Presentation covering UCL CASA Connected Environments research on how digital technologies are being used in the operations of real estate. Covers IoT / AI / ML, an MSc programme in Connected Environments and some observations from 10 years of living lab deployments.

1. THINGS THAT THINK, A LITTLE
LEARNING THROUGH MAKING
SIX OBSERVATIONS
@djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments

2. @djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments
Urban Modelling / GIS / Urban Analytics / Social Network Analysis /
BIM / Internet of Things / AI + ML / Prototyping etc….
We are Planners, Geographers, Mathematicians, Computer Scientists,
Engineers, Tinkerers, Story Tellers…
MSc/MRes Spatial Data Science and Visualisation
MSc Smart Cities & Urban Analytics
MSc Connected Environments (2021 @ UCL East)
24 Post Docs, 4 Professors, 10 Lecturers, 18 PhD’s, 100+ MSc Students
UCL BARTLETT
CENTRE FOR
ADVANCED
SPATIAL
ANALYSIS

3. •THINGS THAT THINK, A LITTLE
•LEARNING THROUGH MAKING
•SIX OBSERVATIONS
@djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - connected environments + things that think, a little

4. TO ADVANCE THE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES WE USE TO INSTRUMENT, OBSERVE
AND AUGMENT OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE BUILT + NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
CONNECTED ENVIRONMENTS
EDGE COGNITIVE COMPUTING | EXTRA SENSORY COMPUTING | SPATIAL REASONING SYSTEMS
@djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments + things that think, a little
BRIDGES TO BATS
http://www.batslondon.com/

5. ML AT THE EDGE
Big data challenge - just in case vs just in time
Transmission and storage costs
Simple things efficiently – narrow AI
@djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments + things that think, a little

6. • THINGS THAT THINK, A LITTLE
• LEARNING THROUGH MAKING
• SIX OBSERVATIONS
@djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - connected environments + things that think, a little

7. Pete Warden blog
Embedded AI
Google
@djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments + learning through making

8. CONNECTED
ENVIRONMENTS
CE1: Connected Environments 101 (15) T1
Cultural and technical context of IoT in the
built and natural environment. Technical
architectures, critical perspectives,
introduction to Arduino / RPi and making.
CE2: Mobile Systems & Interactions (15)* T2
Designing Mobile Systems, Cross Platform
Development, Machine Learning and AI,
Bot Design, UX design
CE4: Web Architecture (15) T1
Intro to Web, Server Side Coding, Designing
Systems, User Interaction // UX [Web]
Deploying to Scale, Built Interactive System
CE5: Deep Learning for Sensor Networks (15)* T2
Deep learning to sensor data (video, timeseries),
design and implement deep learning systems for
IoT devices, Python, Tensorflow
CE6: Sensor Data Visualisation (15) T1
Collecting and Mapping Data; Spatial
Analysis; Data Visualization; VR / AR / MR,
GPS and mobile apps, data science
CE7: Ethics, Sustainability and
Business of IoT (15) T2
Bias, data capture, GDPR, usage policies,
customers, community platforms, scaling
and longevity – IoT Kite Mark
CE3: Making, Designing & Building
Connected Sensor Systems (15) T1
Sensors, Embedded Systems, Hardware
Design – Enclosures, Life Cycles of
Hardware and Software
CE8: CE Group Prototype and Pitch (15) T2
Stakeholder engagement, service design,
product prototyping, business modelling,
pitching to investors.
CE9: Final Project / Dissertation (60) T3
Final individual project and dissertation.
Connected Environments focuses on the
research challenges that relate to the
infrastructure required to instrument our built
and natural environments. It builds on the need
for a skill set in programming, data capture and
visualization, and prototyping with stakeholders
to support the analysis of complex systems.
@djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments + learning through making
FUTURE LIVING INSTITUTE
MAKING | ORIGINATING | CONNECTING | LIVING
www.connected-environments.org

9. •THINGS THAT THINK, A LITTLE
•LEARNING THROUGH MAKING
•SIX OBSERVATIONS
@djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - connected environments + things that think, a little

