The Finnish city used Tampere Smart City Expo to showcase how it aims to combine the digital and physical worlds to enhance the lives of city dwellers.
The Finnish city of Tampere is inviting companies to test their smart city solutions as it takes its first steps to becoming “a human-centric metaverse city”.
It used the recent Tampere Smart City Expo & Conference to showcase how it aims to combine the digital and physical worlds and create a vibrant digital environment that enhances the lives of city dwellers.
The metaverse and digital twins
The international Tampere Smart City Expo & Conference convened experts from around the world to share ideas in areas such as Web3 technology, sustainability, artificial intelligence and mobility.
Keynote speakers included Christina Yan Zhang, CEO of the Metaverse Institute, whose speech focused on the use of digital twin and metaverse technology to build smart and sustainable cities. The event was opened by Kalervo Kummola, mayor of Tampere.
“Through intelligent solutions, our goal is to enhance the wellbeing of citizens, provide a positive urban experience, and create favourable conditions for people’s everyday lives”
The development of Tampere’s metaverse is a result of collaborations with industry-leading companies. Through partnerships with VTT Technical Research centre of Finland and global technology giants such as Microsoft and Nokia, it aims to harness the potential of the metaverse in areas such as urban planning and citizen wellbeing.
“We invite companies to test their solutions in Tampere. The city acts as a testing platform and an open partner for businesses and research,” said Teppo Rantanen, the executive director of growth, innovation and competitiveness at the City of Tampere.
“Through intelligent solutions, our goal is to enhance the wellbeing of citizens, provide a positive urban experience, and create favourable conditions for people’s everyday lives.”
The city said it is committed to sustainability, responsible data utilisation, and ethical metaverse practices. With a focus on human-centricity and stated that technological advancements must serve as catalysts for positive urban experiences.
Tampere’s metaverse-vision is driven by the belief that collaboration between cities, businesses, and ecosystem partners is essential to unlock the full potential of the technology. By embracing this collaborative approach, Tampere hopes to inspire and invite other cities and organisations to join forces in shaping the future of urban, human-centric living.
Tampere Smart City Expo & Conference will take place again next year 11-12 June.
The original article is published here Smart Cities World – Digital twins – Tampere bids to become pioneering metaverse city