wealth and economy.

Data visualization of HOPU
Data visualization of HOPU

 

Among the services offered by HOPU we can find consulting and advising to the administration and companies to detect the needs and challenges they face and that can be solved through the use of new technologies.

We are currently developing the Smart City Master Plan for municipalities such as Las Torres de Cotillas and San Javier, both in the Region of Murcia (Spain). San Javier, as a coastal town on the shores of the Mar Menor, is a highly valued tourist attraction for those seeking pleasant temperatures throughout the year, as well as important musical and cultural events.

Therefore, the development of San Javier as an Smart Tourist Destination is an opportunity to consolidate tourism beyond the summer months, extending the season to 12 months of the year with actions such as a centralized agenda of the different cultural events, a network of webcams that broadcasts the coast of the Mar Menor 24/7 and a WiFi zone on beaches, as well as actions such as promoting existing cultural and tourist resources.

“A Smart City is a sustainable city that allows the residents to have all the benefits of a city but without the associated problems such as pollution, traffic jams, noise, high density of people, etc. A Smart City is one that does not discriminate, offers equality and helps to optimize time and resources” Antonio J. Jara

 

SMART SPOT DEVICES AS ALLIES TO STD
Through our IoT FIWARE ready Smart Spot devices we can offer municipalities detailed information in real time such as AQi to inform visitors and locals of the values ​​of gases and PM particles in the air. These data can contribute to detecting gas emission sources to help make decisions that lead to their mitigation, as well as to value the good air quality of the municipality in its case.

Smart Spot extensions
Smart Spot extensions

 

Using class 2 sound level meters, it will be possible to create a map of the noise in the city to detect the areas with the greatest noise pollution caused by traffic, port activity, leisure areas, events and others that may cause annoyances in the daily life of the city.

The flow of people sensor is a useful tool to know the movements and detect crowds in advance. Through its installation in commercial areas and tourist elements, we can know the number of visitors and the average time of their visit. This information is very useful to know the most visited areas of the city in such a way that decisions can be made such as improving traffic, the need to create tourist attractions in other areas to relieve pressure, etc.

In addition, the Smart Spot can incorporate a Weather Station that offers values ​​such as temperature and humidity, atmospheric pressure, solar radiation, rainfall, evapotranspiration and weather forecast among other values, offering extensive, detailed and local information on the weather in the city.

All these resources unified in a single device allow the administration to know what is happening in their city in real time, offering local values ​​that help them make decisions based on evidence and anticipate possible challenges and problems, thus improving the competitiveness of the municipality giving the necessary passes to move towards a resilient city for the benefit of its citizens.

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HOP Ubiquitous wins WeLive Hackathon

BI · Memories wins the WeLive Hackathon for the city of Bilbao.

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Bi Memories Logo
Project logo Bi·Memories

On November 30 at the University of Deusto, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. WeLive Hackathon presented the top 4 finalist, which gave solution to challenges proposed by the city of Bilbao. Our Smart Destination solution BI·Memories was awarded as the best application and solution.

Antonio Jara, HOP Ubiquitous CEO, picking up the award from WeLive team.
Antonio Jara, HOP Ubiquitous CEO, picking up the award from WeLive team.

WeLive is a platform for co-creation of mobile applications that meets the needs of citizens. It acts as a link among citizens, city and developers, who join forces to solve the challenges that the cities of Bilbao, Trento, Helsinki and Novi Sad publish in the platform. The Hackathon WeLive proposed by the city of Bilbao aimed to create a mobile application that would respond to the needs of the citizens and stakeholders of Bilbao. WeLive, together with its collaborators, Tecnalia, University of Deusto, Bilbao City Council, Engineering, among others, awarded BI·Memories as the best application of Hackathon WeLive Bilbao.

BI·Memories is a solution to respond to the need of cities to conserve and disseminate their intangible cultural heritage (as defined by UNESCO). This project preserves and disseminates the intangible cultural heritage of Bilbao with the aim of relating stories, anecdotes and feelings around a physical area that complements tourism experiences. These personal stories allow us to create an emotional relationship that extends tourist experiences through the eyes of Bilbao citizens’. A process that involves the visitor, who enjoy, comments and vote through BI·Memories, at the same time that they feel as citizens for a day.

The essence of the city of Bilbao are the citizens and their popular stories that constitute the identity of a point of interest. These experiences enrich to population and involve visitors with the cultural heritage of the city, making them live unique and complete experiences. Through their mobile phones the citizens of Bilbao and their visitors can access exclusive and geolocated videos that tell the stories of the citizens of Bilbao about the point of interest. The videos are uploaded to YouTube and thanks to our Smart Spot (our smart devices) nearby users receive a notification on the mobile phone that gives them access to a Web-App where they can watch videos and much more information without the need to install any application on the mobile.

Smart Spot device with all the extensions.
Smart Spot device with all the extensions.

