Team Name:
Great Southern Gurus
Team Members:
Great Southern Gurus
We are a small group of IT staff working in education, with a background in computer science education, data engineering and software development, and systems, network and technical management and support.
Councils across Australia are increasingly seeking ways to make their cities more accessible, inclusive, and liveable.
Liveability not only supports economic growth by attracting businesses and skilled workers, but it also enhances the wellbeing of residents. Key elements include safety, social cohesion, environmental sustainability, and the provision of high-quality public spaces and infrastructure.
However, as cities grow, councils face increased pressure on finances. Unplanned or uncoordinated growth and maintenance of assets can potentially threaten the liveability of urban spaces. Recent scorecards from the Australian Urban Observatory show varying results across cities in key areas. Access to amenities is a significant factor in improving liveability, and maintaining these assets is equally crucial.
To support councils in improving liveability, we propose the platform OverSITE, which leverages open data collected from Internet of Things (IoT) devices strategically placed across the city. These sensors measure data such as:
OverSITE promotes the use of historical data to predict future trends within a local government area (LGA). The platform enables data-driven decisions, optimising service delivery and enhancing asset management. By giving councils access to OverSITE, we aim to improve community engagement and maximise resource use.
OverSITE is a web-based portal that provides LGAs with the ability to select a public space, such as a local reserve. The platform lists all available assets on an easy-to-interpret dashboard, displaying historical usage based on IoT sensor data for a given period. Where OverSITE shines is in its predictive capabilities, offering:
Asset health is predicted using available data sources and statistical models, processed through a small language model. For example, walking tracks in a reserve may collect usage data through bi-directional passive infrared counters. This data, combined with local rainfall information, can offer maintenance teams insights into which sections of the trail require attention.
By pairing usage data with weather patterns, OverSITE helps councils to maximise the use of assets, ensuring their availability when needed, while reducing unnecessary maintenance. This transforms maintenance scheduling into a proactive process.
OverSITE can also be leveraged to allow work orders for assets to be raised through the dashboard and would be configured to integrate and open those requests in an existing work order system. With an expansion of IoT sensors, OverSITE could be expanded to support the proactive maintenance of other assets within the council, such as gravel roads that require regular grading. With an understanding of weather patterns and usage metrics, alongside the predictive capability of OverSITE local road maintenance programmes could also be enhanced.
The OverSITE platform extends into the field through a smartphone app, which pairs a small language model with IoT sensor data. This provides council staff with real-time data on asset conditions, enabling them to make informed, targeted decisions about proactive maintenance.
In addition to IoT data, OverSITE supports community involvement by allowing residents to submit photos and reports via text message. This crowdsourced data helps refine the platform's predictive models and optimises service delivery by providing a more comprehensive view of asset conditions.
OverSITE is a platform designed to support Australian councils in creating more liveable cities by using IoT data to inform decision-making, enhance community engagement, and streamline maintenance operations. By providing actionable insights through both sensor data and community reports, OverSITE ensures that public assets are maintained effectively, contributing to the overall liveability of urban spaces across Australia.
Urban growth across Australia poses a challenge for councils aiming to enhance liveability, requiring efficient use of resources to maintain public assets like parks, recreational spaces, and community facilities. OverSITE leverages IoT data to give local governments a smarter, data-driven approach to asset management, allowing them to prioritise maintenance, optimize service delivery, and boost livability for residents.
Our team have used or propose using the datasets that follow (and similar data that could conceivably be collected in similar ways across LGAs).
The Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve Milesight Occupancy Counter tracks foot traffic within key facilities such as the Discovery Centre. By analysing when these buildings are busiest, OverSITE enables councils to better manage operational schedules, ensuring maintenance or cleaning occurs during low-traffic times, reducing inconvenience to the public and making resource allocation more efficient.
The SMT100a Soil Moisture Sensor provides real-time data on soil conditions across reserves. By pairing this with local rainfall data, OverSITE allows councils to predict when specific areas of a park may require attention, such as preventing waterlogging or maintaining pathways after periods of high rainfall. This targeted approach helps preserve landscapes, reducing unnecessary interventions and focusing resources on areas most in need of care.
Tracking foot traffic through Dingtek PIR sensors, OverSITE uses this data to model and predict visitor behaviour in parks and public spaces. Understanding these usage patterns enables councils to proactively schedule maintenance during off-peak times, minimizing disruption to residents while maximising operational efficiency. Predictive analytics also help anticipate the wear and tear on assets like walking trails, further improving maintenance planning.
Temperature sensors attached to public barbecues monitor hourly usage by detecting when they reach specific temperature thresholds. This data allows OverSITE to identify high-demand periods for outdoor recreation, ensuring barbecues are ready and well-maintained during peak times. By staying ahead of asset degradation for high-use assets and effectively replacing asset components before they fail, councils can enhance public amenities, increase community engagement in outdoor spaces, and lower scheduled maintenance costs.
OverSITE integrates data from the Digital Atlas and ABS to highlight socio-economic disparities across local government areas (LGAs). By combining this data with IoT sensor inputs, councils can ensure that asset maintenance is not biased against lower socio-economic areas where service gaps have been identified. This ensures that all residents, regardless of location or economic background, enjoy equal access to well-maintained public spaces.
The Atmos Weather Station at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve monitors rainfall and other local weather events. By correlating weather patterns with asset usage data—such as high traffic on walking trails following periods of heavy rain—OverSITE allows councils to anticipate when and where maintenance is needed. For example, a heavily used trail combined with recent rainfall may signal erosion risks, enabling proactive maintenance before damage occurs.
OverSITE: A Future of Data-Driven Cities
By blending IoT sensor data with predictive AI models, OverSITE transforms how councils manage public assets. The platform’s proactive maintenance capabilities ensure that assets are in top condition, helping councils stretch their budgets further while improving the livability of cities. With a combination of sensor data, predictive insights, and community input, OverSITE empowers local governments to build smarter, more livable urban environments—keeping public spaces accessible, safe, and enjoyable for all.
Through data-driven decisions, councils can better manage resources, respond to community needs, and ensure the sustainability of public spaces for generations to come.
Description of Use Used to support predictive analysis for maintenance of roads depending on weather, rainfall, and usage. Future use could see a dataset aligned to this that tracks vehicle usage of gravel roads, for example, so we could predict when maintenance such as grading needs to occur.
Description of Use Used to inform of busy periods within building assets such as this Discovery Centre.
Description of Use Used to train our AI model and also assist with predictive maintenance based on rainfall data aligned to how moist the soil is at given parts of the reserve to assist targeting work by LGA council staff.
Description of Use Storing and using to train AI model on usage patterns based on PIR data captured from IOT sensor. Used to predict busy periods and assist maintenance staff in coordinating their work to minimise disruption to residents and visitors.
Description of Use Storing and analysing by training an AI model on the use of barbecues within the LGA based on IOT temperature threshold monitoring. Data is captured hourly.
Description of Use Understanding the socio-economic connection to LGA council assets to support prioritisation of maintenance to maximise livability and address concerns whereby reports such as the Australian Urban Observatory scorecards that suggest a lack of quality services provided to low socio-economic areas.
Description of Use Used to compare localised weather events such as rainfall against usage patterns and maintenance requirements of assets - for example increased rainfall after a recent high usage period could predict that maintenance is required for a walking track.
Go to Challenge | 16 teams have entered this challenge.
#Exploring new ways to look at societal wellbeing
Eligibility: No restrictions. Participants can be from any jurisdiction and are encouraged to be creative and use any legal datasets in applying the wellbeing framework.
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#Data-driven Decisions for a Stronger Australia
Eligibility: All Australian competitors.
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