Presented by Andrew Hester from the City of Raleigh at Microsoft Ignite 2025, this session illustrates how Microsoft Vision AI and Azure enable smarter city safety through real-time geospatial analytics and simulation technologies.

Safer, Smarter Cities: Real-Time Geospatial Analytics with Microsoft Vision AI

Speaker: Andrew Hester, City of Raleigh, NC
Event: Microsoft Ignite 2025 (STUDIOSP65)

How Raleigh, NC Leverages Geospatial Vision AI

This session explores how the City of Raleigh uses Microsoft Vision AI in combination with Esri and NVIDIA hardware to address urban safety challenges:

  • Reducing Pedestrian Near-Misses: Real-time analytics at intersections allow for the detection of hazardous conditions, helping to minimize pedestrian risks.
  • Protecting Field Crews: Automated alerting systems notify crews of potential danger in active zones.
  • Accelerating Emergency Response: Unified, on-demand data streams provide emergency services with actionable intelligence, reducing response times to critical incidents.

Technologies Used

  • Microsoft Vision AI: Powers the analysis of camera feeds and geospatial data for incident detection and prediction.
  • Azure: Provides cloud infrastructure for data ingestion, processing, and integration with other analytics services.
  • Esri: Offers geospatial mapping and analytics capabilities for city infrastructure planning.
  • NVIDIA GPUs: Accelerate AI computations for real-time evaluation and simulation.

Unified Data and Automated Alerts

  • Centralized Data Platform: City decision-makers access unified dashboards aggregating live feeds, incident logs, and simulation results.
  • Automated Alerts: Systems generate notifications for suspected near-miss events or abnormal traffic patterns.

Simulation Technologies

  • Democratizing Simulation: Manufacturing and urban design experts use Microsoft and NVIDIA tools to model real-world scenarios, such as testing new intersection layouts or evaluating bottle designs, without needing deep simulation expertise.
  • Infrastructure Collaboration: Integration between Azure, NVIDIA GPUs, and simulation software enables broader usage and rapid experimentation.

Key Benefits

  • Provides actionable insights for city leaders to strengthen civic resilience
  • Accelerates response to emergencies and hazardous conditions
  • Lowers barriers for technical and non-technical teams to use advanced analytics and simulation tools

Additional Information

For further details and on-demand sessions, visit: Microsoft Ignite

Author: Microsoft Events
Session ID: STUDIOSP65 | English (US)