Schneider Electric, EPITA’s 3IE and Skapa jointly reveal the world’s first innovative application aimed at improving life in an eco-district at the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014

Versailles, La Cité du Soleil,France, 11-7-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Schneider Electric, EPITA’s 3IE¹ and Skapa are revealing the world first innovative application aimed at improving life in an eco-district at the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014, which is being held in Versailles (France) from June 28 to July 14, 2014.

Smart City Live is a web and multi-platform mobile (Android and iOS) application that combines all the services that are useful at the district level on a single interface. Its quick handling and its easy-to-use design make the application suitable for both retailers and companies, as well as for the residents of eco-districts of the future, which are genuinely diverse and integrated city block. Smart City Live, which was developed by Schneider Electric for La Cité du Soleil residents, the temporary eco-district created for the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014, involved the ergonomics, design and integration expertise of Skapa and of EPITA’s 3IE. Schneider Electric ultimately plans to offer Smart City Live to the residents of other eco-districts throughout the world.

“Smart City Live is the result of the successful collaboration of Schneider Electric, 3IE and Skapa teams, who complement each other and are passionate about innovation. The application aims to serve a common purpose, i.e. designing a useful and fun application for everyone, which receives the real-time data generated by the district, and encourages environmentally-friendly behaviour and the exchange of services at the district level, says Joris Gaudion, Head of Corporate Property and Smart Buildings Division at Schneider Electric France. Smart City Live makes the new digital urban layer a reality that will be part of the daily life of everyone living in smart and sustainable districts in the future.”

“We are very pleased with this partnership, which creates a true synergy between a large group, an innovative company and a research laboratory. It is the leading model for the success of a new strong digital industry with an international dimension,” says Joël Courtois, Managing Director of EPITA.

“We are very proud of this partnership, which has started up the processes and brought together the efforts of contributors, competitors and visitors to create an innovative experience around the international challenges of live communication and the general public of Solar Decathlon,” says Jérôme Jacquet, Design Thinking Manager, Manager of Skapa Agency.

Designed in less than four months by Schneider Electric, 3IE and Skapa teams, Smart City Live aggregates data from the smart grid, the local weather station, the electric vehicle charging station, the IP network, the comfort parameters of all competing houses, and site visitor count. A total of 100,000 data items from over 500 sensors nearly half of which come from Schneider Electric’s product portfolio are fed back every hour.

Accordingly, Smart City Live enables all the “residents”, including visitors, service providers, organisers and sponsors, of La Cité du Soleil to monitor the energy consumption of the 20 solar homes in the competition in real time, to discover benefits in terms of comfort, and to view videos of their assembly and interiors. It also enables people to find directions, to get information about transport and the district’s news, to view the weather forecast, and to learn about the energy sector, by answering the questions asked in the nine houses of La Cité du Soleil eco-district.
Finding out about the application
– The Smart City Live web application is available on http://sd2014-vm1.cloudapp.net and http://my.schneider-electric.com as well as via the QR Code on the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 advertising billboards;
– Smart City Live can also be downloaded free of charge on smartphones and tablets from the Google Play (Android) and AppStore platforms (iOS, available soon).

¹  Institut d’Innovation Informatique (IT Innovation Institute) from École pour l’informatique et les techniques avancées (EPITA).
About Schneider Electric
A global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in Utilities & Infrastructures, Industries & Machine Manufacturers, Non-residential Buildings, Data Centres & Networks and the Residential sector. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green, the Group’s 150,000-plus employees achieved sales of 24 billion euros in 2013, through an active commitment to helping individuals and organisations make the most of their energy.
www.schneider-electric.com/fr

About 3IE
Created in 1999, the Institut d’Innovation Informatique (3IE) of EPITA is both a centre for project development and a design agency. A place of training and dynamic innovation with the atmosphere of a start-up, it allows teacher-researchers, students, and its members to support the companies in their made-to-measure projects by using recent technology in terms of the Internet and mobility.
www.3ie.fr

About Skapa
Skapa is a company with expertise in innovation and the design of services and products. Its collaborative design methods, stemming from design thinking methods, are focused on the analysis of use and behaviour. It uses its expertise in different domains for the design of products and interactive services, industrial materials, digital services, or for client orientation.
www.skapa.fr