This collaborative project between Old Dominion University (ODU), Norfolk, VA and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, VA is funded by the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI). Our team will develop a virtual smart city lab environment, called VirtualLab@OpenCity, which engages researchers, students, and companies with smart city challenges, such as automation, data analysis, service reliability and sustainability. VirtualLab@OpenCity will provide an experimental environment using a standardized service that supports remote connectivity, data collection, visualization, analysis, resource management and control. VirtualLab@OpenCity aims to build Virginia’s cyber-physical systems (CPS) workforce with hands-on-experience on new technologies that ultimately lead to innovative smart city solutions.
This project will contribute to positioning Virginia as a global leader in secure and trustworthy cyber-physical systems by (a) providing students, researchers, and developers a virtual ecosystem of advanced CPS technologies, (b) providing guidance and support to employ advanced technologies and innovative management systems for ongoing and future smart city plans and (c) foster fruitful collaboration between academia and industry to build a Commonwealth-wide smart city innovation workforce.