The new Operations Center in Rio provides the incident commander and responders with a single, unified view of all the information that they require for situational awareness. Courtesy of IBM

Sao Paulo, Brazil and Armonk, N.Y., USA - December 27, 2010

The city government and IBM (NYSE: IBM) signed an agreement to build a public information management center for Rio de Janeiro.

The Rio Operations Center, which will be located in Cidade Nova, will integrate and interconnect information from multiple government departments and public agencies in the municipality to improve city safety and responsiveness to various types of incidents, such as flash floods and landslides.

Rio de Janeiro City Source: IBM / YouTube

Additionally, as part of the agreement, IBM Research scientists will develop a high-resolution weather forecasting and hydrological modeling system (PMAR) for Rio de Janeiro, which can predict heavy rains up to 48 hours in advance.

Rio de Janeiro City Source: IBM / YouTube

A major project for IBM's ninth Research Lab - recently opened in Brazil - the effort will build upon and advance technologies created by IBM Research labs around the world.

The mission of the Rio Operations Center – which will be opened on December 31 - is to consolidate data from various urban systems for real-time visualization, monitoring and analysis.

IBM Research scientists will develop a high-resolution weather forecasting and hydrological modeling system (PMAR) for Rio de Janeiro, which can predict heavy rains up to 48 hours in advance. Source: IBM / YouTube

The system was designed initially for forecasting floods and related emergencies, but it is extensible to any event occurring in the city – be it the Reveillon Party at Copacabana beach, the exit of fans from a soccer match at the Maracana or a traffic accident.

IBM Research scientists will develop a high-resolution weather forecasting and hydrological modeling system (PMAR) for Rio de Janeiro, which can predict heavy rains up to 48 hours in advance. Source: IBM / YouTube

The Center will enable city leaders to make decisions in emergency situations based on real-time information.

This initiative is part of IBM's global strategy to develop technology-based solutions to help cities become smarter.

At the new Rio Operations Center, the incident commander's view provides a summary of everything happening around the city on a video wall, including surveillance cameras, maps, simulations, news updates, resources and information about incidents. Courtesy of IBM

Similar projects have already been implemented in New York City and Gauteng in South Africa, but this is the first center in the world that will integrate all the stages of a crisis management situation: from the prediction, mitigation and preparedness, to the immediate response to events, and finally to capture feedback from the system to be used in future incidents.

Other partners engaged in the construction of this Center are Cisco, Cyrela, Facilities, Malwee, Oi and Samsung.

Samuel J. Palmisano, IBM Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. Courtesy of IBM

The idea is that the Center will continuously evolve to integrate more city departments and information.

"We are creating a foundational IT platform that will soon be able to gather data on all incidents and events occurring in the city," said Pedro Almeida, Smarter Cities Director for IBM Brazil.

The Rio Operations Center, which will be located in Cidade Nova, will integrate and interconnect information from multiple government departments and public agencies in the municipality to improve city safety and responsiveness to various types of incidents, such as flash floods and landslides. Courtesy of IBM

The PMAR will initiate its operations in the first half of 2011 and will be key to Rio's Operation Center.

With the goal of increasing the accuracy of weather forecasts to evaluate and predict effects on the city, the system will be based on a unified mathematical model of Rio, involving the gathering of data from the river basin, topographic surveys, the municipality's historical rainfall logs, and radar feeds.

Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro City. Source: IBM / YouTube

The system will be able to predict rain and possible flash floods, and over time will also be able to evaluate the effects on city traffic.

On November 9-10, 2011, IBM Chairman, President and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano and Mayor Eduardo Paes will convene forward-thinking leaders in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the fourth regional Smarter Cities Forum.

IBM Chairman Sam Palmisano at SmarterCities Berlin. Berlin - 23 Jun 2009. Courtesy of IBM

With a special focus on Latin America and the world's growth markets, IBM will continue the discussions started in Berlin, New York and Shanghai to examine real-world approaches on how cities can tackle serious urban issues and improve the quality of life of their citizens.


About IBM Research - Brazil


IBM Research - Brazil is a research lab with a mission to develop technologies for a smarter planet.
The selection of Brazil as a venue for the newest center was announced in June 2010 by IBM and the Government of Brazil.

It is the company's ninth research lab worldwide, and the first such lab in Latin America.

For more information about IBM Smarter Cities, please visit

www.ibm.com/smartercities  


Contact information

Vineeta Durani
IBM Media Relations
917-472-3694
vineeta.durani@us.ibm.com  


Source: IBM

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/33303.wss  


Video
City Government and IBM Partner to Make Rio de Janeiro a Smarter City

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj3d_nIvt8o&feature=player_embedded  


Video
Interview Eduardo Paes Mayor of Rio de Janeiro City for Guruduth S Banavar VP IBM 2010-Dec-27

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkYEK9oZYMo  



Samuel J. Palmisano

Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer

Samuel J. Palmisano Courtesy of IBM

Sam Palmisano is Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of IBM.
Mr. Palmisano was appointed to Chief Executive Officer in 2002 and Chairman in 2003.

He began his career with IBM in 1973 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Since then, Mr. Palmisano has held a series of leadership positions during his IBM career, including senior vice president for the Enterprise Systems and Personal Systems groups.

Mr. Palmisano also played a key role in creating and leading IBM’s Global Services, rising to senior vice president, and building the largest and most diversified information technology services organization in the industry.
He also served as senior managing director of operations for IBM Japan.
He became president and chief operating officer in 2000.

Mr. Palmisano is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University.
In recognition of his leadership role as co-chair of the Council on Competitiveness’ National Innovation Initiative, as well as his many business accomplishments, Mr. Palmisano was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2005.

In 2006, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the London Business School.
He has received a number of business awards including the Atlantic Council’s Distinguished Business Leadership Award in 2009 and the inaugural Deming Cup, presented in 2010 by the W. Edwards Deming Center for Quality, Productivity and Competitiveness at Columbia Business School.
He is also an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Source: IBM

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/biography/10055.wss  



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