Foresense Technologies: Safer, Smarter Planned Communities

THE ATTRACTION FOR EXCLUSIVE planned community living is enticing for many.

In retirement, village life offers close proximity to people of a similar age with local amenities to suit similar interests.

Gated communities offer residents increased security and an assurance that undesirable elements of society such as crime, noise, pollution and antisocial behaviour is kept further at bay.

Some companies offer as a perk or incentive planned community living with free or subsidized housing, often within company owned land plots.

Similarly, around the world military villages are built alongside or close to bases and training facilities for military personnel and their families during the period of deployment.

By now, many have heard of smart building and smart cities….but what about smart villages and smart communities?

Smart cities and smart buildings are characterised by a network of electronics and technology to collect data to efficiently manage assets, resources and services.

Similarly, smart villages and communities of the future will have new technologies and electronic networks underpinning the success of their liveability.

Traffic, crime, energy consumption, water supply, waste disposal and even community services including schools and libraries are all key concerns for local governments, councils and town planners where maximum efficiencies in these areas determine the liveability of a city, both in the immediate term and in planning for the future.

Many initiatives dubbed ‘smart’ in urban settings are limited to ‘futuristic’ applications such as vehicle charging stations, smart garbage receptacles and bicycle sharing programs.

All these are great initiatives but they are not inherently ‘smart.’

The list goes on.

Public Wi-Fi provision. Traffic Light monitoring. Smart street light dimming.

Smartphone apps for parking, directions and public transport payment systems.

All are defined by closed, rigid systems to address a singular problem – they lack true connectivity across the entire network.

And because of this, lack any sort of macro perspective on how people act across the entire network; they lack any true insight into how people use local facilities and amenities over time.

They are only capable of logging rudimentary data that offers limited value for immediate adjustment - and for future improvement.

And because they are not inherently smart, any Artificial Intelligence, so integral to all leading technologies in the modern world is largely underutilised – if utilised at all – to guide key decision makers and improve lifestyle in local communities.

Now, an Artificially Intelligent, all-encompassing solution for tomorrow’s smart planned communities is available.

Foresense Technologies is revolutionising commerce, government, agriculture and industry, making day-to-day processes and procedures smarter, safer and more efficient.

At its core, the Foresense platform utilises proprietary AI to identify areas for improvement and guide commercially based decisions to increase operational KPIs and efficiencies with highly detailed, quantifiable behavioural data.

While using specific smartphone app software for smart city applications is common, Foresense uses the smartphone hardware itself as a beacon to collect highly detailed data sets on how people act and interact, in and with their immediate environment, to provide real-time analytics of foot traffic inside and around any physical location.

In a similar way to how behavioural data is utilised online through careful analysis of aspects such as dwell time, session duration, and unique and return visitations, the Foresense platform collects data through a series of AI sensors integrating with nearby smartphones as they move across the sensor network.

The Foresense platform allows accessibility in real time so highly-informed, proactive decisions and actions can be executed as trends and developments are actually emerging.

And as a complete journey mapping solution, the technology presents a wide range of possibilities and opportunities for smart community applications to really drill down how different groups of people, including residents and visitors, live and work in the community and how they use transport, cultural, retail and recreational facilities.

Breakdown the entire visitor/resident day-to-day experience from time spent on local transport or in personal vehicles through to their flow on foot in the community - the places they visit and how long spent at each individual stop.

Identify unique characteristics such as if a person is a new or unique visitor, intelligently distinguishing and learning exactly who is a permanent resident and who only visits for work or social purposes.

Aggregated data can be used to establish peak demand times for specific sections or facilities within the community to lessen wait times to keep movement flowing and alleviate congestion.

In this way Foresense can assist in commercially based decision-making by identifying areas where demand exceeds supply, to justify the expansion of current facilities - or the construction of new ones.

The platform can also use visitor data for tailored messages on-screen or via close proximity digital signage for advertising or informational purposes – for example tell applicable residents of maintenance closures of any frequented facilities or advertise relevant products or services based upon individual habits.

As we learn to live with COVID, Foresense can also complement existing digital tools to monitor and log residents and visitors as they move across the local area to assist contact tracers and keep everyone safer. In this way it can also be used to monitor and control the number of people gathering in any given space to address density regulations, social distancing requirements and total numbers on any given premises.

Foresense can even identify those who have not recently received negative COVID testing where such laws have been introduced and those who bypass QR code scan points, sending digital reminders to scan in.

The technology can even be applied for personal safety concerns. For example where a person is not moving across an area as normal, or has been stationary for an excessive amount of time, indicating illness, injury, collapse or unconsciousness.

Foresense can also improve on existing alarm and video surveillance systems and address shortcomings, such as the need for constant monitoring and the ability for seasoned criminals to bypass them altogether.

The AI platform detects loitering, erratic behavior and unauthorised entry and can deploy security staff or notify police in real time, as issues develop, when and where they are needed most, to ensure timely response and the best chance of suspect apprehension.

By coupling the data sets obtained with the proprietary AI system, highly specific analytics can be utilised to move community planning forward into a new era beyond outdated predictive modelling methodologies.

Foresense progresses the approach to developing a smart community further than a series of singular clever concepts such smart traffic lights and smartphone payments systems, into a more highly connected data driven network between individual residents, visitors and the local facilities of the community itself.

With highly specific information readily at hand Foresense Technology determines data driven actions to constantly improve efficiency of operations – and improve liveability, desirability and cost efficiencies for the planners of the smart communities of tomorrow.