MKE Streetcar : Smart Streetcar Support
by John December / johndecember.com/mke
During the The Hop streetcar's construction and testing phase in Milwaukee in 2018, the technology firm Foxconn, as part of its plans in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, announced a statewide “Smart Cities – Smart Futures” Competition. As someone interested in transit and technology, and with a background in Operations Analysis at Boeing, I had an idea for streetcar support using the contest's target technologies--5G signals, 8K video, and AI.
To take part in the contest, I turned to the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee, where I had earned an MS in Computer Science. I contacted a former professor who put me in touch with Brett Peters, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, who then introduced me to Dr. Jie Yu, Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at UWM and the Center for Transportation Studies. (This center and Dr. Yu are no longer at UWM.)
Here are the series of papers and videos for the contest:
Papers
- Smart Cities--Smart Futures Idea: Connecting the Milwaukee of Tomorrow
- Smart Cities--Smart Futures Idea Connecting the Milwaukee of Tomorrow: The Smart Streetcar Corridor for Greater Community Health, Equity, Livability, and Prosperity (HELP) Business Plan
- Slides for presentation: Connecting the Milwaukee of Tomorrow: The Smart Streetcar Corridor for Greater Community Health, Equity, Livability, and Prosperity (HELP)
- Poster for Connecting the Milwaukee of Tomorrow: The Smart Streetcar Corridor for Greater Community Health, Equity, Livability, and Prosperity (HELP)
- Manuscript of paper submitted in 2019 (but declined for publication) in The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Smart Cities Journal
Videos
- Smart Streetcar Support Smart Cities, Smart Futures
- Smart Streetcar Support Smart Cities, Smart Futures--Why Invest?
Photo: left to right:
Weijie Tan, Dahai Han, Dr. Jie Yu, and John December.
References