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Smart Cities Precinct

Using IoT to improve visitor experiences in Devonport, Tasmania

Devonport Bluff

BACKGROUND

Known as the Gateway to Tasmania, Devonport is a bustling city located in the central north of Tasmania along the Mersey River. With a population of approximately 26,000 residents, the city is the port at which tourists enter the state after disembarking from the Spirit of Tasmania. Devonport is currently enacting its Living City Master Plan, which will see its transformation into a ‘living city’, including the development of new retail, business/service and waterfront precincts that will highlight the tourism, arts, food, and services available in the region.

 

With a strong commitment to maximising city experiences, the Council, led by Deputy General Manager Jeffrey Griffith, decided to trial a number of IoT technologies to determine the value they could add to visitor experiences. The Bluff, a highly utilised community space along Devonport’s waterfront was selected as an ideal trial site for their Smart City Precinct.

 

The project's goal was to install a range of different smart city technologies around Mersey Bluff Beach to determine if they could offer accurate and reliable insights that would help the council overcome issues commonly experienced with heavily used public spaces, enhancing the overall experience of the space for visitors The project would also test the capabilities of Indicium’s LoRaWAN network.

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The initial pilot focused on a variety of sensors and a LoRaWAN network and investigated the potential of integrating the data insights with existing council systems such as Technology One for automated task management.

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DATA REQUIREMENTS

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The solution needed to seamlessly incorporate a diverse array of IoT sensors and devices to monitor various environmental and operational metrics within public spaces.

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It was essential for the system to automatically initiate work orders based on data from IoT devices, ensuring efficient maintenance and management of public amenities.

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Reliable and timely data collection was crucial to provide accurate, actionable insights for improving public space management and visitor experiences.

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The platform required compatibility with the council's current systems to leverage and augment their existing operational workflows with new data insights.

SOLUTION

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Indicium and Devonport City Council collaborated to define data requirements and select optimal IoT devices for the project. Various devices were then installed across the site, including:

 

  • People counters: to monitor the use of the BBQ area and general pedestrian traffic

  • Toilet occupancy sensors: to monitor toilet use in order to maintain cleanliness for visitors

  • Bin level sensors: to monitor the level of rubbish, with alarms established that would create a work order for emptying at 75% capacity

  • Weather station: to provide local temperature, wind, and rainfall data

  • Soil moisture sensors: installed at Meercroft Park to monitor soil moisture levels

 

The data from these devices are collected and displayed by the INDICIUM Cloud, our enterprise-grade data visualisation and analysis platform. Automated alerts and events were created to trigger maintenance tasks through an integration into the council’s business management system – Technology One.

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Dashboard for Devonport City Council smart precinct
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SOLUTION BENEFITS

  • Bin-level sensors provide data that enables waste collection to be tailored to the fill level of the bin, reducing unnecessary pickups and reducing waste management and labour costs

  • Toilet occupancy data, combined with people counters, creates insights regarding usage patterns, helping to ensure timely cleaning and maintenance of these areas

RESOURCE OPTIMISATION

Real-time data from sensors ensures that visitors experience clean and well-maintained amenities. Bin level sensors prevent overflowing bins, reducing litter and maintaining the aesthetic appeal of and enjoyment of the space.

ENHANCED USER EXPERIENCE

Using data to schedule maintenance of the site reduces unnecessary trips, saving fuel consumption and vehicle emissions, helping to reduce the council’s overall carbon footprint

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES

Accumulated data over time can provide insights into usage trends, helping the council make informed decisions for future enhancements, renovations, or expansions of the community space.

FUTURE PLANNING

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