Pictured at the Future Internet Award presentation in Budapest: (l-r) Jose Manuel Hernández-Muñoz (SmartSantander), Willie Donnelly (ceFIMS Coordinator), Robert Szabo (Award Judging Panel) and Mario Campolargo (European Commission Director of Emerging Technologies and Infrastructures)
An Internet-of-Things initiative entitled SmartSantander has been announced as the winner of the second Future Internet Award.
Prof. Robert Szabo from the Award’s Judging Panel made the announcement during the closing ceremony of Budapest’s Future Internet Assembly event on 19th May. Prof. Szabo, from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, said SmartSantander, “promotes smart services development” and provided exemplary work which “could be replicated in other countries.”
The SmartSantander initiative involves a city-wide experimental research facility to support applications and services for a “smart city”. This unique development will be flexible enough to engage with other experimental facilities. It will also stimulate new user applications, facilitate research on Internet-of-Things technologies and assess real-life users’ acceptability testing.
The Waterford Crystal vase presented to SmartSantander in Budapest
Comprising more than 20,000 sensors, SmartSantander‘s core facility will be located in the city of Santander, the capital of the Cantabria region on Spain’s north coast.
The rich variety of partners involved in the SmartSantander initiative caught the particular attention of the Future Internet Award’s Judging Panel. One Judge said, “the consortium is a perfect example of inclusion of local entities, citizens, communities, cross-regional and/or cross-national involvement and contacts with industry.” Another said, “there is a dialogue between cities, businesses, citizens, and ICT researchers and developers applying user-driven innovation methodologies.”
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Jose Manuel & Willie Donnelly inspect the Award
Members of the SmartSantander consortium pictured at the Award presentation. Picture also includes Robert Szabo of the Judging Panel (far left).
