The City of L’Aquila as a Living Lab: the INCIPICT Project and the 5G Trial

Abstract

The city of L’Aquila is one of the five Italian cities selected by the Italian government to host the 5G experimentation. This city has the specificity of being a "living lab", because it is currently passing through the reconstruction process after the earthquake of 2009, thus offering a "green field" scenario to the scientific community. This process is led according to the innovative paradigm of "Smart City", whose foundation is the INCIPICT project (INnovating CIty Planning through Information and Communications Technology), described in this paper. Its main focus is the development of an innovative optical network, which surrounds the city center and connects the main public sites of interest. The optical network represents an open testbed for researchers in optical transmission and networking as well as the basis for innovative wireless technologies and smart city applications. This paper describes the INCIPICT project highlighting its role in the ongoing 5G trial hosted in the city of L’Aquila. The 5G experimental activities will be driven by several use-cases according to a vertical pilots approach. In this paper a description of the 5G use cases under the coordination of the University of L’Aquila together with the related experimental activities is provided.