Smart City Expo 2023 in Barcelona and the Vision of Urban Innovation | An Event Coverage Conversation with Brandon Branham Assistant City Manager and CTO at Curiosity Lab and City of Peachtree Corners
Guest: Brandon Branham, Executive Director and Assistant City Manager and CTO at Curiosity Lab and City of Peachtree Corners [@CuriosityLabPTC]
On Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-branham-cpm-8413b925/
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Host: Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast & Audio Signals Podcast
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli
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Episode Notes
As technology races ahead, reshaping our societies at incredible speed, it's crucial to pause and reflect on its trajectory. In the latest episode of the "Redefining Society Podcast," we dive into the pulsating heart of urban innovation at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2023 in Barcelona. This episode features a conversation with Brandon Branham of Peachtree Corners and the Curiosity Lab, an epicenter of smart city development in Atlanta, Georgia.
The dialogue orbits around the synergy of smart city initiatives and the organic evolution of societies. We unpack the layers of complexity that define smart cities—places where technology, policy, and human experience converge to forge dynamic, interconnected urban environments. As we look at smart city ecosystems, we scrutinize the remarkable advancements and the challenges that pace their deployment.
We learn about Peachtree Corners' remarkable transformation from a cradle of technological firsts—like the invention of the modem and the color printer—to a living laboratory for smart city innovation. Here, the realms of connected vehicles and vulnerable road users intersect, as highlighted by the collaboration between Audi and a company called Spoke, aiming to make roads safer for everyone.
The narrative extends to how smaller cities like Peachtree Corners can serve as microcosms for innovation, more agile and receptive to change than their larger counterparts. In contrast, historical cities like Florence, faced with the challenge of preserving their heritage, illustrate the complexity if the integration and balance of progress and tradition.
Join us as we navigate through the mosaic of smart city dialogues, capturing a glimpse of what the future holds for our urban spaces, where technology doesn't just exist but coalesces with humanity to redefine society.
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Please note that this transcript was created using AI technology and may contain inaccuracies or deviations from the original audio file. The transcript is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the original recording, as errors may exist. At this time, we provide it “as it is,” and we hope it can be helpful for our audience.
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[00:00:00] Marco Ciappelli: Hello, everybody. This is Marco Ciappelli on Redefining Society podcast. And, uh, yeah, that's what we're trying to do. But as I mentioned a few times, every time that I think I have the new definition of society, it change again. So, times are going really fast with technology nowadays. I was actually hearing a story about somebody is having a podcast on AI and there used to be a monthly update, now it's weekly and they're thinking to do a daily one.
So that's how fast things are happening, at least on that side. There's another side of technology and society that maybe... It takes a little bit more time to move forward for a lot of reason, um, because there is many player involved and that it's in the smart city and you have to put together, uh, different, uh, people at the table, but let's put it this way.
And, uh, we, we've been talking with, with somebody on the, on a prior episode and we're talking with Brandon Branham, which is as with us today from Peach Tree Corners down in Georgia before, And it feels a long, long time ago in technology time. So, Brandon, welcome back. Let's see what, where we're standing today.
[00:01:18] Brandon Branham: Yeah, thanks for having me, Marco. Looking forward to the conversation.
[00:01:23] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah, it's nice to see you again, and I know a lot going on very soon, and that's one of the reasons why we are chatting again is the Smart City Expo in Barcelona, which is The major, I understand, event we are covering. Not sure if I'm going to go there in person, but hey, technology.
So we're already talking about it. So today we're going to have a little update on what's going on at Peachtree Corners and the Curiosity Lab that you have there. And also what's going on with the Smart City in general. But let's start with who is Brandon and, uh, And then we go from there.
[00:02:06] Brandon Branham: Yeah, no, it's, you know, it does feel like a lifetime since we got to chat last, especially around cybersecurity. Um, but yeah, things have really been exciting, I think, since our last conversation in what's happening at the lab and some of the partnerships that we're starting to form. Probably most, probably one of the most notable ones, we kicked off a collaboration with Audi.
