At the Responsible Sensing Lab researchers and expert practitioners test responsible alternatives for smart technologies and sensors in the city. This afternoon the Responsible Sensing Lab will be officially launched and opened by Deputy Mayor Meliani.
Designing and testing responsible sensors
The mayor and city council members declared that it wants to keep track of devices that collect data in Amsterdam’s public space, such as cameras and sensors, in a sensor register. Besides reporting and registering, the City of Amsterdam finds it important to develop and make responsible alternatives available for ‘smart’ technologies and sensors in the city. These alternatives will be researched and tested within the Responsible Sensing Lab.
“Within the Responsible Sensing Lab, scientists and expert practitioners look for creative and innovative solutions how to design smart devices in the city in a responsible way,” explains Thijs Turèl, program developer Responsible Urban Digitization at AMS Institute.
“For example, how technical solutions can only collect the bare minimum of data. Or if sensor activity and the type of information collected can become transparent as a result of (re)design.”
Privacy-friendly alternative to camera surveillance
A new type of sensor that provides insight into data in a responsible manner is currently tested at Amsterdam Marineterrein. This ‘mmWave sensor’ sees moving objects, such as people, as a collection of points in space and generates a low-resolution radar image of the environment. As a result, people are unrecognizable. This way, insights on crowdedness in public space is provided without collecting any personal data.
Scaling-up promising innovations
Privacy-friendly alternatives to camera surveillance such as this example are first tested on a small scale at the Responsible Sensing Lab. Experiments take place at the lab’s home base, at Marineterrein Amsterdam. After which promising innovations can be scaled up into become solutions that we can implement in the city.
Launching event Responsible Sensing Lab
The launch of the Responsible Sensing Lab is celebrated with an interactive online event this afternoon from 15:00 – 17:30. During several online workshops, participants learn what ‘responsible sensing’ means, and discuss what needs to be done to design a better, more democratic and more responsible digital city of the future. There will also be a virtual tour of the exhibition ‘Senses of Amsterdam’ at The Studio of NEMO. The event will be in English, you can also tune in for the main opening from 16:00 via this link.
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For media inquiries about the Sensor Reporting Regulation, please contact: Marit van Kooij, Spokesperson for Deputy Mayor Meliani via 06-34164285.
For media inquiries about the Responsible Sensing Lab, please contact Debby Dröge.