Keywords Explained: City OS - SoftBank News. Bringing IT closer to home.

Keywords Explained: City OS

A digital platform that manages and coordinates different city functions and services such as transportation, disaster prevention, welfare and administration in an integrated fashion.

Integrating data across sectors to address complex urban challenges

A City Operating System (City OS) is digital infrastructure designed to manage and interconnect a wide range of urban functions and services, including transportation, disaster management, welfare and public administration. Similar to a computer operating system, a City OS works to integrate the data of different urban systems and assumes the role of coordinating and managing information.

Urban challenges—such as population decline, disaster response, energy management and diversifying residents’ needs—have become increasingly complex in Japan in recent years. In response, the development of smart cities has been advancing nationwide through public–private collaborations.

Central to realizing smart city infrastructure is the City OS. Serving as a common platform that connects organizations and systems that are ordinarily difficult to integrate, a City OS enables cross-sectoral and cross-regional data integration and service coordination while leveraging advanced technologies such as AI, IoT and 5G to optimize urban functions.

For example, by integrating traffic and weather information, a City OS can support applications that reduce congestion, or enable early interventions by linking the health data of the elderly with medical and care systems. The City OS is expected to play a key role as a type of next-generation digital infrastructure that supports sustainable urban management.

SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) is promoting initiatives to realize smart cities by leveraging the City OS and other technologies. Utilizing floating population and environmental information, SoftBank is aiming to enhance regional mobility and disaster resilience while fostering sustainable local development and value creation across different sectors.