Traffic fatalities are a leading cause of premature death of people under 30. Most are pedestrians and cyclists. The question is how to redesign traffic to reduce the number of victims. Zero cities successfully do. Read my newest blogpost (in Dutch). The English version will be published in due time at Smart City Hub.
In 2018, the first paper on the Near Future in Cities of Things was published. Seven years later, we took the initiative to conduct exploratory research to reflect on the state of cities of things. Or, put differently: how should we assess the current state of urban robotics and physical AI?
In this interactive event, Iskander Smit will present the learnings from the research, and a panel of four of the approximately 25 interviewed experts will share their perspectives to kick off a discussion led by moderator Monique van Dusseldorp.
The central question is how the developments might impact and inspire the design of future cities, things, intelligent systems, and the interplay between these.
The panelists
Monique will involve other interviewed experts and participants in the event to reflect on the impact of urban robotics and physical AI on the practice of creative industries, design methods, and on relations between humans and AI.
Before and after, there will be space to connect with other participants and explore the current Wijkbots.
Schedule:
15h00 - Doors open, mingle, explore Wijkbots
16h00 - Welcome and introduction to the results of the research by Iskander Smit
16h30 - Introductions of the positions by the panelists
17h00 - Interactive discussion with panel, participants
18h00 - Wrap up and drinks with bites
20h00 - End
If you can only join part of the event, you are welcome to join later.
Find more details about the program on the <strong>Cities of Things website</strong>.
The event is powered by CLICKNL, and registration is free, including drinks.
𝟭𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼, 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 “𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗳𝘆.”
𝗡𝗼𝘄? 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 — 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗰.
On 𝟮𝟳 𝗔𝘂𝗴 2025 at 𝟭𝟬:𝟬𝟬 𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗧, we’ll break down exactly what works today, where the pain points still hurt, and how to electrify your fleet without disrupting your operations.
You’ll get:
• The biggest shifts in electric truck technology and adoption over the last decade
• Which fleets are running e-trucks successfully today — and where they still don’t fit
• The toughest operational and infrastructure hurdles (and why they persist)
• When e-trucks hit profitability based on TCO, range, and duty cycle
• A practical roadmap to start electrifying your fleet without disrupting operations
Speakers:
Tharsis Teoh, Smart Freight Centre — Perspective of the freight sector
Michael Ayres, Flexible Power Systems — Experience from live projects on depot charging
Rishabh Ghotge, Cenex Nederland — Live demo of KITE, a free tool for electrifying your truck fleets
Hosted by our favourite Sanne van Breukelen
Join us to cut through the noise and address the real barriers European fleets face.
Cenex, NextETRUCK, MACBETH Project, ALICE, Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration in Europe (ETP LOGISTICS), 2Zero , Connekt, Connectr - Energy innovation, ERTICO - ITS Europe, POLIS network, Niklas Schmalholz, Holly Nakatomi, Megan de Langen
On the 5th of July, during Demoday #28, we zoomed in on one of the pressing challenges facing the energy transition: grid congestion, and more specifically, how to keep the people who maintain the grid moving efficiently.
Grid congestion is a serious and growing concern for grid operator Alliander. It is therefore essential to speed up the grid reinforcement as much as possible. Alliander’s Operation 2.0 team is exploring innovative ways to work smarter, faster, and more flexibly to keep pace with these developments.
Their efforts focus on three tracks:
• Alleviating staff shortages by training office employees to occasionally support fieldwork.
• Exploring technologies like advanced ground radar to get better insights into underground assets.
• Improving the logistics of supplying mechanics to ensure they have the right tools, in the right place, at the right time.
This last track was the main focus of our work session.
Logistics experiences show that mechanics collect materials inefficiently when supplying their vans and jobs, resulting in stock corrections, less control over stock, unnecessary work for logistics staff, and valuable mechanic hours being lost, which leads to less execution work. A few key problems stood out:
• Supplies are scanned inconsistently, so the system doesn’t reflect what is actually in stock.
• Every van is different, with a custom layout that suits the preferences of its mechanic.
• The work itself is unpredictable, which makes standardised restocking difficult.
• With a transition to smaller electric vans, space is becoming even more limited.
A simple optimisation of the process is not enough, especially without considering the human element. For many mechanics, a visit to the supply centre is more than just logistics. It is a moment of connection, a short break from the road, or simply a chance for a good coffee.
In groups of four, we brainstormed creative ideas to improve the supply of Alliander vans while keeping the needs and routines of mechanics in mind.
Some highlights:
• Peer-to-peer van inspiration: Let mechanics share the layout of their vans with colleagues. They can exchange best practices and take pride in an efficient setup. Adding a bit of gamification might boost motivation even more.
• A mobile supply service: A supply van could drive around to restock mechanic vans, reducing the need to visit the supply centre. However, this might remove the social element of taking a break with colleagues.
• Smarter routing: Track the location of mechanics only in relation to nearby grid faults. This way, the closest available mechanic can respond without feeling like their movements are constantly being monitored.
• Package-based resupply: Inspired by delivery service Picnic, mechanics could exchange complete “supply packages” instead of picking out materials individually. Collaborating with wholesale suppliers could reveal more useful insights.
• Automatic stock tracking: Tag all materials with RFID chips and use sensors installed in the door of the van to register what is removed from the van. This eliminates the need for manual scanning and reduces the chance of mistakes.
Do you have a bright idea to improve how mechanics work? Let us know in the comments or send a message to Noor at noor@amsterdaminchange.com.
A big thank you to Thomas Hoekstra and Iris van der Zanden from Alliander for bringing this challenge to the network, and to Chantal Inia from Royal HaskoningDHV for moderating the session.
