Smart neighbourhood established near Kranj

Slovenia’s fourth largest city is becoming a better place to live in, thanks to smart technologies

The Slovenian municipality of Kranj has joined forces with 7 local companies for the establishment of a smart neighbourhood near the city, according to local authorities. The pilot project called “Smart Mlaka” (Pametna Mlaka in Slovenian), presented on Tuesday, has developed solutions in line with the guidelines of the municipality on establishing Kranj as a smart city.

It is expected for the project to ultimately enable the collection, display and analysis of data from smart meters (for electricity, gas, water), smart sensors for the environment and traffic in Mlaka. The goal is to make living easier for the residents of the smart neighbourhood located north of Kranj but also to become a model for further implementation by other municipalities in Slovenia and abroad.

Making living and working easier with data

The companies behind the Smart Mlaka project officially presented the user applications developed in different areas to the municipality of Kranj on Tuesday. Upon the finalization of the project, the applications will be available for download on smart devices and will display data on how the neighbourhood functions.

What is more, the data will be seen on the control panel at the municipality, through the so-called digital twin, simulating neighbourhood operation systems via smart solutions. This enables the monitoring of up-to-date data or the "live" situation – a first of its kind in Slovenia. In particular, the following will be monitored and managed with the new system:

• Smart lighting. The system will calculate the electricity consumption and carbon footprint and allow for a comparison between electricity data for selected periods and between different areas. This makes it possible to switch the public lighting on and off depending on the external conditions and actual needs with minimum inconvenience for residents. Furthermore, it will be easier to explain changes in the trend and potentially – prevent fraud.
• Smart environment. The system will give citizens access to air quality data directly from the measuring device and will send them warnings about potential hazards (air pollution, adverse weather conditions, etc.)
• Smart traffic. Data on traffic density and car speed for a specific area or time period, presented in a convenient way to make comparisons or even predictions are only some of the advantages for users. For the municipality, this could mean easier planning of traffic safety activities, as well as smarter operation of traffic signals and the provision of a green wave to intervention vehicles in the event of an emergency.
• Smart energy and water. Here again, the consumption of water, electricity, gas and carbon footprint for each geographical area will be possible. Key indicators such as the increase or decrease in electricity, gas or CO2 emissions could prevent water or gas leakage and alert the responsible company to take immediate action.
• Smart bikes. This dataset will give information on the concentration of cyclist in different areas and will make it possible to forecast their number in the future.
• Smart shafts. Finally, they will allow the detection of, among other things, the opening of shafts for public lighting and the movement of rodents inside them.

A number of useful applications - that is what the residents of Mlaka should be looking forward to after the completion of the pilot project. Image: Municipality of Kranj

Mlaka is just the beginning, according to Kranj Mayor Matjaž Rakovec. “We also have a new financial perspective ahead of us, which, according to forecasts, will largely co-finance such projects… Such projects and cooperation are the future and the foundation of further urban development, which we in Kranj are well aware of. "

The project implementation is managed by local company RIKO and involves 3fs, Iskraemeco, Komunala Kranj, Domplan, Elektro Gorenjska and Vigred, electrical installations. They joined voluntarily and provided all the necessary funds for the pilot project as part of their development contribution, according to the municipality.