Smart City of Vukovar - Our view of smart living
By Davor Sijanovic
This magnificent model offers a solution in a greater electricity saving, better use of a solar Sun power panels, and reducing the traffic jams on the road as well as around the parking lots.
Type: Education
Website: https://www.instructables.com/Smart-City-of-Vukovar-Our-View-of-Smart-Living/
About them: I like using the newest and innovative technologies including robotics, IoT, programming, and open-source by implementing them in many STEM projects, which gives me a whole new and interactive perspective to increase the student focus. That kind of work makes me an inspired teacher for them.
Lara Sijanovic - a team member designer
Sanja Pavlovic Sijanovic - a team member programer
Social:
What inspired you or what is the idea that got you started?
Although, the curriculum of Computer science subject emphasizes that the major focus throughout the teaching process should be based on a problem solving and programming which would enhance developing the specific computer way of thinking and at the same time gives the students a chance of understanding, analytics and problem solving by choosing the appropriate strategies, algorithms, and programming solutions. Someday, all these aspects will be implemented into a real life. So, our decision to offer this kind of activity to the students just emerged as a necessity by itself. As a result, working on a project with Arduino, we built a model of our hometown Vukovar, Croatia, where we can present some of the ideas about the infrastructure a “Smart city” should have. Our project we named “Our view of smart living”. Our motto is: “We provide a solution for less pollution”
What is your project about and how does it work?
In this model that represents the real projection (look) of one part of the main road in Vukovar leading toward another city in our region as well as the beautiful sidewalk along the bank of the river of the Danube, the students of Gymnasium Vukovar will present an Arduino powered model with four mini projects (SMART CITY LIGHTS, SMART PARKING, SMART TRAFFIC LIGHTS, AND SOLAR SUN TRACKER) working independently from one another. At the same time, through the workshops, the project team students will demonstrate and have available step-by-step guidance for the participants on how to build a simple project using the Arduino boards, jumpers, resistors, and led lights. In the end, after completing this workshop the participants will learn more about electrical circuits and how to apply gained knowledge. Also, collaborating in small groups will help the participants to develop social skills, soft skills, and problem-solving skills which are the key competencies for the 21st century.
What did you learn by doing this project?
By using all the sensors and the Arduino boards mentioned above programmed by the Arduino codes, we are able to collect the information in real-time, which allows us to more efficiently plan and implement the utilization of the urban infrastructure as being the foundation of every “Smart city”.
What impact does your project have on others as well as yourself?
Our goal through this interactive exhibition is to get all the participants acquainted with the smart city solution project and to empower them to get in touch with such projects, to present them our ideas, to offer guidelines in working with Arduino and IoT, and to demonstrate how students can gain new knowledge through the realization of innovative STEM projects which will, in the end, help them in preparation for challenges of the future by developing new innovative and creative solutions.