Uh, to really look at what connected vehicle has to do with the vulnerable road user, you know, as up into this stage, I think there's been a lot of discussion around how the infrastructure plays its role in CB2X and how do we, you know, preempt traffic signals for, for emergency vehicles? How do we improve efficiency using connected vehicle technology?
But we're taking a different, a little different angle with Audi and a company called Spoke and what does this mean for cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians, maintenance workers who are mowing lawns on highway systems. And so through that partnership with Spoke and Audi, we're actually able to put an onboard unit on a bicycle.
And now it's a connected device and worked with Audi and it's integrated into the dashboard. So on your heads up display, you'll get an alert when there's a bicyclist behind you or coming from the side that maybe you can't see. So really raising that awareness for all road users. So super excited about that.
Because hopefully as the, you know, here in the States, the FCC is still holding on to that last ban. And we need that final ruling to make CVDX a real probability. So hopefully these kind of scenarios and proving that this technology really does save lives helps push that over the edge.
[00:03:56] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah. Well, for those that haven't heard before, uh, tell us a little bit about your city, which I remember last time we started a conversation where I made a little joke about it.
It's a fantasy town. It doesn't really exist. It's like this magical town with where technology is adopted early on, and we experiment. And, uh, so yeah, what's going on there?
[00:04:19] Brandon Branham: Yeah, no, we are a city that says, yes, no doubt about it. Um, yeah, it was really born out of that history as you and I talked about how Peachtree Corners was really founded out of innovation and things like the modem was invented here, the color printer.
And so as a city, we looked at how do we play our role in facilitating innovation? How does the public sector get involved with that? So we created Curiosity Lab, which is a 5G enabled living laboratory. That sits within existing 500 acre technology office park, and we put in the infrastructure to support both startups and corporations to really bring these emerging technologies and smart cities, smart buildings, you know, smart mobility into that public realm where you are interacting with us as daily humans and all the variables that we bring to the environment.
I wanted to set up that place that was purpose built for companies that take advantage, um, and remove the barriers that tend to be in the way. So put it in that infrastructure, opened it up free of charge for companies to come and work alongside us to innovate. And create what that future, you know, society looks like and how technology plays its role.
[00:05:34] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah, and last time we were talking about the difference between a small town that does this versus the big town, the San Francisco, the New York, the Singapore, wherever. In one of the last conversation I had with the Texas alliance, uh, we talked about Europe, for example, where you want to dig somewhere and all of a sudden you can't because some, some, uh, history, uh, pop up and, uh, you know, my, my city is Florence.
So I'm aware of that. There is a reason why there is not a tube metro there. So in, in the news, we always see this resistance in a way. Uh, San Francisco and cars, uh, it's now in these days in the news on how they had to stop, uh, these cars going around, I don't know the detail of it, but there was already a demonstration, like, people that, uh, the fire department couldn't make the car move because it wasn't listening, so, what you just said, the, the extra piece where we also as human, um, Uh, scary part and the good part is we get connected to the system.
So the cyclist, the person that is walking, and so that everything created awareness can make actually things a lot safer, but it doesn't happen in a, in a day. So
[00:07:01] Brandon Branham: no, that's why I know we're there yet because it takes time and it takes more people. Uh, yeah, yeah. We've been on this journey, just celebrated our fourth year of curiosity lab, uh, in September.
And it is, I think the difference with what we've seen a lot in the past with technology is. It's disruptive. It's by one company and it kind of takes to the market and then it's adopted. But for community There's so many pieces that make up a community and how it operates how it functions It's a little different than us getting that new iPhone or Android that comes off the shelf and we can immediately adopt it and it Changes how we operate on a personal level Whereas, you know, you've got, if you mentioned infrastructure, I was walking in the catacombs in France.
I'm like, well, some of this stuff we're doing is never going to happen here because there's literally bones underground. But there are just so many layers to what makes up a city, and the older those cities get, the more challenging that gets. And so, to layer these technologies into existing operating systems, to existing infrastructure, it takes time, it takes, you know, champions within organizations.
