4. i-City is the largest research lab for mobile
applications in the world
Together with users, different companies are building mobile
applications for the future. IT-companies as well as others.
i-City is the largest testing ground for mobile applications in the
world. i-City turns Hasselt and Leuven into one big lab.
By doing this, i-City can already develop the applications of
tomorrow on a large scale, and test them in lifelike situations.
5. aim mobile internet platform
Maintain broadband leading position
Test platform for mobile applications
Allow non-PC users to consume internet based services
Service roaming: operator independent availability of
service
Incubator function for new companies
Attract competence centres to Flanders
6. examples from a mobile future
VoIP. i-City’s telephony platform provides a unique mobile
VoIP service. Your PDA is allocated a telephone number and
can be reached from throughout the world.
Parking application. Look for vacant parking places via your
handheld. Once you’ve found a place, you can reserve it too .
Heart monitoring. Medical equipment, linked to a handheld
or PDA, ensures that heart patients are monitored constantly
while at the same time remaining mobile. If a heart patient
becomes ill, the PDA automatically warns the hospital.
Crèche. Using these applications parents can take a peek at
their baby or toddler in the day nursery. Their loved ones
appear on the PDA’s screen via the webcam.
9. components of the living lab
Infrastructure: hotspots
Software platform
Testusers and mobile devices
10. infrastructure: hotspots
Area: Hasselt and Leuven
Aim: Complete city covered by public wireless
high-speed Internet
Timing:
2006: 300 Access Points per City aiming to reach
80% of its inhabitants/visitors
2008: a full 100% wireless coverage
Rollout
Hasselt 2005-2006
Leuven 2006
11. software platform
End-User services
Access to
users
com asl, cha
Us
site , forums
Pe
The user decides what
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nt
rso
ck
Pr ehav
me
blo
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lb
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ild
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ce
bu
profile
ons
io
t
s
Ø retrieve user location
Ø add / delete user profile
i-City is a trusted party
Ø manage subscriptions
Ø accept payments
even
Ø storage service for
info
making a secure walled
Cult tion
application data
“nete
Ø preferences of user
rma
t cal
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ve
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Location retrieval
Permission based
i-City guarantees the
users’ privacy
Rest
aur
serv ant
ice
“r esto
.be”
Presentation Layer
Uniform Look & Feel User defined portal layout
12. CSP platform: built in services
Online TV IM Mobile Blogging LBS Photo Album
Mail Local News Forums Info VoIP
13. test users
Various usergroups are defined
– 4.000 citizens with wireless
PDA/XDA/smartphone to be allocated
– 4.200 students with wireless laptops active
-, - and - userprograms
– -users: 120 actively collaborating tech-savvy users
– -users: 4.000 users with sponsored device
– -users: enthusiastic users with own device
14. mobile devices
Pocket PC = your office in your pocket
Consumers don’t need an office,
they don’t want to sync with a PC
PDA needs to become a connected
device like a mobile: turn it on, it
works
Naked PDA is too difficult to turn
into a fun and useful tool
i-City bridges the gap with an own
Runtime Environment (Mercator)
17. member structure
The strength of i-City lies in its members:
Cross-fertilisation
Knowledge access
Members of i-City can
Realise ideas for mobile applications
Test ideas for mobile applications
Step in at different levels and membership categories
Be part of the different i-City advisory bodies
Take part in a wide range of ‘wireless’-oriented activities
18. advisory board
6 (co-)founding members + all Board
Members + 4 diamond partners
Research
Reports
Research
Reports
Research
Reports
Research
Reports
Research
Reports
Research
Reports
Research
Reports
Research
Reports
+ 8 platinum partners + honorary members
Food & Leisure &
Education Mobility Healthcare e-Gov
Finance Network
Retail Tourism & Legal & Security
High level:
Nominative representation
Expert backbone
Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup
Advisory Board
Tasks
Formally ratify decisions and ideas of workgroups
Advice on government policies
Touchstone on mobile data communication
4 plenary advisory boardmeetings / year
Start 2006
19. work groups
Research Research Research Research Research Research Research Research
Reports Reports Reports Reports Reports Reports Reports Reports
8 workgroups with different angle
Food &
Food &
Retail
Retail
Leisure &
Leisure &
Tourism
Tourism
Education
Education Mobility Healthcare e-Gov
Finance
& Legal
Network
& Security
In touch with the needs for wireless applications
Companies, organisations, alphas, academics and other
Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup
organisations take partAdvisory Board
Participate in inventing and optimising mobile
applications, ideas and services
Bottom-up information from a user point-of-view, that
can lead to concrete applications
20. Process
Bridge
between in-
and output
Facilitate
Input execution Output
of ideas
Part 1: Part 2:
obtain ideas product development
Non-Members & Members: Members
Outer sectors
i-City + academics
+
specialists
21.
22. alpha profile
People
with ideas about wireless applications
who see the advantage of a wireless city
who do not only dream ideas, but realise them
with an ICT background who see the wireless future…
… or people who don’t know much about software, but from
their background have ideas for wireless city projects
Strong selection process
Campaign to stimulate innovation
1.500 candidates, out of which >100 selected
Inactive members regularly removed
27. knowledge
Research, knowledge and know-how are
vital for i-City:
Knowledge needs to be shared (cluster)
Knowledge needs to be accumulated (research)
Knowledge needs to be made concrete (spin offs)
Knowledge needs to be put across (education)
28. academic world
Embedding of knowledge through
the development of a Master after Master at the
university
a strategic collaboration with the innovationcentre of
the GOM (IWT) and the ICT-fund LRM
involving universities (KUL, VUB, UG, UH) and colleges
(PHL, Xios, …), also through joint projects, and research
institutes (IBBT, IWT, IMEC, FMV, EDM, …)
Brokerage in March 2006 together with IBBT