Real-time smart city technologies moving apace

NXP Semiconductors has announced that its highly-advanced technologies for smart cities, including sophisticated vehicle communications solutions, RFID tagging and Smart Card ICs, play a key role in Columbus, Ohio’s winning proposal for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (D.O.T.) Smart City Challenge. NXP, through its partnership with the D.O.T., is working with Columbus to help deploy wireless technology allowing cars to securely exchange data, prevent accidents and improve traffic flow, as well as Smart Card ICs to make secure public transportation access fast and easy for credit- and cash-economy-based passengers alike. The Smart City Challenge is a nationwide competition which awards the winning, medium-sized U.S. city a prize of $50 million through the D.O.T. The prize recognises the community’s innovative ideas for developing the connected city of the future and for addressing the challenges that growing populations present to transportation infrastructure. As the winning city, Columbus will additionally receive a broad array of advanced smart city technologies from NXP and other program partners. “Technology like NXP’s will help bring Columbus’ vision to life, providing critical technology necessary for the development of America’s first truly smart city,” said U.S. Department of Transportation secretary, Anthony Foxx. “Smart transportation, identification and authentication solutions are essential components of creating ladders of opportunities – to build better transit and transportation systems for the future. These innovative technologies will allow cars to not only talk to each other to avoid accidents, but will also enable smarter infrastructure for the city itself, ensuring secure, connected experiences and smoother traffic flow for all Columbus’ residents.” “We are honoured to win this competition and couldn’t be more excited to start deploying NXP’s innovative, leading-edge technologies to help create a safer, more streamlined city for all of our residents,” said Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “With the help of great partners like NXP, we are on our way toward establishing Columbus as a worldwide model of what the future of cities can actually become.” NXP, together with partners Delphi and Siemens, demonstrated vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) technology at the announcement ceremony at the Douglas Community Center, where reporters, dignitaries and Columbus citizens saw NXP’s RoadLINK V2X technology in action. Other smart city solutions based on NXP technology and outlined in Columbus’ winning proposal include: 1 - Smart Card IC technology that enhances transportation for all citizens by supporting secure and convenient public transportation ticketing and payment systems, including contactless transit fare solutions. 2 - Highly secure NXP Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) solutions designed to promote public safety and convenience. Smart City applications for this NXP technology include vehicle window stickers that enhance driver convenience and reduce municipal costs by eliminating the need for stop-and-pay stations in public parking spaces. “Columbus’ Smart Cities Competition proposal outlined a clear and inspirational vision: to create a beautiful, healthy, and prosperous community for all of its residents. In fact, this vision is exactly what NXP’s Smart Cities solutions are engineered to accomplish,” said NXP president and CEO Rick Clemmer. “We are proud that NXP’s secure, intelligent traffic management and smart public transport solutions play such a critical role in Columbus’ plans. NXP sincerely congratulates Columbus for winning the Challenge, while also looking forward to working with the other six finalist communities as they implement their own smart city plans in the future.”