Teradata partners Cisco to help city authorities pinpoint hotspots

Data analytics firm Teradata has partnered networking equipment maker Cisco Systems in a bid to join real-time urban data from traffic, street lights, etc. with other city information such as payments and sentiments, to help authorities detect hotspots like security incidents and traffic bottlenecks. 

City data are stored in silos, making it difficult to generate a big picture, Teradata said. 

"Disparate data silos must be integrated with each other. Only then can the data be used effectively to drive predictive and prescriptive decision-making for a variety of urban services, including lighting, parking, traffic and waste management, citizen engagement, safety and security," the firm said.

Cloud-based platform Cisco Kinetic for Cities and Teradata Analytics Platform will work together, the firms said. While Cisco Kinetic will collect and “normalise” real-time data, Teradata will manage it to deliver insights to cities.  

The companies said that such a combined solution could, among others, evaluate route options to shorten response time of emergency vehicle. 

In January, Jack Ma-led Alibaba Group’s cloud computing division launched Malaysia City Brain, an artificial intelligence-based smart city solution, to manage traffic at Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia City Brain will be powered by Alibaba Cloud’s computing engine Apsara, Alibaba said.

In September 2016, Alibaba Cloud had deployed City Brain in Hangzhou, China, where the company has its headquarters. According to a Reuters report, City Brain had helped Hangzhou authorities detect traffic violations with 92% accuracy.