The City of Tampere chose Wapice Oy as the service provider for their IoT platform, outdoor lighting control system and urban environment sensing. The estimated total value of the acquisition is EUR 4.4 million during a ten-year contract period. The goal is to start implementation in early 2021.
– We get a new type of solution for measuring and controlling the urban environment and technical systems, as well as for managing and sharing the information obtained from them. The IoT platform enables more efficient utilization of information, says Mikko Nurminen, Director of the Urban Environment Service Area.
The city’s acquisition includes an IoT platform and is utilized by an outdoor lighting control system and urban environment sensing. The new lighting control system takes into account factors other than just darkness and time when adjusting the lights. Smarter control of outdoor lighting achieves cost savings and reduces CO2 emissions.
– With this acquisition, we support ecologically sustainable change and improve the quality of citizens' services. With the help of the IoT platform, we can automate operations, anticipate maintenance needs and get more detailed information to support planning, decision-making and management, says Construction Director Milko Tietäväinen.
An IoT platform refers to systems based on the automatic transmission of data by technical devices and the remote monitoring and control of devices via the Internet. For situational awareness, several sensors, control devices, and data sources are added to the IoT platform. There will be several other use cases for the IoT platform in the future. The intention is that the platform will collect data from different sources and allow open data sharing.
– Companies as well as educational and research institutions can also utilize the data collected by the platform, for example in their research and development work, says System Manager Mika Heikkilä.
A total of 12 suppliers participated in the acquisition procedure, of which six companies were selected for the negotiation procedure. The negotiations identified and defined ways in which the city’s needs could best be met. Following the negotiations, five companies submitted a bid. In the comparison, Wapice Oy received the most points for the quality of the service and price and was selected.
Wapice has a long and diverse experience in delivering IoT and technology solutions, says CEO Pasi Tuominen. It is great to be involved in the development of a higher quality and more digitalized urban environment, which will also improve the quality of services received by citizens.
Wapice Oy is a Finnish full-service software company specializing in industrial IoT and digitalization solutions. Founded in 1999, Wapice employs over 330 software and electronics experts in Finland.
The acquisition involves the STARDUST project, which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 774094). It is part of the City of Tampere's Smart Tampere development program.
Further information
Mika Heikkilä, System Manager
tel. +358 50 468 8478
mika.heikkila@tampere.fi
Milko Tietäväinen, Construction Director
tel. +358 40 506 8600
milko.tietavainen@tampere.fi
Pasi Tuominen, CEO, Wapice Oy
tel. +358 10 277 5100
pasi.tuominen@wapice.com
Text: Anna Vilhula
Image: Mirella Mellonmaa