Curtin University in IoT rollout

Curtin University is rolling out ‘internet-of-things (IoT) software and devices that will provide advanced data insights to help with the daily running and usage of its large Perth campus.

The university is using an IoT solution, supplied by Hitachi, to advance its ‘smart campus’ deployment, which it said improves the student experience and classroom learning, and attracts industry to collaborate on data-driven research.

Curtin University is combining video data with operational data to better understand campus operations and building utilisation, which has become a major part of Curtin’s smart campus initiative, said Curtin chief operating officer, Ian Callahan. Curtin has more than 60,000 students and 4,000 staff.

The university is integrating data visualization, video analytics, and live face matching technologies in a single analytics dashboard that provides the real-time knowledge the university needs to make decisions about classes, operations, and future requirements.

“With the IoT solution, we can collect data using a variety of sensors to gather information on building trends, study patterns, and course attendance that can ultimately be used to improve student experience and enhance learning,” he said.

Curtin said that data insights will enable it to generate contextual information about the lifecycle of the student, the day-to-day reality of a staff member, the activity pattern of a lecture theatre, and the dynamics and health of a library.

“We are effectively creating a living laboratory that is an open invitation to our own researchers and scientists from other universities to use our campus to discover and innovate with data-driven research,” said Callahan.

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