The new UCAM doctor, Antonio Pita, has defended his PhD thesis, under the direction of Juan Miguel Navarro Ruiz, which focuses on the development of an artificial intelligence that is capable of identifying and predicting noise pollution patterns in cities using acoustic sensors. This innovative project intends to contribute to the implementation of Smart Cities and to provide city councils with accurate data to decide what type of action should be taken.

The solution developed has been tested with acoustic data gathered over several years in different locations in Europe. After a thorough analysis of the results, it has been concluded that this project could not only improve action plans and their follow-up in order to reduce noise pollution, but also improve the living conditions of citizens.

This thesis shows how Artificial Intelligence makes the transformation of polluting cities into smart cities possible. The new UCAM doctor, Antonio Pita, points out that ‘the use of Big Data technologies, capable of collecting data with acoustic sensors, empowers Smart Cities when it comes to the management of noise pollution’.

This tool provides a solution that is available and approved for use in any European city council, based on the European Directive on Environmental Noise Assessment and Management and on the international standard ISO 1996-2:2017.