Futuristic Portuguese Eco-City to be controlled by central computer brain

If our brain is the boss of our body and runs the whole show, the computer brain can control the city! Cisco Systems, McLaren Electronic Systems and Accenture in a joint venture have conceived the idea of an eco-city that will be controlled by the central computer brain. The Portuguese Eco-City taking cue from biology has been envisaged to use a centralized computer brain for controlling the main functions like water usage, waste processing and energy consumption. Comparing cities to living organisms, the Plan IT Valley in southern Portugal near the town of Paredes is the biggest attempt ever at urban metabolism. The city will use a network of sensors like our nervous system to collect the data and control the city.

plan it

Besides the brain, the city has various body-esque functions like renal system of reeds and bamboo to filter water, a digestive system that involves dishwasher-sized contraptions to process the human waste and food to produce bio-fuel and a visual sensing system will track lost kids to help them connect back to their parents. Also, with the help of apps, the residents will be kept informed about traffic and other local issues. The buildings of this city will be designed as hexagons so as to maximize space. The anticipated cost of eco-city project is $19 billion and is scheduled to be complete by 2015, which is five years earlier than the time in which Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City was completed.

Via: PopSci