It takes breaking down silos between departments. So you see, you know, we see across in Asia, right? I mean, they are moving in the smart city space. And you're like, why is America so far behind? And some of it, you know, it's funny because we are a leader, right, in a lot of areas in technology. But when you look at the smart cities realm, the politics of it are a little slower to move.
And a lot of that's due to funding. You know, I was just in Europe for a while and talking to a lot of cities there and they're like, Oh, well we just got 20 million dollars from the EU to go start this project. So that hasn't traditionally been here in the states. We're seeing some of that change with the IIJA bill.
Monday, the FHWA pushed out a 40 million notice of funding for connected vehicles. So we're starting to see that investment at the federal level that a lot of mid and small sized cities can't do on their own. Whereas, you know, some of the larger cities, they have that money to be able to push this out.
So it's a combination, just like a community is different. It takes a lot of different aspects and a lot of different moving parts to really push this together. And then it's learning. Sometimes a lot of cities don't want to be the first one to do it. I think that's what made Curiosity Lab really unique is we like, okay, we'll be the first.
And then we'll learn and then we'll share. And just like you talked to North Texas Innovation Alliance, right? We're partnering together. Let's share what you're learning. Let's share what we're doing. What are the successes? What are the challenges? And I think that's how we'll start to see this really take shape and move forward in the states.
[00:09:54] Marco Ciappelli: And I think that with the collaboration comment, we can start talking about the Expo in Barcelona, because when we're talking about collaboration, yes, you want to talk with the, with the small, the big city, who, whomever has been already going through that. Why do I have to start reinventing the wheel when somebody is already experienced that how you're managing the data, how what has been the response from the citizen?
And again, I feel like the big difference between what you guys do is anybody that lives there. I'm assuming they know that this is a And as you said, born out of technology experimentation. So nobody's probably going to come and say, Hey, what's going on with that car over there? You know, blocked in the corner while it's not moving.
But if you do this in Rome or London, The citizen are not going to be happy about it. So it's the context, the change. So I'm imagining that the context in Barcelona is going to be that of very, very intense exchange. Of ideas, experience, and it's about the technology, but I think it's also about the the modality on how you do apply that.
So what's what are you expecting from that? And is that your first time or you've been there before?
[00:11:21] Brandon Branham: Yeah, so we've been actually going since 2018. All right, cool. So tell me about it. Yeah, that's saying that right there is one of the key factors on why we keep going back and why we've continued to expand our presence is You get to sit down and you're like, okay, for the first time, all these different countries and regions are in the same place.
And we're all trying new things, doing different things. You really get to learn from the others who, hey, We had this problem. I saw you did this. Let's talk this out. Like, I'm really excited. I'm sitting on a panel and mobility and AI and it's affected mobility. And we've got, you know, we've got the UK representative.
We've got Taiwan representative. And so you're going to see this different approach. We already had on our kickoff call about, you know, the privacy, data privacy, what's its impact in the different regions on how they view Thank you. Uh, Privacy in the States is very different than in Europe. It's a very different conversation when it comes to that.
So you get to have those open forums because everyone is, you know, really there to learn from one another. And then two, it's a great opportunity for us to be exposed to the things that are coming, uh, from the European, right? Climate tech, green tech, was two years ago in Europe and is just now coming to the US.
And so we learned from the show two years ago what we're seeing over there that's starting to make its way into the U. S. now. So being able to see and take advantage of some of those things that may not be on our radar now, but are probably coming, and then for us to share with other communities and regions that here's the impacts that we're seeing and some of the policies that we're putting in place to help govern a lot of these activities.
And for us, obviously, uh, it's a big recruitment tool for us and getting our name out there because there's a lot of companies and, you know, we've got a place for them to really enter the North America market on the soft landing pad. So it really is a trifecta for us and our ability to take advantage of the conference.
[00:13:31] Marco Ciappelli: That comes with some good leverage there. It's like, yeah, when I go in the American market, come on, it's all good, all free. Uh, but you know, there are other big markets, as I said, and, uh, I've been in Singapore a few times for RSA conference. I, uh, you talk about different culture. The privacy being perceived completely different, more of a safety than an intrusion.
