Businesses in Kingston gathered for a special Internet of Things (IoT) workshop at Kingston University on 16 January 2020.

27th February 2020

Representatives from more than 30 companies joined the university’s academic staff for the event, which featured mini workshops, proposals and talks from council and industry experts.

At its core, IoT is about connecting devices via the internet, allowing them to communicate to us, applications, and each other.

One of the proposals raised was smart parking, where drivers would use IoT technology to gain insights on where and when they could park before setting off on their journey. This would help reduce ‘rat-running’ and traffic queues, allowing journeys to become more efficient.

Drivers could also be navigated to their parking space and gain early notification of any parking rates they would need to pay before arriving.

Attendees were also invited to come up with their own ideas of where and how IoT could solve economic growth challenges in Kingston, with street footfall, monitoring dangerous driving and alerts for water and gas leaks all ideas suggested.

Digital Catapult, the UK’s leading agency for the early adoption of advanced digital technologies, discussed the technology and its application, from parking sensors to asset tracking, energy efficiency gadgets and air quality sensors to self-reporting mousetraps.

The InnOvaTe project is being led by the South London Partnership – the collaboration of south London’s boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton. 

The boroughs were awarded £4 million to create an Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring system to improve people’s lives through better transport, environment, health and other areas, while also improving business retention and sustainable economic growth.

The pilot IoT schemes will be decided in the coming months and implemented over the next three years.