How Israel is leading the way in smart-city tech
Start-Up Nation just got a new moniker; Start-Up Cities.
More than eighty municipal delegations from around the world will converge on Tel Aviv later this month for the Muni-Expo Urban Innovation conference – meant to highlight smart-city technologies.
It is a sign that foreign investors and mayors are increasingly clamoring for Israeli-developed technologies in urban waste, water and traffic management; from using smartphone app Waze for navigating traffic to relying on local cybersecurity tools.
“It’s exciting to see the amount of Israeli tech around smart cities,” said Eyal Feder-Levy, ZenCity CEO and cofounder, a start-up which helps aggregate and analyzes wide-scale public feedback via artificial intelligence.
“It’s not a traditional Israeli market. We don’t have major cities here, no mega-metropolises. But I think this is becoming one of the most technological trends of the decade and Israel is fast becoming a leader in it. We’re leveraging our infrastructure and security technology,” he said.
The market for smart-city technologies could top $1.5 trillion by 2020, according to a study by the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
That could provide Israeli smart city start-ups with lucrative opportunities, such as installing sensors on streetlights – to turn them off when not in use – or collect garbage based on when the bin gets full.
“We save more than NIS 2 million a year on the new system with collecting garbage,” said Haim Bibas, mayor of Modi’in and chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities.
“We’re using sensors and the sensor is part of the garbage truck and the garbage can,” Bibas told The Jerusalem A CITYSCAPE of Tel Aviv is seen during the night-time in May last year. Later this month, over 80 delegates will converge on the city for the Muni-Expo Urban Innovation conference, meant to highlight smart-city technologies. Post. “The sensors are updating the collection services if the bins are empty or full, which makes this process more efficient and reduces cost.”
Other Israeli startups are developing smart parking and cybersecurity tools to protect the emerging Internet of Things” infrastructure.
Start-up ZenCity, one of 150 companies to be at the conference, helps city officials sift through mounds of data and messages, alerting them to problems and crafting a response.
“We use advanced technology to understand; what are the key things people care about in the city,” asked Feder-Levy. “And then we share that with local government.”
The company relies on AI and machine learning to automatically analyze feedback, whether on social media or email. It’s a new iteration of the 311 public feedback phone line, as ZenCity shares data through a dashboard with city managers.
Residents most often complain about potholes and obstructed sidewalks – leading some municipalities to remove trash cans and tow vehicles parked there.
“It’s the essence of what smartcity technology is about,” said Feder-Levy. “It’s about collecting and analyzing data in the city to make it more efficient and effective and to provide better services.”
Locally, a trending topic according to ZenCity has been the “Supermarkets Law,” which could force the closure of many restaurants and entertainment centers on Shabbat.
ZenCity’s data also shows that many residents have complained about new bicycle regulations barring cyclists from sidewalks. Municipalities across the country have given out tickets in response.
Based in Tel Aviv, ZenCity was founded in 2015 and employs some 18 people. The company is working with ten cities in Israel, the US and France, including a pilot program with the City of San Francisco.
The Muni-Expo International Conference will be held on February 13 and 14 at the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds.