What's UBI?

In general, ubiquitous technology stands for invisible information technology that embeds into its environment, even though the definition is not fixed yet. Despite the fact that ubiquitous technology functions constantly around its users, it does not disturb or interrupt the users’ actions.

The basic idea behind the development of City of Oulu’s ubiquitous technology is to embed information technology into the urban environment in an invisible way in order to enable the production of better services to the citizens. Our vision of a ubiquitous city is an urban environment where embedded information technology solutions and devices carried by users merge physical, virtual and social spaces into a seamless entity. The primary task of ubiquitous technology is to facilitate the lives of the citizens.

A versatile sensor network has been installed into the city center of Oulu and the installation process still continues. The most visible part of the ubiquitous infrastructure of Oulu is the large touch screen displays. Altogether 12 displays have been installed, six of which outdoors and six indoors into the city’s public facilities.