Croatia’s Smart Island

Croatia may be the land of a thousand beautiful islands, but one in particular stands out: Krk recently became the first to offer its residents and tourists smart solutions for parking, street lighting, and even trash collection. To implement this innovative complex project, Deutsche Telekom partnered with several local and international partners.

The “Smart Island” project is the first comprehensive solution run by Ponikve, a Croatian municipal services company. Designed to manage all of Krk’s services, it is a unique demonstration of how the synergy of ICT systems in the Internet of Things can be fully tapped. The project aims to increase the efficiency of island management, improve the quality of life for island dwellers, and achieve substantial savings for taxpayers.

Smart solutions for parking and lighting
By implementing the most advanced network of electric vehicle charging stations in Croatia, Hrvatski Telekom, in collaboration with the Zagreb-based company Infoart and other partners, has reaffirmed its position as a leading provider of technological solutions. The system has many innovative features, such as its visibility on the leading Croatian e-roaming platform puni.hr, the option to book a charging session in advance, and access via text message. It also includes a smart application that connects to more than 40,000 locations throughout Europe. It can even trigger an alarm in case of a parking violation in a charging spot. As if this wasn’t enough, the solution additionally offers video surveillance of vehicles, free Internet access, as well as the individual measurement of energy consumption in real time.

Along with the charging station network, cutting-edge LED street lighting has been installed in the municipality of Dobrinj. Fully fitted with sensors and software support managed by Ponikve, the system allows the remote operation and monitoring of electricity consumption. The same application uses sensors to monitor free parking spots for charging electric vehicles, and can also report parking violations.

Waste disposal 2.0
The island has also implemented a smart waste disposal system. To calculate service charges, it relies on automated Eco Mobile volume measurement that enables users to separate their trash for recycling. Offering a reliable information and communication system, guaranteeing data security from the moment of waste collection, and taking care of data analysis and storage over a wireless network while still remaining user-friendly, this trailblazing system has naturally attracted attention from many other Croatian cities and municipalities.

The use of all this cutting-edge technology is already generating extremely positive reactions from Krk’s residents. However, the full benefits of these newly implemented solutions will become most evident during the upcoming tourist season on the island.

Read more about Krk’s Smart Island project in Croatian here.

More about Deutsche Telekom and smart cities:
Romania’s First Smart Park
First Smart Street in Croatia is opened
Smart Cities: a bunch of opportunities