They say the City never sleeps; does that mean it’s always awake? How would we even know? Tonight’s event will focus on how researchers are marrying “big data” and scientific approaches to understand and improve New York in ways that have been impossible until now. Justin Salamon, from NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP), will talk about the Sounds of NYC project. The project aims to monitor and analyze the sounds of the city with the hope of engaging citizens and city agencies to mitigate noise issues. Federica Bianco, also from CUSP, will talk about her work with the Urban Observatory Project. This research borrows tools from astrophysics to understand the needs and “behaviors” of the metropolis by imaging the skyline for pollution and light. Come enjoy locally made beer and science!
Federica Bianco - twinkle twinkle little city-light
Astronomers looked at the starry sky for 3 millennia to understand the inner workings of Nature, what powers stars, how galaxies form, the Universe evolves. At the Center for Urban Science and Progres (CUSP) Urban Observatory (UO) astronomers turned their gaze toward the city lights to understand the city "complex systems": through repeated images and spectra of the city skyline the CUSP UO studies energy consumption, pollution, circadian rhythms to provide solutions for better urban living.
Justin Salamon - Can the Internet of Things & AI Solve Urban Noise?
New York City is a loud place. In fact, 9 of 10 adults in NYC are exposed to harmful levels of noise, which can lead to sleep loss, hearing loss and even heart disease. Can anything be done about it? The SONYC research project combines internet of things sensing technology, machine learning, data science and citizen science to tackle noise pollution head on at city scale. Come hear about a sensor that can recognize sounds like a human and how we plan to use it to improve quality of life in NYC.