How smart technology helps Frankfurt residents

Rat Boxes and Traffic Lights: What Seems Like a Gimmick Makes Life More Fun and Sustainable

FRANKFURT – When people talk about Frankfurt as a “smart city,” many people only think about the digitalization of administration. But there is much more to the term, says head of digital Elaine O’Sullivan (Volt). The aim of the offensive is to make citizens more satisfied not only in their offices, but in general. In addition, digitalization contributes significantly to making the city more climate-neutral and sustainable. “By collecting different data, we can respond more appropriately and make better predictions for the future,” says O’Sullivan.

In order to find out what ideas exist and where the resources are available for implementation, we first asked all the authorities, explains Carsten Popp, head of the Smart City team in the digitalization department. The result was projects that couldn’t be more different, some of which seem like a gimmick. But the benefits become clear at second glance, says Popp.

Water management Unless we are talking about spring 2024, Frankfurt has a water shortage problem. In order to know how bad things are in a particular place in the city, park administration employees previously had to travel to groundwater measurement points. Now, 15 sensors in Grüneburg Park transmit at least the groundwater level directly to the data platform. Two additional sensors measure rainfall, and 100 more measure soil moisture at different depths. “We want to look at the relationship between rainfall, vegetation and groundwater,” says Bobby. This saves practitioners time, not only when measuring, but also when selecting, and theorists benefit from the data.

Meanwhile, research is underway on the Eschbach River to see how large amounts of rainfall affect the river’s water quality. The regional council still has to approve the construction application, and five sensors are expected to be installed in front of and behind the inlet pipe in August.

Another sub-project is about smart rat boxes in Frankfurt's sewer system. 20 of these boxes detect when the water is rising due to heavy rain and safely contain rat poison so it doesn't wash away.

The data is transmitted via Minova’s so-called LoRaWAN network: more than 100 “gateways”, i.e. radio receivers, distributed throughout the city, receive, collect and transmit the data. While the city uses the network with 142 sensors, Minova has already installed more than 12,000 sensors, including electricity meters and heating management.

Streets The road conditions in Frankfurt are not good everywhere. At the moment, what is noticed or complained about is sometimes repaired instead of what is needed to prevent worse damage. That should change: A service provider has been walking the streets in Nordende – an example of a densely built-up area – and in Hausen and Brünheim – examples of rural areas. The city has purchased software that automatically sorts the road damage detected in this way into different categories of urgency. The list can now be processed according to urgency. There will be a second trip at the end of the year to update the list.

Access to the library In the future, libraries could stay open day and night and be under video surveillance outside normal opening hours. Pilot projects in the northwest of the city and in Bockenheim aim to test how well this works. You enter with your library card, and not only can you return, borrow and read books, there are also internet-connected computers and a 3D printer that you can use around the clock. Such open libraries have existed in Aarhus, Denmark, since 2015, and a pilot in Frankfurt is due to start at the end of the year.

The three projects are 90% financed by the “Starke Heimat Hessen” funding programme, which supports municipalities with “important future projects”. The project period ends next May.

Data collection Another approach taken by the administration to make life easier for citizens is to collect public data via www.urbane-datenplattform. Frankfurt.de can be used. During the European Football Championship, for example, 37 sensors measured how many people were moving and where they were in the fan zone. On the one hand, this was important for the police and fire department, as well as for Tourismus- und Conference GmbH (TCF) in order to measure the attractiveness of the offer. On the other hand, a traffic light on the data platform showed whether a visit was still worthwhile or whether the fan zone was full. “The project was very well received and inspired us,” says O’Sullivan. “We could imagine setting up a traffic light like this for the citizens’ office on days when there are no appointments.” Or for the zoo – there are plenty of ideas.

The homepage also contains data on air quality, pedestrian frequency on various streets in Frankfurt, traffic volume and free charging stations. A so-called heat map will soon be added, which will show where it is still cool enough to avoid a hot day in the city. Sarah Bernhard