So why not use swarm intelligence, for example as part of a hackathon? We at doubleSlash took part in just such a hackathon to promote new concepts in the Lake Constance region with our methodological and digitalization expertise.
Future quarter Fallenbrunnen North-East: From barracks area to a Smart City project area
The history of the Fallenbrunnen district in Friedrichshafen dates back to the 1930s - once a barracks area, it has since developed into a knowledge quarter. The city wants to make this district in the north-east area fit for the future, develop it further and, above all, test sustainable and smart concepts here. The vision is a smart city. In this area, the aim is to focus on urban development (e.g. smart housing, smart mobility) but also digital projects (e.g. dashboards, data use and evaluation). But how can innovative and sustainable ideas be developed to turn Fallenbrunnen into a future-oriented district for science, business, commerce and housing?
Swarm intelligence - from the region for the region
To this end, the city of Friedrichshafen and the cyberLAGO and the IWT on 04.12. and 05.12 2020 a virtual Smart City Hackathon Fallenbrunnen organized. The aim of the hackathon was to generate ideas for the development of the future district of Fallenbrunnen Nordost and to drive them forward in teams. These ideas are to be fed into the relevant committees (e.g. municipal council) and possibly even included in the tenders for the development of the future district of Fallenbrunnen North-East. The city has deliberately opted for this format, which has long been established in the digital sector. What looks like a "gambling event" is actually an event where innovative projects are launched and innovative ideas are developed.
| What exactly is a hackathon?
Swarm intelligence instead of hierarchy. A hackathon is not about the activities of an intelligence agency trying to crack a system in order to steal people and |
The group of participants at the hackathon was a colorful mix - business, science and local authorities at a virtual table, with
- various representatives of the city of Friedrichshafen, including from urban planning, citizen participation and the digitization office,
- members from the cyberLAGO network,
- employees of the IWT,
- Employees and students of Zeppelin University, the DHBW and other universities,
- Employees from various companies, e.g. software company doubleSlash
- Members from various clubs around Lake Constance
- and private individuals
There were a variety of topics and different roles in and on which the participants could work. You could Contribute ideas as a topic sponsorthat the team wanted to work on. These could be submitted and pitched in advance or directly on the first day during the "idea presentation". The topic sponsor was given their own virtual room for their topic in which they could work with their team. Another option was to work as a Mentor to participate. Mentors were equally available to all teams and could be called upon to answer technical and urban planning questions as well as questions about the procedure in the project teams. After the idea pitches, participants in the hackathon were able to decide which topic they wanted to work on.
We took part both as mentors and as topic mentors:
- Ralf Richter, a senior software developer colleague from our Munich office, was active as a mentor and was able to score points with his experience in cloud computing and as a hackathon expert.
- Stefanie Scharmann and Walter Melcherexperienced colleagues from the Friedrichshafen site in the fields of project management, networking and connected bikes, have stepped up as topic mentors. They have been able to contribute methods and extensive knowledge from project experience (e.g. the Ideation process). Both colleagues have actively worked on topics such as smart infrastructure and mobility.
A common goal: to make Fallenbrunnen safe and easily accessible
As a software company, we deal with topics such as networked mobility and infrastructure in our customer projects on an almost daily basis. We were therefore able to contribute concrete ideas on these topics to the project teams:
- Our Idea for "smart lighting of forest/hiking trails": There are many paths in and around the Fallenbrunnen that are not or only insufficiently lit. With our idea, we want to make these paths safer while taking into account the aspect of low light emissions (for species and environmental protection). During the hackathon, requirements were defined for the system of people and the environment, initial solution ideas were developed and handed over to the city for further processing.
- Our The idea of "smart logistics": Here we addressed the topic of future mobility. Mobility was a central topic at the hackathon, so several groups came together to develop a concept for a car-free/reduced neighborhood over the two days. In particular, they looked at the transport links to Fallenbrunnen and mobility in Fallenbrunnen itself. In this vision, both sharing models and autonomous buses inside and outside Fallenbrunnen should make connections quick, easy and convenient.
Conclusion
As innovative software company We particularly welcome the fact that the city of Friedrichshafen has chosen the format of the "Hackathon" to bring innovation topics to a through community and swarm intelligence based way. As a local company, we create sustainable digital added value for our customers - it is a matter close to our hearts to be able to actively support the implementation of innovative projects here in the region. At municipal level in particular, it has not yet been part of our daily business to respond to such digital innovative formats in idea generation that is currently changing. Above all, the Close cooperation between partners from business, science and at municipal level is an important success factor here. We are now looking forward to seeing what will emerge from the ideas submitted and how the opening of the RITZ (Regional Innovation and Technology Transfer Center) will be launched in Fallenbrunnen from the beginning of 2021. With the slogan "The idea is not enough", a center of excellence for innovation in all aspects of digitalization and mobility of the future is to be created there - for people and the environment alike. As a regional company and employer in the region, but also as an experienced digitizer, we see ourselves both as a partner and as part of this smart development in Friedrichshafen.
This article was by Stefanie Scharmann in collaboration with Walter Melcher written.
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