The Future of Public Safety in Smart Cities
In an era where technological advancements are rapidly transforming every sector, the realm of public safety is no exception. The Command Centre Fut'VR'e Lab, located at the PwC Experience Centre in Dubai, stands at the forefront of this revolution, demonstrating how future command centres can reshape our approach to urban security and incident management.
Sharang Gupta, Director of Technology Consulting at PwC Middle East, explains, "It's a futuristic hub that showcases next-generation solutions, addressing the challenges faced by public safety agencies and critical infrastructures." The lab's primary objectives revolve around showcasing advanced virtual reality (VR) and real-time data analytics to elevate city surveillance and incident management.
The integration of VR and real-time data analytics is a game changer in city surveillance. According to the lab's experts, this integration enhances remote situational awareness, immersive incident management, and real-time simulations for multi-stakeholder planning. These advancements allow for a more comprehensive and proactive approach to managing city safety.
Focusing on citizen-centric solutions, the lab adopts a design thinking and persona-based strategy. This approach ensures that solutions are sensitive to the needs of citizens, influencing behaviour positively and contributing to safer communities.
The lab has significantly improved public safety outcomes by enabling remote management of command and control centres. This approach has fostered improvements in incident detection, response, recovery, and review, ultimately enhancing public safety.
SME Engagement
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are encouraged to engage with the lab, especially through hackathons. This fosters innovation within the SME sector and helps in developing unique solutions.
The lab's report, "Reima'GenAI'ng Command Centres of the Future," anticipates a transformative role for Generative AI (GenAI) in public safety. The integration of GenAI is expected to evolve traditional command and control centre models into a more proactive 'Predict, Pre-empt, Prescribe' model, thereby enhancing citizen security.
Challenges and Partnerships
Implementing advanced technologies in public safety poses challenges, particularly in adoption rates and acceptance levels. The lab addresses these through intuitive, gamification-based user interfaces. Key partnerships, like the one with ‘OODA,’ have been pivotal in developing the lab's solutions.
The Command Centres are integral to the broader vision of smart city development in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, contributing to various verticals like public safety, border security, and municipal services.
PwC Middle East envisions a future where command centres integrate agile operational strategies with advanced technological solutions. This vision aims to keep command centres at the forefront of innovation in public safety, shaping the future of smart cities in the GCC.
