The city of Namur in Wallonia (Belgium) has launched a smart-city pilot project under the name “Namur Smart City” that brings together a consortium of companies including Schréder, CommuniThings and Orange Business Digital Belgium. The initiative is part of the region’s “POC 5G 2023” call and aims to exploit 5G connectivity and sensor-networks to collect, analyze and exploit urban data for improved mobility, environment and citizen services.
The project deploys intelligent light-poles equipped with 5G-connected sensors, including cameras, meteorological sensors and noise monitors. Three use-cases are tested: real-time visualisation of parking availability and occupancy, computer-vision to detect flows of pedestrians and cyclists and incidents, and an IoT environment application measuring air-quality, noise and local weather for optimised urban management.
While a specific total investment cost is not disclosed in the publicly available documentation, the regional framework for POC 5G funding sets a maximum support-level of €1 million per approved project, and the total budget for the 2023 edition amounted to approximately €3.7 million across seven selected projects.
The project positions Namur as a “living lab” for smart-city innovation by combining real-time data, advanced analytics and urban infrastructure, with the objective of enhancing quality of life, optimising mobility and strengthening urban- and environmental-management.
