Today Siemens announced it is expanding its partnership with Chicago’s UI LABS with the formation of CityWorks, a consortium that will develop and test urban infrastructure solutions to help transform cities across the globe. In collaboration with the city of Chicago, local academic institutions, and civic partners, CityWorks will address infrastructure challenges in four key areas: energy management, physical infrastructure, water and sanitation systems, and transportation and logistics systems.
With more than 3,000 employees in the Chicago-area, Siemens will join other CityWorks partners including Accenture, ComEd, and Microsoft, to develop a strategic investment plan and projects for the coming year. CityWorks will curate six to eight demonstration projects in 2015, with the first few slated to be announced in the coming months.
“Siemens is a global leader in sustainable urban infrastructure, ranging from energy-efficient buildings and smart transportation systems to reliable and efficient power grids and water systems,” said Dave Hopping, President and CEO of Siemens’ North American-based Building Technologies Division. “We’re excited to collaborate with UI LABS on CityWorks. This project embodies the key focus of our company around digitalization, automation and electrification for our cities and will help ensure that our cities remain at the forefront of technology and innovation.”
In February 2014, Siemens became a founding partner and the sole Tier I supplier of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software to UI LABS’ Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII). DMDII is the nation’s flagship research institute for digital manufacturing and design innovation and the recipient of a $70 million Department of Defense cooperative agreement leveraged by commitments of $250 million from industry, academia, government and community partners.
“Infrastructure forms the backbone of our cities, our economy and our society,” said UI LABS Executive Director Caralynn Nowinski. “The challenges involved are so big that solutions require the combined efforts of the best and brightest at multiple organizations, which is why we’re so excited to have Siemens as a founding partner to lead CityWorks.”
Through public-private partnerships like this, Siemens is committed to finding solutions for the growing set of challenges facing cities and urban areas. Through intelligent infrastructure such as building automation and smart grid technology, traffic control and management systems, and information systems, Siemens products and solutions help cities transform to meet the needs of today’s citizens. Siemens has partnered with cities across the globe to implement intelligent solutions like its rail electrification system that helps tens of thousands of New Yorkers daily on the MTA’s Canarsie subway line move faster and more safely, the world’s first driverless train in Paris and a smart city platform in Vienna.
