Transportation

Every second counts during a cardiac emergency. In urban environments like Vancouver, traffic congestion can delay critical medical equipment from reaching a patient in time. Our team aims to develop an autonomous smart delivery drone system capable of rapidly transporting emergency medical equipment to the scene before an ambulance arrives. Our system will combine autonomous aerial navigation, real-time GIS routing, and secure communication with emergency services. The Transportation sub-team will design, prototype, and test the drone, while the GIS team designs the real-time routing algorithms compliant with privacy and safety regulations.

Smart Living

Building on last year’s IoT-enabled smart lighting concept, the Smart Living team has progressed to developing a wind turbine-powered, grid-connected streetlight that combines renewable energy generation with intelligent control systems. This hybrid approach allows the streetlight to draw from the grid when wind generation is low and export surplus energy when production exceeds demand, ensuring continuous operation while reducing overall grid dependency and carbon emissions. By integrating renewable energy, adaptive illumination, grid interconnection, and IoT capabilities, this solution delivers a sustainable, reliable, and scalable approach to modernizing urban lighting infrastructure.

Energy

In 2022, renewable energy accounted for 66% of Canada’s energy generation, surpassing fossil fuels. As the country continues to shift towards cleaner energy sources, optimizing grid design becomes essential to maximize the use of renewable energy. The Energy Sub-Team’s project focuses on designing and prototyping a smart grid network that minimizes energy waste, delivers real-time feedback, and enhances system reliability. This initiative aims to provide valuable insights into how cities can reduce their environmental impact from energy distribution while continuing to meet the needs of their citizens

GIS

UBC’s wayfinding system is lauded for its navigation features. However, the current version lacks spatial granularity; notably, there are no indoor features. With this in mind, the GIS team wants to further investigate the gaps in indoor wayfinding, especially for individuals with mobility and sensory needs. Our goal is to evaluate the accessibility features the UBC community finds valuable and to inform the creation of a public-facing accessibility map.

Vision Prototype

UBC Smart City is entering its fifth year as an interdisciplinary student design team dedicated to building the cities of tomorrow. In 2025, we announced the development of our Smart City Vision Prototype, a forward-looking model that will serve as both a research testbed and a living demonstration of what adaptive, data-driven cities can achieve. Vision Prototype is being developed as a multi-phase project, beginning with a digital city model and eventually becoming a physical model. As this is one of the newer sub-teams and is an evolving project, there is plenty of opportunity for team members to contribute their ideas and shape the project!