So it's easier to find cameras everywhere. And this is a few years ago. So I think we're catching up on that, uh, here as well, but the perception was probably not the same and same as in Europe. So, 2018 your first time you were there. It's it's a very long long time in technology So paint me a picture of how things have evolved since I know it's a big white question But pick pick the topic.
Yeah.
[00:14:29] Brandon Branham: Well, I think you know Just from 2018. It was really the concept of what a smart city was, right? That was, and before that it was a sustainable community. So, and they kind of shifted into a smart city. And so that was really where, what does this look like? Like, where does this, where does this start to take shape?
How do you implement? And, you know, fast forward to last year's event, and it's really coming down to, okay, we've put these applications in play that we talked about four years ago. We've done the pilots, we've done the scale, now what's the policy and governance around it? And that's really where you're starting to take shape.
And, because there was a, you know, two year period that it was, you know, we call it pilot purgatory. There was a lot of pilots going on and not a lot of scaling. And so we're starting to see that shift now, um, and it's, and finding out the... Hype from the real, because we see it all the time in technology, the difference between the hype of what a technology can do in its real application, and we're really into that real application.
And then now, how are we starting to use the data that's coming from all these? And that's, so last year was a big focus on the governance of that, because it is important, the policy and the regulation that we set around data and the usage of data based on the technologies that have been implemented throughout the years starts to take shape.
So this year is going to be great because, you know, you can't not talk about AI and its impact on what's, what it's going to mean for cities, big and small. And so it'd be interesting to see where the conversations go this year, because I think AI is going to be a big component. It has to be, because it will start to shape how we move forward.
[00:16:14] Marco Ciappelli: I've done two events this year, uh, in person, London InfoSecurity Europe at the Excel and RSA Conference San Francisco. If there was a buzzword this year, it was AI. So, get ready. Not just in cyber security, but everywhere. I, I cover a lot of generative AI, uh, in the way that is affecting society and creativity and, and all of that.
What do you expect there? I mean, how much is already? All right. Well, let me rephrase that because there is the marketing AI and there is the technology AI. And then there is, I feel, the government AI. And we saw just recently, an executive order on how the The government is stepping in the White House and then Europe is already stepped in a while back about controlling, well, controlling, be sure that things are done correctly, especially when it comes to data.
And that's many times the issue that you have in the city. Do the citizen wants to keep the data? And I always say, well, it's like. Having an assistant, um, where you wanted to know everything about you because you wanted to do things right, but you don't want to disclose what you like or what you don't like.
So there is a sweet spot maybe in between, but so far AI, what does it mean AI for you like right now?
[00:17:43] Brandon Branham: Yeah, I mean, I think the conversation This year will be around Responsible AI, and that will be the theme of it. But AI is here and has been, it's just been really under a different name, right? It was machine learning.
And if you think of it, the evolution of AI, it starts with machine learning, because we're still training AI. We're still feeding in information just like we do through the process of machine learning. So we've seen it, right, in our autonomous vehicles, the decisions they're having to make in real time.
That's AI. That's them learning their environment and then responding to their environment. Um, what we're seeing more in like local government, right, chatbots. Being able to respond to your citizens through a chatbot to answer a question. That's AI. And it's in its simplest form. That's enhancing services.
So it's a good thing. That we're bringing it. It's just as it continues to expand, how do we ensure we're using it responsibly and how do we ensure that it's protecting the safety of this and the people's data? I think we have to apply similar protocols that we already have in place, right? Like the NIST standards that are laid out for us and we've gone through that for NIST 171 is what is the regulation and it's all about PII.
And how do you set up your systems to ensure that you're protecting personally identifiable information? So we have those roadblocks in place. We just have to reshape them now that the computer is doing more thinking on its own. We just have to use, uh, build upon what's already been existing, and then how do we use it in a way that it's intended to be used and intended to enhance the services for residents, because there is a huge benefit to it.
