Newcastle was the headline act throughout last weekend and it was clear from the reported patronage that Novocastrians and visitors from beyond embraced the opportunity to be part of a spectacular weekend of racing.

During the Newcastle 500, Novecom measured the noise levels at a trackside location throughout the race period. As leaders in environmental monitoring and data management systems for industry, Novecom monitored noise levels and provided a live web feed to demonstrate the technology and opportunities that the internet of things or IoT and Smart City applications can deliver to our community.

Smart Cities, the industrial internet of things (IoT), sensors and apps – whatever sparks your interest – is all about making cities more dynamic, liveable and connected to their community.

NOVECOM’s Managing Director, Jeremy Pola said it was exciting to see the interest in the live noise data as an example of how the community can interact digitally with their environment.

“I was excited by the opportunity to showcase to the public how we are working on migrating our industrial monitoring solutions to community applications,” Jeremy said.

“It’s not often you get the chance to convert complex systems into practical examples that can contribute to the knowledge of the broader community. We were keen to share the results and learn from the experience.”

Some of the insights from the data included the consistency of noise levels during each class of racecar and the relationship between events over successive days. The analysis even suggested that Jimmy Barnes must have mellowed, as he was no match for the cars when it came to noise.

Another observation made from the data was the slight increase in noise levels between the Saturday Supercar event and the Sunday event. Maybe the increased familiarity with the track and the nail biting race to see who was crowned series champion dragged a bit more speed and noise out of each car.

The real focus for Novecom is how the embedded sensor and information systems can contribute to the liveability of a city. What data is required to improve decision-making and what decisions would be improved if we had the data?

So, what’s next? Maybe a city-wide heat map to guide people’s movements throughout the city, or a network of air quality sensors, or sensor based marketing to inform people of the nearest café or takeaway shop when temperatures are rising. The key is to match a solution with a problem and not get carried away with the excitement of technology for technology’s sake.

IMAGE | Novecom measuring the noise at the Newcastle 500.