On 20 June 2014, the opening of the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS) took place. This institute has been established by the City of Amsterdam, TU Delft, Wageningen University and MIT (Boston) and aims to research for innovative solutions for cities in the field of mobility, pollution and loneliness among citizens and to educate students on these topics.
By using the city as a living lab and to collect data from different domains (like traffic, noise, weather) and combine this information in a smart way, many processes in the city can better be understood. Besides universities other parties are involved in AMS like KPN, TNO, Waag, Shell, Cisco, Alliander, Accenture, IBM, ESA, Waternet, etc. Amsterdam hopes to connect entrepreneurs and engineers in this new institute.
The core of AMS is the data platform. This platform (or rather an infrastructure) brings the information together. The location and environmental component is the vital key to gather dynamic data from several disciplines and create new insights. In the coming year demonstrator projects will start with existing geo data and the associated techniques.
(Source: GIS magazine/WUR)