Symposium for smart cities industry

With driverless vehicles and drones poised for mass adoption, April's International Symposium on Digital Earth & Locate17 will provide a forum for government, industry and start-ups to collaborate and become players in the emerging global smart cities industry.

"Mobility as a Service is transforming our cities, and the spatial industry and technology start-ups are key parts of that," said Susan Harris, CEO of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Australia.

Harris is the keynote speaker for the conference's Intelligent Transport stream and will outline the latest global developments and pathways for Australia to leverage connected and automated vehicles, big data and positioning technologies.

"We need to be ready in Australia. We are well placed to be part of the global smart cities technology industry, creating business opportunities and ensuring that our cities remain as liveable as they can be, but technology is moving very quickly and early collaboration is vital," Harris said.

The capture and exchange of rich 2D and 3D spatial information will increasingly underpin transport networks and cities. Driverless vehicles, for example, will constantly survey road conditions — sharing information about potholes, ice and other hazards — so other driverless vehicles, and human drivers, can avoid them.

Even minor road damage like cracks will be captured and shared so authorities can schedule repairs and prevent further deterioration. Drones will also play an increasing role in the capture of 3D data and later as a new layer of autonomous transport.

"How does that spatial information get captured, managed and shared back out in ways that are reliable, safe and commercially viable?" asked Harris.

"Australia is strong in both positioning technologies and big data, but we need to develop further skills and industry collaboration, including information sharing arrangements."

With a program featuring more than 130 international and Australian speakers, the event provides an opportunity to understand digital transformation practices from around the world and to develop and leverage geospatial data.

The two main conference days will be split into eight separate streams, with topics including smart cities, virtual globes, intelligent transport, agriculture, engineering/utilities, smart sensors for natural resource management, water and climate, disaster and emergency management, and the geospatial economy.

The joint conference will be held from 3–6 April at ICC Sydney. A Market Day on 4 April opens the exhibition to everyone and is an opportunity for private, government and start-up organisations to come together and explore collaborative and business opportunities.