SOM II, sub-project: 3D model of smart village
Through a 3D model of a community, residents would be able to report faults to the local authority, look at houses to be built and see how the water flows in the pipes under the street. Perhaps they could also take a step into the model and play games or have meetings with people for cultural exchange. Smart Villages in Veberöd started a visualisation project in 2019 as part of the SOM project. The work showed great opportunities and in 2021, Smarta Byar offers several higher education institutions to use the village of Veberöd and the digital twin in their teaching — something that can give the village knowledge about how to increase sustainability through sensors.
Finanisär
In 2019, Smart Villages® started a collaboration with LTH and IKDC at Lund University, Region Skåne, Lund Municipality through the City Building Office and Future by Lund and Unga Smarta Byar to create a virtual model of Veberöd.
The purpose of creating the model was from the beginning, among other things, to facilitate communication, to be able to visualize future buildings and to visualize data.
As a first step, Smart Villages made a 3D model of the central part of the village. Jan and Tim Malmgren used an app that controlled a drone so it could film and photograph to bring out material. Once the material was retrieved, a program created a 3D model that could be rotated and viewed from all sides. Smart Villages worked with LTH so that together they could find the best way to create the 3D model.
Jan Malmgren has many ideas about what a 3D model could be used for. One of the basic ideas was that 3D is much easier to absorb than text or 2D.
“A 3D model can be used as a communication channel between citizens and municipalities,” says Jan Malmgren in an interview from autumn 2019. It can work so that citizens log in, for example, to misreport an injury on the street. In the model, they would be able to zoom in on the error they have found and pass it on to the technical board. At the same time, the notifier would be able to see whether the damage has already been reported and whether there may already be plans for an action. The model would also be able to collect and display different metrics and flows — such as for energy, water, exhaust gases and traffic. Once these values are in place, we can use AI to combine everything and look at connections.
There are also other ways the model could be used for municipal information. Should it be the case that there are several proposals for a new building in the resort, citizens can see them on site using as a mobile phone and a QR code.
Of course, there are many more benefits than being able to communicate with the municipality.
“Citizens would be able to see how far the bus has come on its round, where their bike is and even find the cat if they have put a sensor on it,” Jan continued. But not only that — we could also 'gamify' the village and, for example, play sustainability games or car games. Through AR glasses, you could take a step into the village. When we have collaborations, we could “meet” in the 3D model, it would be a new form of cultural exchange.
The 3D model could be displayed on a screen placed centrally in the village. Via a touchscreen, citizens would be able to get inside the model and do their errands.
“An important part is to investigate how citizens want to visualize it and how they think the model can be used,” said Jan Malmgren. The feedback is important, not only for communication, but also for changing patterns.
The model can provide citizens with feedback on water consumption in an area and it can inspire them to change their consumption.
What was the result?
A detailed 3D model of Veberöd that is under development to act as a digital twin where you will be able to display information in a new way but also make simulations.
How is the project taken forward?
After the SOM project, the work on the 3D model has only gotten bigger and bigger. At the end of 2020, Smart Villages moved into a facility in the middle of the village with a newly started Fablab and the 3D model can also be displayed there. Veberöd is also in the process of turning itself into a village where students and researchers are offered to do experiments with sensors on site in the village and through the work with the 3D model are also given opportunities to study the results in a digital twin.
“By offering Veberöd as a place to explore, we get data back to us that can increase sustainability — in the village of Veberöd but of course also in other places,” said Jan Malmgren. Collaboration and transparency create sustainability for all.
By the beginning of 2021, four universities and colleges had joined the Smart Byars model, and the ambition is to attract about twenty higher education institutions to participate.
Facts sub-project 3D model of smart village
The project is a sub-project of the SOM project is part of the Strategic Innovation Programme for the Internet of Things, IoT Sweden, which is funded by Vinnova. Anders Trana at Future by Lund was the project manager for the entire project. The project started on 1 September 2017 and ran until December 2020.
Project Time: 2019-090-01 - in progress
Project Manager: Jan Malmgren, Village Development AB
Partnerschappen: Bybyggelse AB, Lund University LTH, Lund Municipality, Region Skåne