[00:19:31] Marco Ciappelli: Can you give the audience some concrete example? I'm thinking fast reaction, which is... Kind of what you already went into. I'm thinking you can control the grid probably to be way much more efficient if you get information in every Corner of the city where it's being used less, more, and then you integrate it with solar panel and renewable energy.
So what, where are you draining? And that's just one of the things that comes to mind.
[00:20:01] Brandon Branham: Energy is going to be a great big use case. Transportation is also going to be a phenomenal use case for AI. If you think about. You get into an urban environment where you've got a heavy mix of vehicle and pedestrian, and then all of a sudden you're crossing the sidewalk.
We all know we see the clock ticking down. It's at 14 seconds, 10 seconds. Well, now you have someone in a wheelchair that's entered that crosswalk. They're not going to make that time, and that signal is just running a cycle. It's got no artificial intelligence. It's literally, I know to count down and then I turn green.
Well, because of AI and the technology that supports it, I detect that person in the wheelchair. I hold that light green, give them time to clear the intersection, and then turn the light green. Those are the true benefits to society through AI. And then you throw in energy, just the management of public space and how we can use it to do that.
It's just all have to be, it all has to be documented and used and set in the guidelines on how you, on how you use it.
[00:21:06] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah. And then you're going to have somebody that says, wait a minute, but in order to do that. In order to know that there's no car coming. So, for example, I'm waiting for, uh, for those 16 seconds while there is no cars and you want to just jaywalking.
And, but that we able to see that as well. So optimizing traffic, but then there is the other side, which is like, well, a camera is looking at me, is looking at that there is a disabled person. Is it seeing who this person is? Is, are we going to go into? Another level of then what we're going to do with that and so that's the big
[00:21:43] Brandon Branham: thing it is privacy is a question and I think it's a great topic and one of the things we're actually going to showcase in our booth this year is LIDAR and how you can use LIDAR.
And you can get those same exact analytics, so you can detect the wheelchair, you can detect the vehicle, but you remove all of the identification of that person. Right. And you added another layer because now I have a 3D model of my intersection and I can start to build simulations around development.
What happens when new development and an increase in traffic and an increase in pedestrians. You can start to model those things out to help, you know, put in future planning for those intersections. So LIDAR is going to be an interesting topic as it moves forward in the transportation space because you you are removing a lot of those privacy concerns, but you're still able to respond with newer technology.
[00:22:36] Marco Ciappelli: So you're doing drone delivery there?
[00:22:40] Brandon Branham: Not yet. The FAA is still regulating that one pretty hard.
[00:22:45] Marco Ciappelli: Wasn't in the news not too long ago that they were authorizing something like that, dropping, I think it was for medical, um, like medicine. You have to kind of bounce on the ground from 14 feet, something like that.
I don't think it's going to happen here in L. A. anytime soon.
[00:23:03] Brandon Branham: Probably not. Too many high rises.
[00:23:06] Marco Ciappelli: But remote area, that's always been, and that's the other thing. So let's define smart city from more of a sociological perspective. I mean, even we think the city, that is, oh, it's the downtown area. It's the main street for a small town or the city in London and the bank district and whatever it is.
But the truth is that city, I think, is wherever we live and you connect everything. And so it needs to become a city even when it's It's not a city and that's, I'm thinking the drone, for example, or, or our autonomous vehicles that go and deliver in a remote area in the mountains or wherever it is where you can reach during the winter or anything like that.
So, a thought about that, where is it really just about the big city?
[00:24:04] Brandon Branham: Yeah, no, I don't think it is, right? If you think of what a smart city means. It's the use of technology, not the technology itself, to better the life of the resident. And I grew up in rural Kansas. And so I think about, you know, what would this technology mean to a city of 5, 000 people?
And its ability to give healthcare services when you're an hour on a dirt road from the nearest EMS stop. What if you could deploy a drone to get eyes on site to know and deliver medical goods? These technologies play an important role in our rural communities, just as much as they do our city. It's going to look a little different, right?
Cause the makeup of the city and the movement of the city is different. We've got a startup in our lab right now, who's working on that very thing. Autonomous medical delivery to rural areas. Super excited for him and what he's trying to do. Cause that is true. Like we've got to be able to support every community, not just the big ones.