 

Smart Spot contextualizes the information of each point of interest sending notifications by proximity to mobile phones through Bluetooth Low Energy and WiFi Direct in a range of 1 to 80 meters, without installing any native App. In addition the device measures temperature, humidity, noise, air quality and Crowd Monitoring, which allows BI·Memories to show users the comfort of a place to facilitate the planning of their tourist routes.

 

 

The videos disseminated by BI·Memories in its Web-App does not last more than a minute and, being related to the tourist point, allows to live at the same time a physical and digital experience. For citizens to publish stories in BI·Memories, they need to upload to YouTube and assign a specific hashtag for each point of interest (#BIM + name of the point of interest) that allows to BI·Memories recognize and introduce them in the corresponding point of interest. All videos must comply with minimum requirements (videos must not last more than 1 min, must contain the Hashtag and the position of the video recording must be horizontal). Once the videos pass to BI·Memories, the Web-App shows them according to the weighting between the visualizations, the number of “likes” and the time that has been published, showing the content according to the preference of BI·Memories users.

Smart Spot diagram
Smart Spot diagram

For the ideation of BI·Memories we made a co-creation process that is divided into different stages, the first one is to know the needs and interests of the citizens, so we use the City Living Lab of Ceutí, where we carry out different Workshops with citizens of all ages and with the City to identify the needs of the place. In this stage it was detected that a large part of the citizens of Ceutí had a great interest to preserve the stories of the past and to make known the connection they have with this territory. This project was born with the aim of adding the experiences of a town to the tourist experiences to involve visitors with the material and cultural heritage of Ceutí.

Process of uploading content to BI·Memories
Process of uploading content to BI·Memories

Once we detected the need and proposed the solution, we started using the prototype that helped us understand the dissemination of the town’s stories. For this reason, the Web-App shows the content in a one-minute video, capturing the attention of the users. These contents contextualize the information about real experiences in a physical place. In addition, the tool is disseminated by Physical Web, thereby, users do not have the need to download any App, freeing space on the user’s Smartphone and opening endless viewing possibilities.

Anecdotes and personal experiences, human tourism for humans, through citizens, Smart Spot and the intangible heritage of each city.

We adapted the prototype of Ceutí to the city of Bilbao through the Hackathon Go App Bilbao, where we had the collaboration of two mentors who helped us understand the needs of Bilbao. The content of the Web-App will be generated by the citizens and it will be updated by the same people from Bilbao. In addition, BI·Memories connects tour guides with visitors to make trips through the city.

The first point deployed in the city of Bilbao is within the University of Deusto, specifically in the “Plaza de la Memoria”. Starting from this point and as part of the co-creation process, we contacted Bilbao citizens and media to know their interest in the project.

Within the process of co-creation, the last stage was the use of the WeLive tool, which allowed us to know the challenges proposed by the city of Bilbao, to know the needs of its citizens and to publish BI·Memories in the ideation space, where all those interested could comment the Web-App for its improvement and evolution. WeLive also helped us to the development of the Web-App, since it put at our disposal Building Blocks (small modules programmed to bring our solution to reality), open data repositories about events, and a Marketplace where to publish the solution for the citizens of Bilbao.

Access to BI·Memories
Access to BI·Memories

 

We will continue with this proposal towards a new type of tourism, Smart Destination, in which provide agile experiences are offered that invite co-creation and citizen participation in the generation of content. BI·Memories, as a finalist of the first phase in GoApp Bilbao, participates in the second phase of this Hackathon, called CimuBISARIA, with which the Web-App will be launched in the Google Store and iOS Store this December.

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HOP Ubiquitous - Smart Destination

City Terms: Smart Destinations

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What is Smart Destinations?

Smart Destinations are defined as a tourist places that deploy a technological infrastructure using a smart system that collects information about the tourist activity analyzing and understanding acts in real time to evolve the interaction between visitors and tourist environment, focusing both in people as in the economic, social and cultural development

This concept was coined in the Millennium Development (MDG) plan of United Nations which handles the promotion of responsible, sustainable and accessible tourism for the society, within the 2030 objectives of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) .

Discover the five keys of Smart Destinations and know more about our Smart Destination project that is being developed in Ceutí (Spain).

 

A women discovering Smart Destinations in the map to visit them and has a great tourist experience

 

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HOP Ubiquitous in Radio Online Murcia

Smart Destination Tourist in Ceutí.

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HOP Ubiquitous in Radio Online MurciaListen to it!

HOP Ubiquitous - Smart POIOur Smart Destination Tourist project in Ceutí is already underway and we are very excited! Tourism is a key element for the economy of any place, but it is also a sector which is changing constantly because of it needs keeping updated to meet the needs of the public. That’s why, is imperative to include new technologies in the tourist experience.

Intelligent tourism is the order of the day so both HOP Ubiquitous and the City of Ceutí are developing the Smart Destination Tourist project in Ceutí. This project will turn the town into an Intelligent Tourist Destination (DTI) equipped with the latest technologies. It will be deployed by the end of this year and it would consist of 16 smart interaction points. They will be very easy to use and all kind of users will be able to access content with their Smart Phones without installing any application.

