THE FUTURE OF AI
Australia’ s Sentient Hubs
MICROSOFT: FROM REACTIVE PLANNING TO ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS
Microsoft’ s innovation lies in replacing static infrastructure PLANS with data-driven platforms that let smart cities respond to changing conditions as they unfold.
The company’ s Azure technologies power France’ s REImu programme, which monitors water consumption, detects leaks and forecasts demand across extensive distribution networks.
The next phase uses AI to automatically spot inefficiencies, turning traditional water infrastructure into climate-resilient systems that adapt to drought conditions without intervention.
In Munich, municipal utility Stadtwerke München relies on Azure IoT and Azure AI to optimise electric bus operations and forecast energy demand with precision.
With 90 % of the city’ s electricity already coming from renewable sources, these systems are helping push towards full carbon neutrality.
Hannah says:“ It’ s really about moving from a static, five-year flood plan sitting in a PDF on a shelf to a dynamic, living plan that exists as a digital platform.
“ People can access it at any time to understand, in near real time, what’ s happening across their systems.”
Australia’ s Sentient Hubs exemplifies this system-of-systems approach – integrating data across water, energy, transport and environmental domains.
Singapore’ s Smart P. U. B. initiative demonstrates the results, using thousands of sensors and AI analytics to achieve 5 % water savings and near-zero pipe bursts.
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