«There is no finish line in this work»: How are digital technologies being integrated into the work in Kazan

Next year, City Soft system will be used to find snowcaps and icicles on roofs, monitor the condition of bus stops, and advertising structures in Kazan. At the 35th session of the Kazan City Duma, Deputy Head of the Kazan Executive Committee Radik Shafigullin reported about the use of artificial intelligence in solving urban issues.

«We must continue to integrate new digital technologies into the life of our city. There is no finish line in this work. However, our main priority should always be the well-being and comfort of every citizen in Kazan», – said the Mayor, Ilsur Metshin. He noted that Kazan has recently ranked third in the list of IQ cities in Russia, with only cities of federal importance – Moscow and St. Petersburg ahead of it. «We spend 100 times less money per resident on digitalization compared to St. Petersburg and 500 times less compared to Moscow», – he added.

The introduction of artificial intelligence shows the administrative capabilities of the city. «Therefore, it is significant that Kazan was the first city to start using City Soft», – according to Artyom Lopatin, the founder of the Svoy Videnie group of companies.

The City Soft system is able to recognize piles of garbage, advertising stickers on poles, the absence of road markings, as well as road holes. In July, we were able to introduce an option to determine vehicles that move with uncovered cargo. Over 109 million fines were imposed in five months, with the system registering 100 violations every three days.

The Akully language model is also being tested in Kazan. There, the AI understands what a person is saying and can analyze data from the systems used in the city. The service will work with unstructured information and provide user-friendly materials.

This year, the City Monitor information system was introduced in Kazan to help monitor street cleaning. It allows to set tasks for employees and plan snow removal in the city. To operate the service, 16 thousand square meters of roads have been digitized. It also allows to determine the location of snow removal vehicles.

Last winter, paper tickets were replaced with electronic tickets at snow melting stations. The Snow tickets system proved to be convenient for drivers as it reduced waiting times for equipment unloading.

The update of the website for the ANO Good Kazan was completed. A Telegram messenger-based chatbot has been launched to provide accessible information about the 804 city facilities for residents with disabilities.

The Art-Prospect digital platform was launched. In response to complaints from city residents and visitors regarding noise, 34 locations for street performers have been identified on Bauman Street. Since its launch, more than 30,000 booking requests have been submitted through the platform.