NEC chairs new industry group on standards for smart city solutions

The NEC Corporation has confirmed that Dr. Lindsay Frost, chief researcher, NEC Laboratories Europe, as chairman at the first meeting of the ETSI Industry Specification Group on Context Information Management (ISG CIM), co-launched by NEC and four other companies.

The ISG CIM has already grown to 12 participating organizations. Its first general meeting decided on six work items in a stringent timetable to publish, within six months for public review, a draft specification for smart city context information exchange (see http://portal.etsi.org/CIM).

NEC is currently partner in several smart city projects globally. Its Cloud City Operation Center (CCOC) is based on the European Future Internet Core Platform FIWARE. A key success factor for smart cities is the efficient integration of existing city services, databases, work processes and sensor systems. The ISG CIM will bridge the gap between legacy and contemporary systems as well as between languages and network generations.

"We are pleased to see this CIM project embedded in the highly transparent and professional ETSI standardization process, facilitating collaboration with many other Standards Developing Organizations," said Dr. Frost. "NEC is investing in this project to encourage users and implementers to enable the frictionless exchange of data for city services."

"Smart cities are in a rapidly growing field that benefits from standards which help to create social solutions more efficiently. As a social solution innovator, NEC will work closely with the ETSI ISG CIM, including its members from industry, cities, associations and research. We want to drive the development of essential standards for smart cities around the world," said Yasunori Mochizuki, senior vice president, NEC Corporation.