A new project by the University of Calgary will see a team of researchers compare smart city projects from various continents to try and define their characteristics and benefits. An article in university newspaper The Gauntlet profiled the new smart city project taking place in the western Canadian province of Alberta. The initiative is a component of the university’s Eyes High research strategy that will see academics compare smart city projects in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas

Self-driving Volvo XC90 cars have entered into Uber’s taxi fleet, marking the first public ride-hailing test in the United States. The cars will be available to select customers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who will be able to ride in the cars for free. Uber has been testing cars in Pittsburgh for over a year, after poaching most of the robotics team from Carnegie Mellon University

Objects will soon be able to ‘talk’ to each other, locate staff and monitor workplace temperature, but what will this mean for privacy?At a digital innovation consultancy in central Helsinki, the men’s toilets were causing something of an inconvenience. The Finnish company, Futurice, employs many male employees and the bathrooms were often occupied.However, now they can find out if one is free without leaving their desk. An app with a live map of the office tells them