From electronics, a smart eye for the environment: the idea of FAE Technology
The Italian tech group produces the electronic components for devices capable of monitoring urban, rural and fragile territories. Technology meets sustainability, with several active projects around the world and strategic partnerships
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Everyone knows the places overwhelmed by overtourism. Let's get away from tautologies and explore the most underrated places for a holiday, away from ‘crazy crowds’.
The man who realized utopia: Sam Altman and the Artificial Intelligence for all
It seemed like a fantasy, but now it is reality: machines that mimic the faculties of the human mind have arrived and are here to stay. Sam Altman has made Artificial Intelligence available to everyone, thanks to OpenAI. His creature, ChatGPT, poses questions to humans, which “Pioneers of the future” will tackle with the help of a neuroscientist and a totally unexpected guest.
We have technology, how do we use it? At the origin of smart cities with Municipia
Municipia implements the digital transformation of municipalities in safety, welfare, interactivity and mobility. Technology already offers many solutions, but coordination and maturity are needed at the administrative level. We talk about this with Stefano De Capitani, CEO of Municipia (Engineering Group), which has signed an MoU with Yunex for future collaborations in the ITS (Intelligent Transport System) sector and already worked in Pisa and Bologna
To tax or not to tax? The Hamletic doubt on tolls that embarrasses New York
Approved after years of work and studies in December, Manhattan's congestion charge was to be the first ever implemented in the entire United States. It was scheduled to start on 30 June, but the toll to moderate traffic was postponed to an indefinite date a few days earlier: the Big Apple continues to hesitate without making a decision. Here are the issues that have caused a stalemate
Editor's Hub
The city? It is a living organism: the ecological design of biourbanism
Adapting urban space to climate change, rethinking cities in the face of the gradual abandonment of fossil fuels, mitigating heat waves are some of the challenges considered by biourbanism, a model that approaches design through the lens of life science
The city? It is a living organism: the ecological design of biourbanism
Adapting urban space to climate change, rethinking cities in the face of the gradual abandonment of fossil fuels, mitigating heat waves are some of the challenges considered by biourbanism, a model that approaches design through the lens of life science
The city, this great charmer. Its tumultuous growth, which began in the 19th century, continues according to an accelerating principle that shows no signs of reversing itself. Increasingly global, epicentre of a multiplicity of services and branched out into a combination of physical and digital infrastructures, it makes its management a complex challenge, impossible to govern through a simplified control room.
By navigating this web of interconnections, some architectural theorists believe that rethinking urban space according to conceptual metaphors inspired by laws and assumptions of a scientific nature may prove to be an effective key to optimising its resilience. It is from this vision that biourbanism came to be, an urban planning model that equates the city with a living organism, endowed, like any organic biological structure, with a non-linear functioning system.
According to biourbanism, the city would in fact be an 'anthroma', an ecological system redesigned by man through his multiple and layered interventions throughout history. Mending the distance between nature and the built environment, improving the flow of the integration and systemic management of all elements, would achieve better urban quality and psychological well-being for those who inhabit and use the city.
Equally many theoretical layers help to define the conceptual application of biourbanism. Some, such as biophilic design and bioarchitecture, have a more specifically design-related reference, and refer in particular to the theory of fractals and the need to identify and pursue specific geometric and formal models, peculiar to the organic world and often also deeply set in vernacular architecture, in order to harmonise the integration between the built environment and nature. Others, more distinctly meta-planning, look to statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, evolutionary biology, biopolitics and epigenetics as areas from which to optimise the planning of the connections and flows that regulate the use of exchanges and services in the urban fabric.
The objective of this sartorial action of stitching up, as Christopher Alexander, an Austrian-born American architect and theorist who is among the references of the biourbanism movement, has called it, could be shrewdly summed up in the formula ‘building beyond time’, so as to imbue buildings with an imperishable quality and a more adaptable and effective governance.
