Political and health issues dominated the Olympic-related coverage of Rio de Janeiro. But the city is not all bad news. In fact, when it comes to technology, Rio has a lot to boast. The Integrated Command and Control Center and Rio Operations Center are two of the most advanced interconnected urban tech operations in the world.
Prior to the Olympics opening I visited the Operations Center, part of a non-departmental $40 million city investment. It boasts a giant command room with 98 LED screens connected to over 500 closed-circuit cameras throughout the city. The two centers are operated around the clock with a staff of 500. The Rio Operations Center’s responsibility is to control the city’s daily operations, integrating several departments involved in Rio’s governing routine, and to manage crisis and emergency situations. It’s a unique system that falls outside the silos of traditional government departments, yet connects them all.
“I have seen better infrastructure in individual departments in other cities, but I haven’t seen this level of integration in other cities,” said Mr. Banavar, I.B.M.’s chief technology officer of the global public sector in a New York Times interview. Operators in the center have access from multiple agencies, and social media, letting them take a smarter, more informed view of the city.
While I was visiting a time-based projection illustrated how a sporting event and a concert would be ending at the same time, in the same area. It projected traffic patterns and the operators were able to make changes to public transit and security accordingly ahead of time. The Center’s ability to function outside of traditional silos, combined with advanced visualizations allow for more informed predictive governing. The Center also has advanced high-resolution weather forecasting abilities that, with the amplification of social media, can notify residents of potentially deadly hazards like flash floods.
As our ability to collect data grows, our challenge will be leveraging it for public and environmental benefit. How will we consume and act on this data? And with the benefits of this information touching on so many sectors, who will lead? Will city government continue to drive innovation? Rio, along with Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Saudi Arabia are just a few cities looking at ways to use data and technology to provide safer, healthier, and more mobile cities. Rio has made an early step in creating a more interconnected city. Though there is a price to be paid from early adoption, there are also unexpected benefits, like a hyper efficient real-time waste management process. Our cities may be collecting more and more data, but will they truly become more intelligent?
