Bristol University and the city’s council are to partner on a project which will combine university research with the city’s infrastructure for next-generation networking in the city.
The two have formed a new company, Bristol is Open, to drive forward the project. With an aim to better understand issues of mobility, health, and energy efficiency in the city, the initative will create an experimental network accessible by tech firms, research organisations, and other small-to-medium enterprises.
Bristol is Open has secured funding from the UK Department of Culture, Media, and Sport and state technology body Innovate UK, and will look to capture a range of information about the city including energy, air quality, and traffic flows. It will also allow the trialling of new technologies in various industries, including broadcasting, entertainment, autonomous systems, robotics, and advanced manufacturing.
Stephen Hilton, director of Bristol City Council’s Bristol Futures team, said: “The coming together of the city council and the university in this historic joint venture is an opportunity for Bristol to offer the country a platform to face the difficulties of modern urban living head on. Growing city populations, climate change and scarcer resources are but a few of the growing problems cities face from Bristol to Bordeaux to Porto. Bristol Is Open will provide a test bed that enables researchers, companies and organisations from around the country to come together in the spirit of innovation, with the aim of exploring solutions on a city wide scale.”