For many students at the University of Michigan, their host city, Ann Arbor, serves as a home away from home. For a few, however, and for U-M professor Huei Peng, it’s also the perfect place to conduct applied research — and to push the boundaries of the Internet of Things.

Peng, a Roger L. McCarthy Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is also the director of Mcity, an advanced mobility research center and public-private partnership…

“Partnerships between cities and universities aren’t new,” notes Brenna Berman, co-chair of the Illinois Technology Association’s Internet of Things Council and executive director of the Chicago-based City Tech Collaborative. “Because they’re busy, crowded, fascinating places with lots of fun things going on, there’s always been an interest in the city as a petri dish.”

What’s new, Berman says, is the scale at which IoT projects can take place, as well as their potential impact on cities and campuses alike.
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