TOPICS & CATEGORIES
By Cassidy Mills, Staff Writer
The Florida Simulation Summit (FSS) panel discussion titled “Investing in Intelligence: How AI and Simulation Are Powering the Smart Cities of Tomorrow,” examined how cities are leveraging artificial intelligence and simulation technologies to enhance urban planning, improve public services and drive sustainable growth.
Moderated by Suyash Mohan, VC investor at Plug and Play Tech Center, the panel featured Yaser Fallah, Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF), and Rocio Frej Vitalle, founder and CEO of SkyTL.
The National Center for Simulation, alongside Orange County Government, hosted the FSS at the DoubleTree by Hilton at the Entrance to Universal Orlando, May 9. The summit offered an immersive experience, featuring panel discussions on smart city research, practical applications and lessons learned in optimizing operations with artificial intelligence (AI) and simulation.
Fallah said by integrating AI with digital twins, cities can gain a deeper understanding of how various systems, like traffic or waste management, interact in real time. Modeling allows urban planners to test potential changes in the environment before making actual adjustments, leading to more informed and sustainable decision-making.
According to Fallah, these technologies are already being used to optimize traffic flow, monitor energy consumption, and manage public resources more effectively. Fallah highlighted UCF’s work in creating a digital twin of Orlando to better understand city dynamics and improve public services.
“We take AI models and simulation to enable scalable access to many applications that otherwise wouldn’t be possible,” Fallah said. “Digital twins bring life to cities by integrating real-time data for applications like traffic anomaly detection, live parking availability and facility monitoring.”
Vitalle discussed AI-powered disaster management, particularly in the context of natural disasters like wildfires, hurricanes and floods. She explained how SkyTL uses AI and simulation tools to help authorities predict the spread of disasters and plan emergency responses more effectively.
One case highlighted by Vitalle was SkyTL’s use of satellite data and drones to simulate wildfire behavior, allowing emergency services to better allocate resources and evacuate people in high-risk areas. This kind of simulation can provide real-time insights, significantly improving the speed and effectiveness of disaster response efforts.
“One of our most inspiring stories was from a fire in California last July while working with a fire department who used our software to simulate the fire’s spread after satellite imagery detected it,” Vitalle said. “The model identified a high-risk community and warned the firefighters to deploy resources there. The fire was stopped just before reaching the community, enabling an earlier evacuation.”
According to Vitalle, the integration of AI-driven simulations in disaster management is becoming crucial for not only public safety but also urban resilience, as cities increasingly face the effects of climate change and natural hazards.
“They were able to evacuate those people a day earlier, which, if you go to some previous fires, there are a lot of issues with late evacuation or vague evacuations,” Vitalle said. “Hopefully these types of technologies will be the ones that are actually saving lives very soon.”
While the potential benefits of AI and simulation in smart cities are clear, both panelists acknowledged that widespread adoption faces significant barriers. Integration with existing systems and usability remain key challenges. The panel discussed how smart city technologies need to be easy to deploy and user-friendly to ensure that they are accessible to a broad range of users, from urban planners to emergency responders.
One example provided was Google’s collaboration with SkyTL to integrate disaster management tools into the Google interface. The goal was to make the platform as intuitive as possible for users with varying levels of technical expertise.
“Being able to use AI through familiar interfaces means quicker adoption and better results,” Vitalle said. “When people trust the tools they are using, they become more effective in how they apply them.”
Moreover, the cost of implementing AI and simulation technologies, especially in smaller cities or those with limited resources, was also identified as a potential hurdle. However, the panelists noted that as these technologies evolve and become more affordable, they will likely see wider adoption across cities of all sizes.
With the growing use of surveillance and data-driven technologies in urban management, questions about privacy and data security also emerged as key issues. Both Fallah and Vitalle emphasized the need for careful consideration of the ethical implications of AI and simulation tools in smart cities. They stressed the importance of ensuring that these technologies are developed and deployed responsibly to avoid infringing on individual rights.
Vitalle pointed out the importance of maintaining public trust by being transparent about how AI systems use personal data. She noted that clear communication with residents and ongoing efforts to protect privacy will be critical as smart city initiatives expand.
Looking to the future, the panelists shared their thoughts on how AI and simulations will continue to evolve in urban planning and disaster management. Dr. Fallah predicted that digital twins and AI-powered urban operating systems would become more integrated in cities, allowing for real-time management of all city systems in a way that mirrors how smartphones operate through a unified system.
“The dream is a seamless, connected system where AI is managing the intricacies of urban life in real time,” Fallah said. “In the near future, AI will allow cities to operate much like a smart device, with constant data flow informing decisions every minute.”
Vitalle suggested that AI’s role in disaster response would continue to expand, with technologies becoming even better at predicting and mitigating the effects of disasters. She said AI would enable faster, more accurate decision-making during crises, and help cities become more resilient in the face of climate challenges.
The panelists agreed, as cities continue to explore how these innovations can improve the lives of residents and the efficiency of urban systems, the discussion is expected to evolve, with a focus on collaboration, transparency and responsible development.
Additional coverage on FSS include:
Florida Simulation Summit highlights role of AI and simulation in building smart cities
Industry experts discuss real-world applications of digital twins at 2025 Florida Simulation Summit
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