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The city will be installing a permanent infrastructure designed to collect big data. Sensors are to be installed on lamp posts along Michigan Avenue and other locations in the city and will measure environmental factors like temperature, sound volume, light, humidity, wind, and even cell phone signal. By tracking cell phone traffic data the sensors will also be able to count people in the area. The collected data will help the city in practical ways, for example making the decision to salt streets in the winter depending on collected temperature data. The overall goal is to make Chicago a cleaner, safer, and overall more efficient place to live and the hope is that this will turn Chicago into a smart city.
The first 30 sensors will be installed this fall, and the goal is to have 500 sensors installed over the next 2 or 3 years. The sensors will be housed in decorative sheaths of metal and will appear to be sculpture pieces. The project has been dubbed the “Array of Things.”
The city plans to make this data open source and available to the public so that anyone can access and use it. This could potentially mean the development of new applications or solutions that may have a positive impact on the city.
Big data and its role in improving Chicago isn't an entirely new concept. In 2012 Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel issued an executive order on open data. The order stated that each city agency should make its data sets available to the public as well as ensure that the data is regularly updated and is reliable and accurate. The order also called for the appointment of data coordinators across the city.
Some people are concerned about the “Big Brother” implications that are associated with public data collection and have concerns about personal privacy. The project planners, however, say they will be tracking cell phone signals and not individual people or devices.
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A set of privacy and security guidelines will also be finalized before the sensors are deployed. These guidelines are to include a restriction prohibiting the collection of personal or identifying information. There will also be regular reviews of security, privacy, and scientific considerations by independent industry experts from multiple sectors, including government, industry, and academia, according to the “Array of Things” team.
The project is led by Charlie Catlett and researchers from the Urban Center for Computation and Data of the Computation Institute. The software and hardware design was developed by Pete Beckman, Charlie Catlett, and Rajesh Sankaran at Argonne National Laboratory. Douglas Pancoast and Satya Mark Basu from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago designed the enclosures for the sensors. The entire project works together in partnership with the City of Chicago.
While data collection is a good first step, it will be years before Chicago and similar cities are truly "smart cities" with networks of connected devices and sensors. The "Array of Things," is a good first step, however, to a better, more connected Chicago.
Nick Rojas is a business consultant and journalist who splits his time between Chicago and Los Angeles. His work often discusses the role of analytics in business, as well as content marketing and social media. Follow him on Twitter @NickARojas.
