Stuttgart, 09.10.2019: On 23 and 24.09., Triangulum celebrated its international conference “Energising Cities: Innovations, Challenges & Solutions” in Stavanger, Norway, merging into the Nordic Edge Expo & Conference, taking place from 24-26.09. The event was a great success with overall 185 participants and 25 speakers from all over Europe.

Having started in February 2015, Triangulum is one of the first three European Smart Cities and Communities Lighthouse Projects (SCC1) funded by the European Union’s Research and Innovation Framework Programme Horizon 2020 now slowly coming to an end. Five years of project work in the three Lighthouse Cities Manchester (UK), Eindhoven (NL) and Stavanger (NO) as well as the three Follower Cities Leipzig (D), Prague (CZ) and Sabadell (ES) have resulted in numerous outcomes and lessons learnt to be shared with the smart city community and the public.

Tone Grindland of NHO Rogaland moderated the conference: “In the morning, the Mayor of Stavanger, Christine Sagen Helgø gave a very warm welcome to the international audience, talking about how Triangulum has shaped Stavanger and its smart city ambitions”. Triangulum’s Project Coordinator Trinidad Fernandez then kicked off the event by presenting the project’s objectives and ambitious targets. Jens Bartholmes from DG Energy of the European Commission talked about the goals and the purpose of the Horizon 2020 SCC1 programme, thus putting Triangulum into a larger context.

In the first key note, Martin Brynskov, Chair of Open & Agile Smart Cities, spoke about how to set the foundation for scaling up smart cities solutions in the future. As one of the founding fathers of Triangulum, Steve Turner, Digital Cities Lead at Arup in Triangulum’s Lighthouse City Manchester, then drew a circle from the project’s beginnings to where we are today, also discussing what needs to be done to be “shifting worlds”: “Digital technologies are changing the way we live and work in cities. The cities which prove to be the most successful in the future will not be the largest, but those who are able to harness the full potential that these technologies present,” he says.

The afternoon of “Energising Cities: Innovations, Challenges & Solutions” was all about sharing experiences and learnings from Triangulum and its cities: “In four interactive sessions, our Triangulum city coordinators, technical partners, replication experts and of course, especially invited external professionals, really had the chance to delve into the outcomes but also discuss the challenges of our innovative implementations across the project and their impact on the sustainable development of cities” says Trinidad Fernandez. The interactive sessions focused on the four topics climate change, governance, citizen engagement and investment & replication.

During coffee and lunch breaks, participants were invited to experience live and hands-on presentations of the different Triangulum solutions as part of the Innovation Marketspace. Amongst others, Woonbedrijf showcased its WoonConnect app that allows tenants to take charge of their own house renovations​​​, LYSE AS presented its Blink video solution and Clicks&Links invited participants to have a seat on their Virtual Reality bike. “The Innovation Marketspace gave us a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on our Virtual Reality bike. Cycling in virtual Manchester while being in Stavanger was a big hit and after they experienced virtual reality first hand with us, we had fantastic conversations about the huge potential of immersive technology with the participants,” says Laura Hefler of Clicks&Links.

On Tuesday, 24.09., Triangulum merged into the official Nordic Edge Expo & Conference by co-organising the session “On a Mission for the European Cities of the Future – Achievements, Challenges, Opportunities” together with Nordic Edge, European Commission, EIP-SCC (European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities), SCIS (Smart Cities Information System) & Stavanger Region European Office. After introducing the two new SCC1 projects MAKING-CITY and +CityXChange to the public, Triangulum talked about best practices regarding monitoring and evaluation and presented its major outcomes and learnings as part of a panel discussion moderated by James Evans, University of Manchester. “In Stavanger, we developed a Central Energy Plant that is able to heat an entire building and even an enclosed swimming pool“, Gerd Seehuus from Stavanger Kommune and City Coordinator of our Lighthouse City explained. The third part of this joint session focused on “Horizon Europe – A Mission to deliver the Cities of the Future” organised by the EC, EIP-SCC and SCIS. The session was meant to trigger a targeted dialogue of the European Commission, the EIP-SCC community, the Horizon2020 Lighthouse projects and more core stakeholders on which key mission elements shall be delivered, by whom, by when and with which means.

More info:

“Energising Cities” Conference: https://triangulum-project.eu/?page_id=4200

Nordic Edge Joint Session: https://www.nordicedgeexpo.org/program/on-a-mission-for-the-european-cities-of-the-future-achievements-challenges-opportunities

Presentations:

Trinidad Fernandez (Welcome)

Christine Sagen Helgø (Welcome)

Martin Brynskov (Key Note)

Steve Turner (Key Note)

Dujuan Yang (Interactive Session 1)

Markus Schwegler (Interactive Session 1)

Ivan Hewlett (Interactive Session 1)

Adam Pajgrt (Interactive Session 2)

Mieke van Schaik (Interactive Session 2)

Solveig Ege Tengesdal (Interactive Session 3)

Marieke van den Wijngaard (Interactive Session 3)

Posters:

On 30 September 2019 at 2:30 PM (CEST), Triangulum hosted a webinar to support the replication process in its Follower City Leipzig with the title “Governance for Smart Cities – Developing Principles and Guidelines”

Speakers and topics were:

Delia Mitcan and Mieke van Schaik (City of Eindhoven): Open Data Principles – How it works in Eindhoven

Adrian Slatcher (Manchester City Council): Good Practice in Using Data in the Smart City

The webinar was a great success with more than 20 participants listening to and learning from the presentations.

