Epson has signed an agreement as technology partner to Ålesund Futurlab – U4SSC (United for Smart Sustainable Cities implementation program), which is part of the UN’s implementation program aimed at using technology to achieve its sustainable development goals (SDGs) in cities around the world.

The Norwegian-based Ålesund Futurlab was created to accelerate sustainable development and cooperate on smart and sustainable projects including the development of a digital collaboration platform for the creation of smarter cities worldwide.

Epson has already been working closely with the Offshore Simulator Centre (OSC) at Campus Ålesund, which uses Epson technology to support the Norwegian Maritime Competence Centre (NMK). Epson laser projectors play a key role in the development of smarter solutions including the creation of virtual meeting spaces, development of control rooms for autonomous vessels to monitor shipping traffic in real time and to shape the future of the global maritime industry.

Additionally, Epson expertise and visualisation technology used in the NMK is being applied to other emergency planning including fire and rescue services to reduce response times. This visualisation tool has also become the official tool for the UN to simulate city development for all cities in the world.

“We are honoured to be invited to participate in this socially transforming project,” Epson Europe sustainability and CSR director Henning Ohlsson says.

“The U4SSC implementation program will help cities and societies all over the world to transform the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into actions and results. In 2020, the program will work actively to create a solid framework for local development and use the best available technology to deliver smarter solutions for cities and communities across the world.”

Ålesund Future Lab managing director Marielle Furnes Mannseth adds: “Epson is an important addition to the program and Ålesund Future Lab is very pleased to include one of the world’s largest technology manufacturers as an IT partner. This will give the partnership a new perspective and even greater breadth and we look forward to working together with Epson to develop new technology solutions for UN smart cities in the future.”