10. “A Smart City is a city that
integrates its systems - from
local labour markets to
financial markets, from local
government to education,
healthcare, transportation and
utilities - to drive efficiency for
the benefit of its inhabitants.”
Smart London Board
Smarter London Together Plan
@LDN_CDO
https://medium.com/@smartlondon
“A smarter city is a more
collaborative, connected and
responsive city. It enables
greater data innovation to
meet citizens’ needs.”
OBSERVATION 1 – HUMAN CENTRIC
@djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments + culture eats technology

11. OBSERVATION 2 – SERVICE DESIGN
@djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments + culture eats technology

12. OBSERVATION 3 – IOT INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY
@djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments + culture eats technology

13. @djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments + things that think, a little
OBSERVATION 4 – CONNECTING THE DOTS, A NEW WAY OF SEEING

14. Credit: @cheliotK
@djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments + things that think, a little
OBSERVATION 5 – GHOST IN THE MACHINE, AGENTS, BIAS AND CONTINOUS FEEDBACK

15. @djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments + things that think, a little
OBSERVATION 6 – AUGMENTING OUR UNDERSTANDING

16. @djdunc – http://iot.io/ - connected environments + things that think, a little
Q. The tech reality – what kind of tool
kit would help designers explore and
understand tech capabilities?
Q. Things that think – what little bits
of intelligence you would like to see
embedded into everyday life?
Q. Making sense - how do we explain
decisions made by machines? How
much explanation should we expect?
Q. Augmenting understanding – when
will AR/VR jump from toy to natural
way of working?
FUTURE OVERSOLD AND UNDERIMAGINED www.connected-environments.org

17. http://iot.io/
@djdunc

18. AUGMENTING OUR SENSES
@djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - EXTRA SENSORY COMPUTING 2

19. 2010 COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE
SMART POP UP RETAIL
Gonzalo Garcia-Perate (EngD CASE) – hinteractions, collective intelligence
@djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - connected environments + things that think, a little

20. @djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - SPATIAL REASONING SYSTEMS 2
Sentiment analysis – positive emotion, aggressive, affection, anxiety, social, moral etc
SOCIAL STREAMS + BIG DATA TOOLKIT

21. @djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - SPATIAL REASONING SYSTEMS 3
UNCERTAINTY, FUSION + FEEDBACK

22. AIR QUALITY
OPERATIONAL COST
Balancing BOM cost + technician time.
Install cost significant, field maintenance
expensive, infrastructure hard to access
Lessons learnt:
Pilot to test creases in system that 2x cost.
Product ≠original brief > Service (Bosch)
@djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - connected environments + things that think, a little

23. NATURE SMART CITIES
EDGE ANALYTICS
Moving from slow, simple data at edge to complex event
streams. Ultrasonic sensor in Bat box = 96kHz
(180GB / day -> ~2.1MB / day)
Lessons learnt:
DL needed data and expert verification.
Longitudinal obs. created new insights.
We ‘heard’ other sounds of the city
> Optimise with Movidius / training set of 1
@djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - connected environments + things that think, a little

24. VOXBOX + SMALLTALK
ENGAGING INTERACTION
How can we engage a crowd to gauge public opinion and
gather feedback in situ.
Lessons learnt:
Experience increased input vs feedback form.
Direct input from kids at Young Vic.
Cost of appliance + setup req’s a blockage.
@djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - connected environments + things that think, a little

25. INTERNET OF
SCHOOL THINGS
A MEANS TO AN END
Enfield wanted 100 AQ devices, they have 100 schools.
Connecting with existing infrastructure / social structures
provides tactical means of engagement + national scale.
Lessons learnt:
Operational win win.
Long term memories.
Education context + kids as Trojan horses.
@djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - connected environments + things that think, a little

26. TOWER BRIDGE
MULTI TENANCY
In early experiments we observed spare capacity in
resources deployed in the field – could multiple
‘customers’ run applications on same compute fabric?
Lessons learnt:
Tension: single function vs lamp post server.
Technical challenge on resources available.
Governance challenge – cross dept budgets.
@djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - connected environments + things that think, a little

27. ORGANICITY.EU
EXPERIMENTATION
AS A SERVICE
Experimentation made easy - platform experience
Tools for co-creation – tech + social enablers
Ethics and privacy - model experimental agreement
Legal / IP - reference design / experimental agreement
Lessons learnt:
Cost in delivering service design not platform.
Engagement takes time + needs resources.
@djdunc – http://iot.io/blog/ - connected environments + things that think, a little