Tampere won an international smart city award – Tampere Pulse as an example of utilizing data

At the heart of the award-winning solution were various ways in which the city of Tampere utilized IoT platforms and smart technology, with Tampere Pulse serving as an example.

"In Tampere, we invest in smart city development for the benefit of people and businesses, and Pulse is a perfect practical example of this. Awareness of our efforts has risen in Barcelona, and we have received many international inquiries from major platform operators interested in collaboration. In the best case, these major players are encouraged to join forces to promote the vitality of Tampere's businesses," says Irene Impiö, Director of Growth Services at the City of Tampere.

Tampere Pulse predicts visitor flow by utilizing and IoT platform

The competition showcased the city's utilization of an IoT platform and smart technology that resulted from multidisciplinary collaboration. The Tampere-based IoT platform has brought various added values to residents, businesses, and authorities through various applications, programs, and services. The data from the platform is also utilized by Tampere Pulse service, which predicts visitor flows.

Tampere Pulse is a digital tool that enables businesses to anticipate visitor flows in downtown Tampere. Pulse utilizes traffic cameras, weather forecasts, and events at the Nokia Arena. Tampere Pulse is accessible to everyone through the Tampere.Finland application. 

Wapice Oy collaborates with Tampere in utilizing and developing the IoT platform. The system is based on Wapice's developed IoT-TICKET platform.

"It's fantastic how boldly the city of Tampere has embraced the use of the IoT platform! I believe that such practical applications benefiting the citizens propelled Tampere to victory in Barcelona in the category of enabling technologies," summarizes Product Manager Jari Kuusisto from Wapice.

Downtown area entrepreneurs have recognized the benefits of Pulse

The pilot phase of the Pulse service started in the summer, with approximately a hundred businesses from the downtown area participating.

"The development of the Pulse service has stemmed purely from customer needs. Businesses themselves have highlighted the challenge of predicting when people are on the move, when customers will arrive, the need for additional staff, the necessity to extend opening hours, or to close earlier," explains Impiö.

Mia Häkkinen, the Head of Business Development at Pirkanmaan Osuuskauppa, has noticed that Tampere Pulse helps in scheduling work shifts.

 "Never before has such an intelligent, predictive external data service been available that could facilitate, for example, work shift planning," says Häkkinen.

Interest in Pulse's replicability is global

In the pilot phase, the service covered part of the downtown area, from the Nokia Arena to the railway station and Hämeenkatu, and there are plans to further extend the operational area to cover the entire downtown.

While Pulse has been developed to serve businesses, the data from the application can also be utilized by the police, emergency services, and maintenance services. The replicability and development possibilities of the service caught the interest of an international audience in Barcelona. Tampere's winning position was influenced by the city's IoT platform usability elsewhere. 

"I have received inquiries from several cities both in Finland and abroad, and in discussions, the focus has been on whether a similar service could be directly scaled as solutions for other cities. This was widely discussed at the city's booth and meetings in Barcelona," says Impiö.