“The emergence of biourbanism as a discipline is the result of unexpected connections,” says Antonio Caperna, president of the International Society of Biourbanism, a non-profit scientific network that promotes ideas and research on biourbanism worldwide. “Christopher Alexander's ideas, generally boycotted by the academy, have been the starting point for a number of architects, physicists, philosophers, biostatisticians, psychologists and ecologists who have looked at architecture and urbanism through the lens of complexity science and neuroscience. Together, we came up with a manifesto outlining a new epistemological and paradigm approach to architecture based on the life sciences, deep ecology and the processes of morphogenesis.” The manifesto, from 2011, emphasises the kind of scientific contribution that biourbanism can make to the broader discipline of architecture, including a strengthening of the interconnection between cultural and physical factors within the urban environment and the reorganisation of the city following the progressive abandonment of fossil fuels.
A topical perspective of studies on biourbanism thus becomes one that focuses on the adaptability of urban space to climate change. Australian biourbanist and architect Adrian McGregor explains this in his book Biourbanism, published in 2022 by Biourbanism Publishing. Cities emit approximately 75% of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Solving the equation of the sustainability of our consumption can therefore only come through the decarbonisation of urban environments, which must be enabled to become more efficient and sustainable.
In this context, McGregor's endeavour is to systematise the levels that make up the life and anthropic structure of the city-environment. When balanced, its ten principles of living, landscape, water, food, citizens, economy, energy, infrastructure, mobility, technology and waste, effectively govern the well-being of a city. Optimal urban resilience is achieved when one of these ten systems is not negatively impacted by another and when the interrelationships of these systems are managed in a targeted and mutually beneficial manner.
One of his most recent projects, the one for Sydney's ‘Mega Park’, aims to be a very large-scale park for the Australian megalopolis. The ambitious proposal envisages the creation of a new 1,000-kilometre ring of open space within which the more than 50 existing parks and waterways would converge and be brought together under the aegis of a single body. With its 1.5 million hectares of green space located in the bay of the same name, the park would not only be the largest urban park ever created, but also a true green lung for the city, capable of mitigating emissions as well as counteracting heat waves and the growth of sprawl. This effort is in line with the Australian government's commitment, which since COP 26 has formalised its commitment to oppose forest area limitation in the country.
Territory, safety and roads: the drone watches over the smart city
Unmanned aerial aircraft are increasingly being used by officers and local police for land monitoring, traffic management, accident solving
Territory, safety and roads: the drone watches over the smart city
Unmanned aerial aircraft are increasingly being used by officers and local police for land monitoring, traffic management, accident solving
A means of transport, but not only. Drones, a tool for delivering drugs, blood and organs by air, have also taken on a new role in road safety and governance.
In a supporting role, alongside law enforcement, used as a kind of 'police drone', the aircraft combines human intelligence with artificial intelligence and advanced technology. Over time, they have become an essential new tool of smart cities to prevent and monitor threats to public health and safety, to detect environmental or building abuses and for improved urban and suburban traffic management.
The experience, in Italy as abroad, is revolutionising both crime control and the management of 'public affairs'. Despite the doubts raised by some observers concerning the respect of citizens' privacy, it is now widely accepted that drones can be a useful tool in the hands of officers. But also for the fire brigade or civil defence, which can use the eye of the drones in search and rescue missions.
In smart cities, the drone makes it possible to improve traffic management and investigate accidents. “Drones have had a radical impact not only in traffic management, but also in the reconstruction of road accidents,” Gaetano Barione, secretary general of the Professional Association of Local Police of Italy, explains to Infra Journal. “Traffic police are now able to reduce the time it takes to map a location and acquire evidence. In addition, the data they collect can be used to make traffic flow better on major roads, in addition to being of better quality than the data obtained by previous methods, which took hours.”
Besides having great precision and being sustainably powered (without fossil fuels), drones offer several advantages. “They can be deployed by the police for a variety of observation missions, such as scouting key or suspicious areas, gaining vital situational awareness to better define deployment tactics, and monitoring crowd behaviour and movement.”
