Aalen becomes a smart city: sensors for a sustainable future!

Aalen becomes a smart city: sensors for a sustainable future!

Aalen, Deutschland - Aalen has been on the way to the smart city for several years, a development that is partly in cooperation with Heidenheim. In this context, various sensors are installed in the city, which among other things measure water levels of Kocher and eel, record pedestrian numbers on Reichsstädter Strasse and monitor the condition of emergency routes. The system acts according to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and does not collect any personal data. The city's digital transformation is to be promoted sustainably with these measures, as is also emphasized on bsi.bund.de

The intelligent parking guidance system will be particularly emphasized for the residents, which indicates the occupancy of parking garages on digital tables. This not only reduces parking search traffic, but also spared the environment noticeably. In the future, further information will be integrated, such as via parking spaces for motorhomes, bicycles, electric charging stations and disabled parking spaces. This data should also be entered into common navigation services.

optimization and control in urban space

By implementing these technologies, traffic planning in Aalen is also comprehensively optimized. Historical and current data should be analyzed to improve the efficiency in road traffic. Among other things, the integration of an event calendar is planned in order to be able to control the traffic flows better. The regulatory office can carry out targeted controls by the new systems, supported by cards marked in color and possibly even by automatic detection of false parking.

The project has a financial basis: by 2027, Aalen will be available for a total of 7.5 million euros in funding. However, there are also critical voices, for example by Claus Albrecht von der Freise Voters, who denounces defects in the transparency regarding expenses and weaknesses in the parking guidance system. So far, the municipal council has only decided to take note of the status report without deciding further measures.

The role of digitization

The Aalen initiative is part of a larger trend in which digitization plays a crucial role. The Internet of Things (IoT) must be integrated into the urban infrastructures in order to enable new applications and business models. This requires dealing with sensors and their integration in cloud applications, what in bsi.bund.de is executed.

In order to counter the challenges of digitization, the BSI recommends that digital efforts result in a comprehensive digitization strategy. Important aspects are the definition of roles and responsibilities, the identification of the protection requirement of data and the documentation of the application cases.

urban data platforms are essential for smart cities because they bundle and process data from different sources. Such platforms must be based on high security standards, as they are summarized in the technical guideline "TR-03187-Safety requirements for urban data platforms", which are aimed at developers and operators.

Overall, the example of the city of Aalen shows how the quality of life of the citizens can improve and promote ecological concerns through smart technologies. The digital transformation will be formative for the future of urban habitats.