Researchers outline mobility sensors, anonymized camera ‘digital cousin’ and public data portal for West Palm Beach

Andrew Smith of the NSF-funded Center for Smart Streetscapes and Jason Hallstrom of Florida Atlantic University briefed the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency on Jan. 5 on ongoing pilots that use sensors and anonymized camera analytics to study and improve downtown mobility and public-space management.

The presenters described five research thrusts—advanced wireless connectivity, situational awareness, security and privacy, fairness/public-interest technology and applied design—and said the center operates three testbeds, including West Palm Beach. "We're focused on basically making cities more livable and safe, through advanced technologies," Andrew Smith said, describing the center as an NSF engineering research center led by Columbia University in partnership with Florida Atlantic University and other institutions.

Jason Hallstrom detailed the Mobility Intelligence Project pilot in West Palm Beach, saying, "We have today 55 sensors that are deployed along Clematis. That's about 800 meters along Clematis." He said the system measures signal strength from Wi‑Fi–enabled devices and can triangulate position to about "3 to 4 meters of accuracy," and that the project publishes data products on mobintel.org. Hallstrom also described anonymized camera analytics and a so‑called "digital cousin"—a reduced, avatar‑style representation of street activity that the team uses instead of raw video to protect personal identity while preserving analytic value. "We actually don't have access to the people. We don't have access to the cars, but we're able to faithfully capture their silhouettes," he said.

Presenters said the center is deliberately building privacy, governance and community engagement into projects. "Everything that we collect is made public immediately. Researchers do not have privileged access to anything," Hallstrom told commissioners, adding that community stakeholders help identify applications. Commissioners pressed for next steps: how to translate the collected data into actionable city improvements such as safer crosswalks, litter/dumping detection, EMS routing and heat‑island mitigation. Smith and Hallstrom pointed to pilots (for example, a Safe Crosswalk application and EMS optimization) and said most applications arise from community‑identified priorities.

The presentation also covered education and workforce development: a K–12 summer research institute and opportunities for local students to work as research assistants. Hallstrom highlighted individual student success and partnerships with local institutions and companies that provide technology and deployment support.

The presentation closed with an announcement of an Innovation Summit in February—described as a student pitch and industry panel event that will feature industry keynote speakers and an advisory‑board competition to fund promising local startups.

Commissioners thanked the presenters and asked staff to continue exploring application and enforcement pathways for the data and for ways the CRA can use the analytics to guide investments. The CRA did not take an action item on the presentation itself; it was received for information.