A recording of the webinar can be found at our webinar section  as well as at our YouTube channel

 

“Energising Cities: Innovations, Challenges & Solutions”

On 23 September 2019, from 08:30 – 17:00, the Horizon 2020 smart city project Triangulum is organizing its international conference in Stavanger, Norway at Atlantic Hall. Triangulum is one of the first three European Smart Cities and Communities Lighthouse Projects (SCC1) funded by the European Union’s Research and Innovation Framework Programme Horizon 2020. Having started in February 2015, Triangulum is slowly nearing completion, resulting in numerous outcomes and lessons learnt that the project thus now wants to share with communities, industries and other stakeholders curious on smart city solutions and research.

Triangulum’s three Lighthouse Cities Manchester (UK), Eindhoven (NL) and Stavanger (NO) have been implementing and testing innovative projects focusing on sustainable mobility, energy, ICT and business opportunities. “Within our project consortium, we combine the interdisciplinary experience and the expertise of 22 partners from industry, research and municipalities that all share the same objective and commitment to develop and implement smart solutions and have them replicated in our three Fellow Cities Leipzig (D), Prague (CZ) and Sabadell (ES)”, says Trinidad Fernandez, Project Coordinator of Triangulum.

Therefore, Triangulum is pleased to invite all interested stakeholders and smart city enthusiasts to celebrate five years of innovative and smart solutions. Learn from their experience and contribute together to a more climate friendly Europe in the future!

On Monday, 23.09., the conference will start with a welcome by Trinidad Fernandez (Fraunhofer IAO), speaking about Triangulum as a European flagship project for the smart city transformation and acceleration. As the Mayor of Stavanger, the hosting city, Christine Sagen Helgø will welcome the audience. Jens Bartholmes from the European Commission/DG ENER will then give a presentation to illustrate the bigger picture of the Horizon 2020 programme.

There will be two key notes by Martin Brynskov (Chair of Open & Agile Smart Cities, Director of the Centre for Digital Transformation of Cities & Communities and Associate Professor at Aarhus University), speaking about “Setting the Foundation for Scale Up of Smart Cities Solutions” and Steve Turner (Digital Cities Lead at Arup), speaking about “Shifting Worlds”.

An interactive afternoon for innovation experts and enthusiasts

“The afternoon is really about getting into an interactive exchange between the experienced Triangulum partners on the one side and external smart city experts and the audience on the other side”, explains Gerd Seehuus, City Coordinator of Triangulum’s Lighthouse City Stavanger. Within four interactive sessions, ranging from topics like “Climate Change – What Cities Can Do!” to “Smart Governance for Smart Cities”, “We All Can! How Citizens Make the Change” and “Beyond the Project: Replication and Investment of Smart City Solutions”, Triangulum will exchange its own stories and experiences with external professionals and the public. Replicable success stories from the three Lighthouse- and Fellow Cities will be shared, including lessons learnt and connections to the outside world.

During all coffee and lunch breaks, Triangulum invites to grab a coffee and a snack and to browse its “Innovation Marketspace” where the Triangulum partners will provide live and hands-on demonstrations of their various innovations, such as Lyse’s BLINK video solution or the WoonConnect app. Vin Sumner, CEO of Clicks&Links is looking forward to showcase his innovation: “With our Virtual Reality Bike, you can experience Manchester – or any other city – by cycling on a physical bike without actually leaving your home. The bike uses real-world scan data from cities and gives the user freedom to ride a virtual bicycle through these environments.”

On Tuesday, 24.09., Triangulum is merging into the official Nordic Edge Expo and Conference 2019 where they will be co-organising the session “On a Mission for the European Cities of the Future – Achievements, Challenges, Opportunities” together with Nordic Edge, the European Commission, the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities & Communities (EIP-SCC), the EU Smart Cities Information System (SCIS) & Stavanger Region European Office. During this session, the two new SCC1 projects MAKING-CITY and +CityXChange will be introduced. Before finally “handing over” to them, Triangulum will present “The Triangulum Journey – Six Cities and Their Ripple Effects” to showcase its main outcomes and learnings and to talk about best practices regarding monitoring and evaluation. The joint session will end with “Horizon Europe – A Mission to deliver the Cities of the Future”, organised by the EC, EIP-SCC and SCIS.

About the event

The Triangulum International Conference “Energising Cities: Innovations, Challenges & Solutions” is taking place on 23.09.2019 from 08:30-17:00 at Atlantic Hall at Radisson Blu Atlantic Hotel, Olav V S Gate 3, 4005 Stavanger, Norway (free of charge, on-site registration possible).

