Curtin University Advances Smart Campus Vision with Hitachi IoT Solution

Curtin University Advances Smart Campus Vision with Hitachi IoT Solution

PINPOINT Public
Relations – May 04, 2017 11:09 SGT

Singapore — Curtin University has selected Hitachi to
deploy an internet of things (IoT) solution to advance its vision of a smart
campus that enhances the student experience, improves classroom learning and
ultimately attracts more industry to collaborate on data-driven research.
Curtin is achieving this by partnering with Hitachi to co-create solutions that
harness IoT data through advanced analytics to provide insight into the daily
running and utilization of the campus.

Curtin University has more than 60,000 students
and 4,000 staff on 300,000sqm of floor space. It is Western Australia’s largest
and most culturally diverse university, and has one of Australia’s largest
international student populations.

Ian Callahan, chief operating officer of
Curtin University said: “Understanding our campus operations and building
utilization has become a major factor in Curtin’s smart campus initiative. With
the Hitachi IoT solution, we can collect data using a variety of sensors to
gather information on building trends, study patterns, and course attendance
that can ultimately be used to improve student experience and enhance
learning.”

Ultimately, these data insights allow Curtin
University to generate contextual information about the lifecycle of the
student, the day to day reality of a staff member, the activity pattern of a
lecture theater, and the dynamics and environmental health of a library.

Callahan added: “We are effectively creating a
living laboratory that is an open invitation to our own researchers and
scientists from other universities to use our campus to discover and innovate
with data-driven research. Hitachi demonstrated not only technology leadership
but approached us with a very open mind, to participate in that living
environment and collaborate with others.”

With the Hitachi solution, the university will
be able to combine video data with operational data across its campus
facilities to provide analytics that support a smart campus. This is achieved
through the integration of Hitachi Visualization Suite, Hitachi Video
Analytics, Pentaho, Live Face Matching and Hitachi Data Systems Infrastructure
and Compute. The single analytics dashboard provides the real-time knowledge
the university needs to make informed decisions about their classes, operations
and future requirements.

“Curtin University is a prime example of
forward-thinking organizations that have challenged Hitachi to develop its
video analytics solutions to go beyond surveillance and public safety. They are
effectively pioneers of digital transformation,” said Mark Jules, vice
president of public safety and smart city solutions at Hitachi Insight Group.
“We’re excited to be co-creating a comprehensive IoT-enabled solution with them
and we look forward to working with Curtin University and their research partners
to accelerate future innovation through our ongoing collaboration.”