Workers at 15 construction sites in Moscow are wearing wireless trackers to help city managers improve safety by determining the number of staff on site and measuring their activities.
The Personal Smart-Tracker devices are loaded with embedded sensors including a GLONASS receiver that helps determine a worker’s position and velocity in precise time by using signals from GLONASS satellites. The trackers also are equipped with an accelerometer and a personification sensor, according to a recent statement from Moscow’s Department of IT.
The trackers have been in use for nearly a year. They transmit general information in real time to a client computer about the worker’s movement around a building and the worker’s activities. The collected data is then compared to data in the state information system of the Construction Complex of Moscow, according to Eduard Lysenko, minister of the government of Moscow and head of the city’s Department of IT.
More than 1,000 of the trackers are being used in the construction of social facilities in Moscow. The client computer that receives the data sits in Moscow’s Department of City-Building Policy where analytical reports on construction projects are prepared.
The city plans to integrate the smart devices into what’s known as a builder’s digital passport, which is being created within a system for managing urban development, according to Sergey Lyovkin, head of Moscow’s Department of Urban Development Policy. Tracking the worker data in real time makes it possible to monitor activities on site and ensure compliance with safety regulations.
Moscow’s DIT has a strong commitment to smart city initiatives and has digitized more than 160 state services, more than any region in Russia. The city also has created 178 web portals, including the official mos.ru portal. Citizens can use portals for setting up remote medical appointments and tracking medical records, for example. Some of the data available tracks water usage.
Construction management and safety in the city is a top city concern. The city has a population of 12.4 million and covers 970 square miles. A construction boom, including expansion of Moscow’s Metro, has been underway for years. The city stands to benefit from a six-year national investment of $133 billion in infrastructure projects throughout Russia.
The Department of IT and ICT.Moscow also recently announced free access to a unified knowledge database on 5G. Users can track deployment of 5G mobile communications technology in Moscow and in the future will be able to learn about work done in 5G testing labs.
Officials hope the site will be useful to Russian companies and also international companies that will be able to publish 5G project information on the website. The site already features 60 case studies from Russia and abroad.
“One of the city’s primary tasks is to help businesses better understand the opportunities presented by 5G and to encourage the development of new digital products,” Lysenko said.
One feature of the site is a map that shows 5G pilot zones in Moscow. The site is available in English and Russian.
Moscow’s 5G equipment providers include Qualcomm, Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia, among others.