The City of Bolzano, Italy and TIS Innovation Park have entered into a strategic initiative with IBM , with the aim of creating a smart city.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

Bolzano, capital of South Tyrol in northern Italy, is the fifth Italian city to choose IBM to identify and design a new model for a sustainable city through a range of digital solutions. During the next few months a pilot project will be implemented for remote health monitoring of the elderly.

The one-year pilot project will involve a group of 30 elderly people. Called "Secure Living," the aim of the project is to introduce a new system of tele-monitoring and tele-assistance for people in need of in-home assistance.

The system is based on a net of integrated sensors that send data about the assisted person to a control room. The solution also allows interaction with the end user, providing suggestions on a series of activities, including tutored physical training, exercises to stretch mental faculties, or direct contact to a health worker. The data is collected and analyzed in the control room and if necessary, a medical team is alerted.

The aim of the project is to enhance the quality of life of the elderly, providing greater independence and integration into society, while, at the same time, lowering public spending through more accessible and less invasive technologies. The Secure Living solution was developed by IBM, TIS Innovation Park, the technological park of Bolzano, and business partner Dr. Hein GmbH.

"We want to improve the standard of living in the province and tele-medicine is one of the priorities for our local administration," said Barbara Repetto Visentini, Member of the South Tyrolean government in charge of innovation. "The agreement signed with IBM and TIS Innovation Park is a decisive step in this direction, providing citizens with a better level of service through innovation and technology."

In the future, the city will also be looking to implement projects allowing improved traceability for food and goods, and a smarter utilities grid.

"The strategic initiative with Bolzano is part of IBM's strategy to leverage available technologies in a smarter way; improving the quality of life for all citizens, in a cost-effective way," said Nicola Ciniero, General Manager, IBM Italy.

  For more information, please visit: www.ibm.com/smartercities.


  Contacts:
  Vineeta Durani                        Paola Piacentini
  IBM Communications (Worldwide)        IBM Communications (Italy)
  917-472-3694                          39-02-5962-4114
  vineeta.durani@us.ibm.com             paola_piacentini@it.ibm.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: vineeta.durani@us.ibm.com

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SOURCE: IBM