To give a new and funny vision, citizens of Ceuti are expected to become local ambassadors through co-creating with content. We will begin with the youngest, the students of 4th, 5th, and 6th CEIP Diego Martinez Rico Ceutí. They will tell us the greatest secrets of their cultural heritage in the way they deem appropriate, from a theatrical performance, to an interview with their elders. You must remember that videos cannot last more than a minute and they should be recorded with grace, entertainment and history. We will see smart tourist points through the eyes of new generations, adding personality and emotion to the tourist experience.

 

How does it work?

Using this tool is simple and comfortable; and any user will have access to it through their personal Smart Phones. It is not necessary to download any native application, you just should be near a smart tourist spot which will be properly signposted. A notification will appear on your Smart Phone with an invitation to the web where all the content is located. Furthermore, Smart Destination Tourist will mark a route according to your preferences through a system of recommendations. Amazing! Isn’t it?

It promises to be a complete, fresh, funny and different tourist experience.

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HOP Ubiquitous - Siidi Beacon

5 things you need to know about Smart Destinations

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– What is Smart Destinations Tourism?HOP Ubiquitous Mock Up Ceuti App

– What benefits does it have?

– How does it work?

– Where it can be applied?

– What is the HOP approach for Smart Destinations?

 

  1. What is Smart Destinations Tourism?

HOP Ubiquitous launches the Smart Destinations Solution focused on the creation of tourist experiences through immersive interactions between physical places and personal devices such as Smart Phones. To this end, HOP Ubiquitous has developed an innovative device to be deployed in Points of Interest to make them interactive and smart; this device is called Smart Spots.

Smart Spot offers an interactive solution based on an innovative technology called “Physical Web”, it means that Web pages and multimedia content are made accessible exclusively in
physical places through Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, without requiring any native Application, simply by enabling WiFi or Bluetooth in the visitor*s smartphone to get a notification and start to interact with the venue.HOP Ubiquitous Siidi Beacon

This tourist experience is designed to discover the city during a visit and to get notified about more exciting details, insights and tips that make much more natural and comfortable the experience, when we compare it with other solutions such as Tourism Apps with plenty of information totally out of context or nothing more than copy paste from online guide books. The proposed solution offers access to information at the proper time, at the proper place in order to enhance one*s experience in a specific physical place.

This socially designed experience promotes another type of interaction as well with the tourist, since it involves a co-creation process where experiences are augmented with culture, differences, emotions, and insights that contribute to the final user experience.

  1. What benefits does it have?

Tourism developed through Smart Destinations is an application that allows the user to create their own experience, marking their own rhythm. Thereby, the mobile device is the new guide in an interactive way, connecting and discovering by proximity the interaction points, accessing all the information available and providing the proper insights and tips without requiring major attention. It is what we call an “agile experience”.

3. How it works?HOP Ubiquitous Ceutí Smart POI

– First step: Join through the invitation you receive on your mobile phone in the points of interest or central areas of the destination you are visiting.

– Second step: Don’t worry, just discover the city, you do not need to do anything else, smart spots that are near you in the points of interest will raise a notification to you when relevant content  is available based on  you, so you do not need to look for them, just enjoy, discover and insights / tips will flow to you in a natural way.

– Third step: Enjoy and access all the available information, take in local culture, shopping entertainment and offers, insights, suggestions etc.

– Step Four: Complete the experience with traditional or experimental food.

  1. Where could it be applied?

We are an international company with a strong commitment to technology innovation and experiential development. HOP is defined as Human Oriented Products; therefore, our main focus is on the users, a reason why the development of tourism through Smart Destinations is available for installation in any part of the world. HOP Ubiquitous develops intelligent solutions supporting the sustainable development of your destination, committed to the socio-cultural and environmental aspects. Our Smart Spots are produced with encapsulations based on natural products; the original design, both indoor and outdoor, is designed to blend in as much as possible to the aesthetics of the point of interaction, while offering all the technological advances in terms of connectivity, outdoor protection for weather conditions, and with support to make totally green and sustainable through its solar power.

Nowadays, Smart Spots are being applied outdoor and indoor in cities such as Aarhus, Denmark, Mexico City and also in Ceuti, Murcia, Spain.

  1. What is the HOP approach for Smart Destinations?

HOP Ubiquitous is approaching Smart Destinations through the Internet of Things (IoT) using technologies such as beacons, physical web, WiFi access points, etc.

Smart destinations implement and increase the use of technology by connecting different spaces offering services to people.

HOP Ubiquitous is committed to the process of a city that wants to carry out an active engagement of citizens and visitors, as part of an open and collaborative development of urban spaces. Thereby, citizens and visitors are both consumers and producers of information, improving the management, content and experience of your tourism resources.HOP Ubiquitous App Ceutí

 

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