[00:25:06] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah, and telemedicine as well has always been an issue and a topic for remote area. And I think it became even more during the pandemic. I mean, I honestly am still doing every single visit I can, um, remote why dot we wanna get in the car and drive and, you know, be sitting on the 4 0 5 for who knows how long, where I can get it done.
So I was having fun with, uh, with a body of mine. He, he has a podcast actually, and ITSP magazine and all about on ai. And we were talking about, you know, the day that we could actually do our own test at home. Like when you. You don't even need to go and you can do a blood test, but then there is a certain level of control system that's to come into place where you're doing things correctly in order to be relevant.
And again, AI can definitely jump in into that conversation.
[00:26:00] Brandon Branham: Yeah, one of our startups just got FDA approval. They do at home amoeba testing with your fingernail and your cell phone, and they just got FDA approved. We're starting to do that.
[00:26:12] Marco Ciappelli: There you go. I love it. Let's do one last question and then I'm going to let you go.
Unless you want to add something. You know what? At the end I'm going to have you do the call to come to the booth at the Expo. But before , I always have this kind of philosophical... Question in my mind and you kind of went there. So I'm going to go with the with the question So do you need the technology to talk about a smart city?
And and what is the technology because I'm thinking um ancient city There are some who are smarter than another Because they had the aqueduct because they had the walls because they have things that did work so it's really the concept of smart city related to modern technology or is the way that You look at the...
The life and the urbanistic of a city. I'm going to pick your fields off your brain here.
[00:27:10] Brandon Branham: Yeah, no, it's a great question. And, you know, as a CTO, of course, I should say you have to have the technology, but no,
[00:27:18] Marco Ciappelli: you can't. That's not
[00:27:20] Brandon Branham: the cop out. No, it's not right. It's the thought process that goes around operations.
It goes around community planning, goes around the health and future of your city, and how you, you know, purposely build out and manage the growth and maintenance of a community. Doesn't have to be the technology at all. It can be an operational improvement inside of your building so that two departments start to operate better, that in return makes It makes the life and growth of the city easier for both business and residents that are coming into it.
Um, smarter people, right? It's technology is technology. It still takes the people to make use of whatever it is, whether it's a piece of paper that's got the stamp of approval that goes through it, or it's a sensor hanging on a roadway. You still need the people who have the desire to push forward that community and be the smart behind Smart City.
[00:28:20] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah, plus who makes technology anyway? Uh, great, great conversation once again, as I, I mentioned, I'm going to leave you a couple minutes, whatever you need to tell people why you are excited about the Smart City Expo in Barcelona and, uh, people want to come and visit your booths and what they're going to see, what they're going to find.
[00:28:46] Brandon Branham: Yeah, I'm really excited just to get the community together, to share, to open, you know, have those good conversations around building cities of the future, what that means for all cities of all sizes, how do we play in the role of this together, how do we partner together to drive communities together.
Come see us in the booth. You'll get to see kind of the progression of Curiosity Lab, where we were to where we are now. We'll be showcasing some of the company's works that are here currently in the space. So you'll get to see a live feed of our major intersection over LiDAR. So come and see what that means for the future of LiDAR and then, you know, sit down have a drink and have some fun.
[00:29:29] Marco Ciappelli: Very cool. If people can make it, Barcelona is definitely a great city. A lot of art and culture over there. So with that said, Brandon, thank you so much for coming by. Always fun and, uh, and, and an occasion to think, and I hope that our Audience is thinking a little bit more about what a smart city is and what uh, What can we do and how maybe instead of looking at things from one side?
We should always look at different perspectives because it's it's tough and we didn't talk about Legislation and politics and all of that, but that's okay. We can do that another time. So stay tuned subscribe. There will actually be more uh episode Uh, based on the smart cities Come back anytime you have some news always fun to to talk to you.
Thank you mario All right. Take care and everybody else subscribe stay tuned There will be more conversation about what it means to live in this new analog digital society. Take care everybody