The joint session “The Triangulum Journey – Six Cities and Their Ripple Effects” at Nordic Edge is taking place on 24.09.2019 from 14:00 – 15:20 in Room Snønuten at Nordic Edge Conference at Stavanger Forum, Gunnar Warebergsgate 13, 4021 Stavanger, Norway (Nordic Edge conference ticket required).

On 30 September 2019 at 2:30 PM (CEST), Triangulum is hosting a webinar to support the replication process in its Follower City Leipzig with the title “Governance for Smart Cities – Developing Principles and Guidelines”

Speakers and topics:

• Delia Mitcan (City of Eindhoven): Open Data Principles – How it works in Eindhoven
• Adrian Slatcher (Manchester City Council): Good Practice in Using Data in the Smart City

The webinar is open to anyone interested in the Smart City area.

No registration is required! Interested participants can freely join the webinar on 30 September via the following link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/468558717

One can also dial in using a phone.
United States: +1 (571) 317-3116

Access Code: 468-558-717

More phone numbers
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Denmark: +45 32 72 03 69
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Switzerland: +41 225 4599 60
United Kingdom: +44 20 3713 5011

Besides Cargo Bikes, the other component of Manchester City Council’s work on mobility involves promoting e-mobility by subsidising departments to add e-vehicles to their fleet. With many City Council departments holding vehicles on short leases, a concrete business case could serve to increase takeup very quickly. As a result, Manchester City Council have recently leased four electric vehicles, two Citroen Berlingo vans, one Peugeot Partner van and a Nissan Leaf car. They are now proudly displaying our logo and driving around the streets of Manchester on Council duties. The three departments who have taken these vehicles all report high levels of user satisfaction.

Credits: Manchester City Council

The city district Prague 7 will soon open a showroom with medical and compensatory aids for its citizens. The project has been inspired by the European Smart City project Triangulum, when representatives of Prague 7 and IPR Prague visited the Lighthouse City Stavanger in 2018 to learn about their Smart Home Care approach. During the stay in Stavanger the delegation also visited the showroom at the innovative social and health care department. For the realization of a similar offer in Prague, the waiting room of the Polyclinic of Prague 7 will be transformed. Currently, the Social and Health Department of the Prague 7 district is preparing the room to  present various devices that can make life easier for both sick people and their peers and care takers. The aim is to inform elderly people and their peers how they can stay at home longer on their own, which devices can support them to do so and to receive an overview of all available  social and health services.  

The visitors of the showroom will find a display of eating rehabilitation,  sanitary aids and various further supporting devices, including information whether they can be obtained via prescription from a doctor. 

In addition, the showroom will inform about innovative technologies such as applications for emergency services, for deaf people, first aid and visually impaired and a database of barrier-free places.    

Future Showroom of Prague 7
Credits: Tomáš Obrtel

Another part of the showroom will provide a virtual reality experience for cognitive disorders and electronic drug dispensers. Furthermore visitors will see samples for emergency care, including a list of registered providers of this social service with examples of facilities and their price lists and a catalogue of possibilities for renting medical and compensatory aids, which is free of charge for citizens of Prague 7. On an hourly basis, an ergo therapist explains how to use the helping devises in an appropriate way and consult visitors in selecting the most suitable devices for them.

The city district finances the implementation of the entire showroom. The devices and new technologies will be provided by the companies that invented and now offer these products.

More than 50 professionals from several countries and cities met up in the Brainport region Eindhoven at the end of May 2019. During a two day Smart Cities event, visitors experienced how Brainport partners collaborate to achieve their ambitious goals.

Highlights in the program were the visits to the Automotive Campus Helmond, lectures at the Technical University Eindhoven (TU/e), the visits to the Triangulum Living Lab Strijp-S and the Living Lab Stratumseind in Eindhoven as well as the Dutch Technology Week.

The event was organised by TU/e Smart Cities program, Brainport Smart District, Triangulum, City of Eindhoven, Dutch Technology Week.

Credits: Municipality of Eindhoven

As part of Manchester’s mobility package within Triangulum, Manchester City Council have an arrangement with Manchester Bike Hire, whereby SMEs are able to try out different models and setups of electric-assist cargo bikes, and access advice around logistics. Support is available to assist future purchases and business integration. This has led to the SME ‘Lunch Brakes’ purchasing a ‘Carla’ trailer with a lightweight aluminium frame specially created for them by Manchester Bike Hire, our Triangulum delivery partner. It is designed to fit food crates for more efficient deliveries to busy offices in the city centre.

Credits: Manchester Bike Hire

From 3-6 June, Eindhoven hosted the 13th ITS European Congress, the largest event in Europe entirely dedicated to smart mobility and digitalisation of transport. Approximately 3,500 participants attended lectures, exhibitions, workshops and visits on the future of mobility. The Triangulum partners City of Eindhoven and VolkerWessels organized two tours at the living lab area Strijp-S to showcase the Triangulum projects on mobility.

The participants of the tours were introduced to the development of Strijp-S and to the Triangulum mobility projects like the parking management information system, wayfinders and the indoor and outdoor ICT facilities based on the Backbone infrastructure.

ITS was organised by ERTICO that also produced a video with highlights of the event. Click here to watch the video