The city of Auckland, New Zealand has selected HP Software to deliver a visionary Big Data project designed to provide a safer community and more efficient roadways for
its citizens.
Auckland Transport, Auckland’s government agency responsible for all of its transportation infrastructure and services, will deploy video analytics powered by HP IDOL on servers and storage from HP Enterprise Group, and with support from HP Software Professional Services.
“The safety and well-being of our citizens is always our top priority and the Future Cities
initiative is a big step in the right direction,” said Roger Jones, CIO Auckland Transport.
“Only HP could comprehensively deliver the custom solution, expertise and ecosystem at
this scale to transform our vision into reality.”
Auckland Transport will use HP’s integrated big data platform to analyze, understand and act on vast quantities of data of virtually any type including text, images, audio and real-time video. The system will leverage data from a variety of sources, including thousands of security and
traffic management cameras, a vast network of road and environmental sensors as well as
real-time social media and news feeds.
In the first phase of the project, Auckland Transport will focus on improving public safety.
Law enforcement will use HP Intelligent Scene Analysis System and license plate recognition
for accurate identification and scene analysis for dangerous activities and analyzing safety
threats from over 2,000 cameras deployed within Auckland. Going forward this information
will be linked with rich insight from social media news sources to provide a comprehensive
solution that can proactively identify breaking trends and respond to critical safety incidents
for cyclists and transport users.
Auckland Transport’s investment in big data technologies from HP is part of a larger
trend around the emergence of “Smart Cities.” Enlightened city planners are looking
at how to leverage big data, sensor data, and data from people and their devices to
create improved products and services for citizens. According to market research firm
IHS, investment in Smart City projects and technologies will rise from $1 Billion in 2013
to $12 Billion in 2025.
