Tomas Horak

Individual Perception of Smart City Strategies

The term Quality of Life is essential in understanding the outcome of smart city initiatives. According to several definitions, it is one of the major objectives of activities in the area of Smart Cities. Different studies presented in this paper aim at classifying a city with respect to “smartness”. The results of all such studies however look at a general index. As discussed in this paper, quality of life is highly individual. It is not true that one measure has the same impact on the quality of life of different individuals. To understand perception of all individuals within a city is difficult but necessary, if we want to model the impact of different measures on different groups of citizens. In this paper, the authors propose a way to gain understanding on the issue of individual perception of Smart Cities. This supports the researchers not only in modeling efforts, for example using multi-agent systems, but also in selection of projects. First, so-called life stages (life cycles) are defined to address the individuality in perception. Next, an IPSCS survey is designed and mathematical tools for survey evaluation are proposed to allow for learning more about such perception. In this paper, a survey was conducted to proof the proposed concept and methods.

A collaborative, interdisciplinary initiative for a smart cities innovation network

A smart city is characterized by its ability to integrate people, technology and information to create a sustainable and resilient infrastructure that provides high quality services for residents. Transforming a city into a smart city requires collaborative efforts between government, industry, practitioners, residents and researchers. This paper describes how researchers in a recently formed consortium of three universities are developing a smart cities innovation network, with an emphasis on smart mobility, smart buildings, and smart bridges. The consortium is applying a semantic-based approach to address the initial challenge of building an effective interdisciplinary network of university researchers located in different parts of the world, in three cities with different sizes and stages of economic development.

Incorporating stakeholder input in EU projects

The outputs of many large EU research projects that are aimed at improving life in cities and that of their residents, such as those funded under the Horizon 2020 programme, are often delivered by technology-oriented partners or research institutions that, although they are often a part of a heterogeneous consortia, may not be aware of the real-life dimension of the problem they are solving. This could be particularly troublesome in case a holistic solution should be delivered and is especially valid in case of Smart Cities related problems. In this paper we are proposing a methodology to overcome this issue while using the example of a real Horizon 2020 project MAVEN — Managing Automated Vehicles Enhances Network. The methodology is based on the system engineering approach and its application is illustrated on the first MAVEN stakeholder consultation workshop including its evaluation using the online tool Mentimeter. The proposed template can be used in other EU projects.

GIS approach in vehicle route optimization for residential recyclables collection

This paper focuses on evaluation of the Geographic Information Systems utilization for solving residential recyclables collection routing problems. Recyclables collection is considered as a part of reverse logistics to which a specific routing problem is connected. Recycling itself is one of the sustainable solutions intended for Smart Cities. Recycling rate increase in recent years and always high transportation costs are the main drivers for looking for the new methods how to optimize routing in residential recyclables collection. Geospatial relation of data by Geographic Information Systems software can be used to design and analyze the routing strategy. In this paper ArcGIS software and its Network Analyst extension is used to analyze potential routing improvement during one recyclables collection shift in El Paso, Texas, USA. Equation describing the time requirements for the process of recyclables collection with the consideration of effects of set-out rate and turns was established. Despite that the Network Analyst was not designed to solve high density routing tasks of this kind, an approach to obtain acceptable routing solution by this ArcGIS extension was developed. By applying this approach on the selected recyclables collection shift it was found that a comparable routing solution can be obtained.

Transatlantic Dual Masters Degree Program in Transportation and Logistics Systems

In August 2010, the University of Texas at El Paso, the Czech Technical University, and the University of Zilina jointly launched the Transatlantic Dual Masters Degree Program in Transportation and Logistics Systems. Under this program, a graduate student spends 1 year of study at the University of Texas at El Paso and a second year at Czech Technical University or University of Zilina, or vice versa. On successful completion of the 2-year program, a student earns two masters degrees. Two years of effort led to a successful proposal submitted to the funding agencies in the United States and the European Union, followed by 1 year of administrative preparation before the actual student mobility began in August 2011. The first cohort of eight students successfully completed the program in June 2012. This paper reports the sequence of events that led to the proposal submission and award, major issues that surfaced throughout the course of the project, and challenges that were overcome during the administrative preparation phase. The experiences of students and professors who have participated in this program are also documented. Key factors leading to the successful implementation in the initial years are discussed.