As localities slowly begin to reopen, technology will be an essential part of the process. The digital infrastructures at the heart of many modern cities may prove critical to keeping the coronavirus at bay. There are many other potential coronavirus-related applications for video in digitally connected cities and the organizations within them. Some, such as using facial recognition for contact tracing, may be controversial, and there are certainly privacy and security issues that municipalities must address. But the fact that a device as simple as a mounted camera combined with powerful analytics software might be used to accomplish in just a few seconds what would otherwise be quite difficult — that’s something localities and other organizations must consider.

As recently as 2017, INRIX Research found that U.S drivers spent an average of 17 hours looking for parking. And when they’re searching for spots, they’re part of a bigger problem: pollution. An important way to curb carbon emissions from cars is by getting them off the road — and into parking spaces — more efficiently, and state and local governments are considering intelligent parking solutions to help.

Cities and municipalities face a number of tough questions as they try to provide residents with a good place to work and live. How much congestion and pollution are caused by vehicles circling the block as drivers look for a parking spot? Which intersections have the most near-miss accidents? Where is jaywalking common — and…

As a senior data center architect, I work regularly with organizations such as police forces, county health departments and state election agencies. These organizations face different challenges, and each has different ways that it wants to achieve its mission. But my conversations with the people in these organizations reveal meaningful similarities among them. Generally, the…

A modern vehicle processes an estimated 25 gigabytes of data each hour. Much of that is for internal operations, such as navigation and continuous optimization of the drivetrain. But an increasing amount of data involves driving conditions, such as hard braking. Today, fleet owners and insurance companies use that data internally to detect unsafe driving…

Local governments face a major challenge in determining how best to manage traffic. Which intersections need stop signs or traffic signals? Which roads need streetlights to illuminate them? Which streets should be restriped to prohibit passing? Accident reports sound like a smart place for municipalities to find the answers to these questions, but these reports…