Japanese tech giant SoftBank makes smart city IoT partnership with Dublin
Japanese tech giant SoftBank will be working on smart city IoT solutions in Dublin.
Members of the SoftBank team attended an announcement at Dublin City Hall on Thursday 26th July, detailing the company’s arrival to DCC’s smart city testbed, Smart Docklands. Smart Docklands has unique potential as a smart city district, as home to many of the world’s leading global technology companies. Smart Docklands is the result of a collaboration between DCC and the Connect centre.
Vice-president of SoftBank’s global business strategy division, Hidebumi Kitahara, spoke at the launch: “The development of an innovative IoT platform is a key strategy for SoftBank and we are delighted to collaborate with Dublin, with its unique smart city testbed, supported by a cluster of technology companies and an open and collaborative approach from Dublin City Council.”
Kitahara hopes the partnership will lead to the deployment of technologies to make the lives of both companies and citizens easier and more productive.
SoftBank will be piloting its global IoT platform in Dublin, aiming to build IoT solutions designed to scale that can be easily transferred to other cities.
Dublin was chosen due to its open approach to smart city development, specifically through the Smart Dublin programme. DCC, alongside the Science Foundation Ireland-funded Connect centre for future networks based in Trinity College Dublin, provides ample opportunities for SoftBank to pursue its IoT strategy and smart city developments in the capital.
The partnership will focus on sustainable mobility, environment, disaster prevention and mitigation, as well as security and safety.