Patras is growing – but not at the expense of its coast. Libelium combines IoT, AI and 4G to bring environmental and maritime data together for better decisions.
Patras is a city shaped by the sea. Its coastline attracts residents and tourists, while its port connects the city to the wider region and supports its economic growth. But growth also brings pressure on the environment. Maritime traffic in the Gulf of Patras, runoff from urban and agricultural areas, and the demands of seasonal tourism all affect the city and its coastline.
Patras wanted to take a proactive approach to environmental protection. The aim was to make environmental developments visible at an early stage and create a reliable basis for preventive action – helping the city protect its coastline while continuing to grow.
That matters because pollution does not always stay where it starts. Water quality can change over time, and periods of high tourism put additional pressure on water and waste management. Without continuous data, such developments can be difficult to see early.
For Libelium, the idea behind the project is simple: technology can help a city better understand the environment it depends on. It can give a voice to the air and water, making changes visible and turning them into information that can support decisions.
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Libelium worked with distributor Optocore and partner Sammy to deploy a monitoring ecosystem based on the iris360 platform.
The solution combines two areas that are closely connected in everyday life, but are often monitored separately.
The first focuses on the urban and coastal environment. Distributed IoT stations collect data on air pollutants, particulate matter, noise and weather conditions. Along the coast, sensors also monitor water parameters such as pH, oxidation-reduction potential, turbidity and salinity.
The second part focuses on the marina. Cameras, computer vision and artificial intelligence help track vessels and support berth management.
The real difference comes from bringing these two worlds together. iris360 collects and processes the data in one cloud environment. Users can view pollution levels on a map, access information through a mobile app and generate statistical reports automatically.
This means city and port information can be seen together instead of remaining in separate systems. The air, the water and activity in the port become part of one shared picture.
For Libelium, the most important moment was not when the first sensor was connected. It was when the integrated platform started providing useful information across both the urban and maritime areas.
That was the point at which the project showed what IoT could do beyond individual measurements: it could connect different parts of city life and create a shared basis for action.
Libelium calls this its “break the silos” philosophy.
The idea is more than a technical one. Air quality, water conditions and vessel movements belong to the same place and can influence the same decisions. Bringing the information together helps create a broader picture of what is happening across the city and its coastline.
In this way, technology helps give a voice to the air and water – not by replacing the people making decisions, but by giving them a clearer view of what is happening around them.
For citizens and visitors, this also means greater transparency. Environmental information can be accessed through a mobile application instead of remaining available only to authorities or operators.
Air and environment
NO2, NO, CO and O3, particulate matter in the PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 ranges, noise and meteorological data.
Coastal water
pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), turbidity and salinity.
Marina
Camera data, computer vision and AI for vessel tracking and berth management.
Data access
Map-based pollution views, a mobile application, automated statistical reporting and open-data distribution.
All of this depends on one basic requirement: the data collected in the field has to reach the platform reliably.
Libelium One and Smart Spot devices transmit their sensor data via 4G using Deutsche Telekom SIM cards. Libelium says Deutsche Telekom SIM cards are used in its devices by default. Wide coverage, competitive pricing and operational efficiency are among the reasons for this choice.
The sensors collect the data, iris360 brings it together – and Deutsche Telekom connectivity keeps the information flowing between the two. In Patras, the mobile connection links distributed measurement points across the city and coastline with the cloud platform, where the data can be processed and turned into information for different users.
This connectivity is an important part of making the monitoring ecosystem work in day-to-day operations. It allows environmental data captured in the field to reach the platform continuously, where it can support municipal decision-making and provide citizens and visitors with up-to-date information.
The roles in the project are clearly defined. Libelium brings together sensor technology, the iris360 platform and data intelligence. Optocore and Sammy support the local implementation. Deutsche Telekom provides the mobile IoT connectivity that links the distributed devices with the central platform.
For Libelium, the choice of Deutsche Telekom is part of a wider approach: the company uses Deutsche Telekom SIM cards as a standard in its devices, relying on the network’s wide coverage and operational efficiency while also benefiting from competitive pricing.
For Libelium, smart-city technology should do more than collect data. It should also fit into the environment around it.
That is why the company recommends keeping installations as visually unobtrusive as possible and limiting their physical impact on the places where they are deployed. Just as important is the choice of technology: Libelium advises using open and interoperable standards from the start to avoid becoming dependent on a single vendor.
The company also places the project in the broader context of European digital sovereignty. Libelium highlights its alignment with the EuroStack approach and with European cybersecurity requirements such as the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and NIS-2, as well as ENS High Category certification.
For a smart city, the goal is therefore not simply to become more connected. It is to create digital infrastructure that remains open, secure and fit for the future.
For Patras, the value of the project lies in having environmental information available continuously instead of relying on isolated measurements.
Real-time air-quality data at high-traffic locations provides a stronger basis for urban planning. Water measurements at municipal beaches help the city keep an eye on bathing-water conditions. In the marina, AI-supported vessel tracking provides additional information for berth management.
Citizens and tourists benefit as well. They can access environmental data through the mobile application and see information that was previously less visible.
The project has also created a stronger basis for transparent governance. An automated reporting system can generate statistics and share information in an open-data format.
The project has now been officially handed over to the Port Authority of Patras. With continuous access to environmental data, the Municipality of Patras has a strong basis for more efficient, transparent and proactive governance. Real-time insights into air and water conditions, combined with AI-supported vessel tracking, help decision-makers better understand what is happening across the city and its port.
By making the state of the environment more visible, the project helps the city listen earlier and act with a clearer picture.
The project is already opening the door to the next step.
Libelium is planning to develop a digital twin for Patras. This could allow the city to explore different scenarios before taking action: What if traffic changes? What if environmental conditions shift? Which measures could make a difference?
The same data foundation could also support new use cases. Libelium is looking at closer links between urban mobility and air-quality monitoring, as well as the exchange of information through European data spaces.
There is also potential beyond Patras. According to Libelium, smart-port applications are becoming increasingly relevant across Europe, where pollution is one of the key challenges for many port cities.
As Patras looks towards digital twins, urban mobility and further smart-port applications, reliable connectivity will remain an essential part of the infrastructure behind these next steps.
For Libelium, the project in Patras is ultimately about more than sensors, cameras or AI.
The company sees it as proof that advanced technology can serve people and places in a thoughtful way. IoT, AI and 3D technologies do not have to stand apart from the environment they are designed to support. They can help cities protect natural and cultural heritage while continuing to develop economically.
That perspective is also reflected in Libelium’s own mission: to turn data from companies and cities into decisions that help make the planet more sustainable.
The customer’s own words capture the ambition behind the project:
“True urban leadership lies in balancing economic growth with environmental preservation. By integrating IoT and AI into the port’s heartbeat, Patras is safeguarding both the viability of its economy and the natural heritage of its coastline—the primary driver of that wealth.”
– Antonio J. Jara, CTO of Libelium
Patras now has more than a network of connected sensors. It has a shared data foundation that brings together information from the city, the coast and the port.
That creates a different way of looking at growth. Instead of choosing between economic activity and environmental protection, the city can use data to understand both sides at the same time.
For Libelium, that is the real achievement of the project: using technology to make the environment more visible, to give a voice to the air and water, and to help the city make better decisions for its future.
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