All with a different perspective. “CCTV cameras can be vandalised or covered up. The height of a drone makes this difficult, if not impossible. In preparation of a large event, these tools can be used to prevent critical problems such as heavy traffic and threats to public safety, for example, in protest marches. Obviously, all this in compliance with current legislation, the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act, which had its second reading in Parliament in January 2020,” Barione concludes.
An ace for judicial investigations
The main area of interest of UAS (unmanned aircraft system) for local police forces concerns video-photographic survey operations, as these systems enable the monitoring of operational scenarios and the transmission back to the ground of images and data, which are useful for investigations in the various fields of competence to support the decision-making activities of the judicial authorities.
UAS systems can be useful in photogrammetric missions in large areas, remotely or in adverse environmental conditions, where traditional aerial means may find impediments or limitations in protecting the safety of operating personnel and people being flown over. However, “the relative ease and versatility of using UAS systems is contrasted by the complexity of managing them in the airspace since, being aircraft to all intents and purposes, it is necessary to comply with all aeronautical regulations aimed at ensuring the safety of flight operations and of third parties flown over,” explains the National Civil Aviation Authority.
In order to be able to use the drone, police forces (like all other public bodies) need certified pilots, prepared to handle any situation that may arise. Enac, the single authority for technical regulation, certification, supervision and control, issues authorisations for operations in a specific category, pursuant to EU Regulation 2019/947, in which most of these operations fall.
Many municipalities turn to the authority to sign conventions and memoranda of understanding to facilitate the work of local police forces in compliance with European legislation. Enac also promotes agreements at regional and national level (with Anci, the national association of local authorities) in order to standardise procedures and facilitate development in the field of Innovative Air Mobility.
In the world
Among the countries that have made drones a security ally, in China they have served as law enforcement 'agents' during the Covid stages urging people not to walk around without wearing a mask. In Dubai, Indonesia and France they are used to disinfect the streets. In Ireland, legislation is being modified to allow police officers to make use of remotely piloted aircraft in various circumstances, including using the images and videos collected for the benefit of investigations. To date, in fact, Dublin imposes privacy provisions limiting the storage of data obtained from drones.
In the United States, they are now considered almost a common presence in cities. In the skies above Chula Vista, the police department runs a drone programme for ten hours a day, seven days a week, with four launch sites and it is not uncommon to see an unmanned aircraft whizzing by. An officer about to enter a flat where there is a potential suspect can radio for support from one of the department's 29 drones. Having this aerial reconnaissance resource at their disposal has become normal for the officers of the Californian town.
Media Hub
Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are the protagonists of a challenge never seen before in human history, between satellite launches and orbital flight. The world arising from the space economy will depend on them too: here are the tycoons of the planet with space interests, among successes, aspirations and few too many extravagances
A brilliant student who overturned all preconceptions and, starting from the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, established herself in the world as a pioneer of space and the emerging space economy: the story, ambitions and projects of Chiara Cocchiara, an award-winning aerospace engineer with a penchant for the red planet
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Projects with a lower environmental impact and future-proof solutions for a sustainability that starts from the foundations.
It seemed like a fantasy, but now it is reality: machines that mimic the faculties of the human mind have arrived and are here to stay. Sam Altman has made Artificial Intelligence available to everyone, thanks to OpenAI. His creature, ChatGPT, poses questions to humans, which “Pioneers of the future” will tackle with the help of a neuroscientist and a totally unexpected guest.
Infrastructure
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Ideas, scenarios and data to better frame the mobility sector that can change everyone’s way of life.
Everyone knows the places overwhelmed by overtourism. Let's get away from tautologies and explore the most underrated places for a holiday, away from ‘crazy crowds’.
Technology
All the latest news from the world of technology. Up-to-date editorials, data and in-depth articles.
Travel
Moving, creating relationships and approaching what is far away using the most innovative resources of science and engineering.