Singapore – ST Engineering’s Urban Solutions division has launched BrightCity, an innovative suite of integrated smart water advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) solutions aimed at addressing the pressing challenges faced by cities and utility providers globally. Unveiled on 7 June 2024, BrightCity is designed to empower data-driven water optimization.

Cities worldwide are struggling with aging water infrastructure, lack of real-time operational data, and fragmented smart water meter systems that create data silos. BrightCity offers a cost-effective, end-to-end solution for smart water meter monitoring and control, suitable for both large-scale brownfield and greenfield deployments. A standout feature of BrightCity is its best-in-class, meter-agnostic Meter Interface Unit (MIU), which transforms conventional water meters into connected smart meters, enhancing data collection accuracy and efficiency.

“BrightCity marks a significant leap towards sustainable water management. It is the result of robust engineering, overcoming current water AMI limitations,” said Gareth Tang, Head of Smart Utilities & Infrastructure at Urban Solutions, ST Engineering. “By digitalising conventional water meter infrastructure at scale, BrightCity provides real-time insights, empowering utility providers and end users to manage water consumption effectively and enhance sustainability.”

Key Components of the BrightCity Product Suite

1. Meter Interface Unit (MIU): This compact MIU can be easily attached to existing meters, providing wireless communications connectivity for digital data collection and transmission to a centralized Meter Data Management System (MDMS). The meter-agnostic MIUs are compatible with most water meter brands, eliminating the need for costly equipment replacement and suitable for both brownfield and greenfield implementations. They can also be paired with other monitoring devices to provide a comprehensive water utility solution.
2. Meter Data Management System (MDMS): The BrightCity MDMS integrates and centralizes real-time data from meters to enable automated, end-to-end monitoring and control of city-wide metering infrastructures. Its encrypted data management system ensures secure data collection, trend analysis, and provides real-time alerts. The insights derived can be used for predictive water leakage detection, enhancing water management.
3. Open Wireless Communications Network: BrightCity operates on open communications networks such as NBIoT/CatM and LoRa, eliminating network and equipment lock-in and enabling greater flexibility over multiple deployments.
4. Customer Portal: The customer portal and mobile application provide end users with real-time water consumption readings and comparison benchmarks, helping them manage water usage effectively and detect unusual consumption patterns.