Outsight, Advantech, and Intel Unite to Launch a Smart Cities Solution

Frequently Asked Questions

• What does a LiDAR and camera fusion setup actually look like at a smart city intersection?

  In a typical deployment, LiDAR sensors and cameras feed into a single edge PC. The LiDAR workload runs on CPU cores, producing 3D tracking of vehicles and pedestrians, while camera frames are processed in parallel on the integrated GPU for video analytics. The two streams are then merged into one live spatial scene. In the smart city solution developed by Outsight with Intel and Advantech, this split-processing architecture runs on compact, affordable hardware rather than requiring a dedicated AI accelerator for each sensor type. The result is a fused, real-time spatial view of an intersection that can support safety programs like Vision Zero, similar to how Outsight's SHIFT platform is applied at instrumented urban intersections such as those in the City of Bellevue.

• Why run LiDAR processing on a CPU rather than a dedicated GPU or FPGA?

  LiDAR point-cloud processing is geometrically structured work: detecting, classifying, and tracking objects in 3D space across a sparse but ordered data stream. That workload maps efficiently onto modern CPU cores with wide SIMD instruction sets, unlike the dense pixel-grid operations that favor GPU parallelism. Outsight's SHIFT platform is built around this principle, running its sub-50ms end-to-end pipeline on CPU-based edge hardware without requiring a discrete graphics card. Keeping LiDAR processing on the CPU leaves the integrated GPU free for camera-based video analytics, so a single compact edge box handles both sensor modalities. In the Outsight, Advantech, and Intel smart cities deployment, this architecture lets infrastructure-mounted sensors deliver real-time 3D situational awareness at intersections and high-traffic urban areas within a practical, deployable form factor.

• How does a smart city LiDAR deployment handle GDPR without anonymizing data after collection?

  LiDAR sensors emit laser pulses and measure surface returns: the output is a 3D point cloud of shapes and positions, not pixels. Faces, license plates, and biometric identifiers are physically impossible to record at any stage of the pipeline. Because no personal data enters the system, there is nothing to anonymize retroactively. GDPR compliance is therefore a structural property of the sensor physics rather than a downstream data-handling policy. Outsight's infrastructure-based approach to smart city deployments, including Vision Zero intersection monitoring for the City of Bellevue, is built on this principle: the Motional Digital Twin captures how people and vehicles move through a space, never who they are.

• What is Intel SceneScape and how does it relate to LiDAR software?

  Intel SceneScape is a multimodal scene intelligence software layer that performs sensor fusion, combining inputs from cameras and other sensors into a unified real-time spatial representation. In the smart cities architecture developed with Outsight and Advantech, SceneScape handles video analytics on camera frames using the integrated GPU, while the Outsight SHIFT platform handles the 3D tracking workload on CPU cores. The two outputs are then merged to produce a single live scene rather than two disconnected data streams. This division of labor allows each processing layer to operate within its native compute domain, with LiDAR-derived 3D geometry and camera-derived visual context arriving as complementary inputs to a coherent operational picture.

• How many sensors does a LiDAR-based smart intersection need compared to a camera-only setup?

  LiDAR's 3D field of view covers a wider area per unit than a flat 2D camera, because depth perception reduces the number of overlapping vantage points needed to eliminate blind zones. A scalable LiDAR fusion architecture, where multiple sensors share one point cloud, further reduces per-intersection sensor counts. Outsight applies this principle in its infrastructure-based deployments, such as the Vision Zero smart-city intersections in the City of Bellevue, where LiDAR sensors mounted in the infrastructure track pedestrians and vehicles across the full intersection volume without requiring the dense camera arrays a 2D setup would demand. The practical effect is lower hardware, cabling, and maintenance costs over the life of the deployment, though exact counts depend on intersection geometry and the specific sensor models used.

• What smart city use cases go beyond traffic counting with LiDAR at intersections?

  Beyond vehicle throughput measurement, infrastructure-mounted LiDAR at intersections can support automatic incident detection (stopped vehicles, debris, collisions), safe-distance monitoring between road users, vulnerable road user safety alerts for cyclists and pedestrians, and parking occupancy monitoring in adjacent areas. The same sensor network that counts vehicles can trigger real-time alerts when a pedestrian enters a lane during a red phase or when a vehicle is stationary in a live traffic lane. Outsight applies exactly this range of use cases through its SHIFT platform, which powers Vision Zero-aligned deployments such as the City of Bellevue smart-city intersections, processing 3D motion data in real time without any camera feed or biometric capture.

• What role does each company play in the Advantech and Intel smart cities solution?

  The three partners each contribute one layer of the stack. Outsight provides its Spatial Intelligence Platform and SHIFT software, which process 3D LiDAR data to track vehicles and pedestrians in real time. Advantech supplies the MIC 770, a compact, fanless edge PC built for outdoor conditions. Intel provides the 14th Gen Intel Core processors inside that PC, plus Intel SceneScape for multimodal sensor fusion and Intel Geti for training computer vision models. Together they form a complete Smart Cities solution for urban mobility management and safety.

• What is the Advantech MIC 770 and why is it used in smart city LiDAR deployments?

  The Advantech MIC 770 is a compact, fanless PC designed for harsh outdoor conditions and powered by Intel Core processors. In the joint smart cities solution, the LiDAR sensors and cameras connect to this unit, which runs Outsight's Spatial Intelligence Platform. The partnership highlights its robust performance and a wide operating temperature range, with features such as IP40 weatherproofing for reliable operation in various environments. On the same PC, Outsight's software processes the LiDAR data on the CPU cores while Intel SceneScape runs camera analytics on the integrated GPU.

• How is a live digital twin of an urban area built from LiDAR and camera data on one Intel-based PC?

  In the Outsight, Advantech and Intel solution, LiDAR sensors and cameras feed a single Intel Core based Advantech MIC 770 PC. Outsight's software processes the 3D LiDAR data on the CPU cores, while Intel SceneScape uses the integrated GPU to run video analytics on the camera frames. The outputs of both pipelines are then merged into one live digital twin. The partners describe this technology as essential for understanding and optimizing high-traffic areas, ensuring safety and enhancing operational efficiency.

• What is Intel Geti used for in the Advantech smart cities solution?

  Intel Geti is a computer vision AI training platform that the partnership uses to streamline laborious data labeling and to optimize model training. It supports the camera side of the solution, where Intel SceneScape performs video analytics that are fused with Outsight's LiDAR-based tracking. Outsight's co-founder and CEO Cédric Hutchings highlighted that Intel SceneScape, enabled by Intel Geti, opens new doors for sensor fusion applications, giving cities richer real-time spatial awareness from the same edge hardware.

• Why is the Advantech and Intel smart cities LiDAR solution described as cost effective?

  According to Cédric Hutchings, co-founder and CEO of Outsight, the solution can be delivered cost effectively because Outsight's software runs on just a few CPU cores, combined with high performance hardware from Advantech and Intel. The partnership also describes a scalable LiDAR fusion architecture that requires fewer sensors, which reduces both infrastructure and maintenance costs. Hutchings added that Intel SceneScape, enabled by Intel Geti, opens new doors for sensor fusion applications.

• What does the 14th Gen Intel Core processor contribute to LiDAR-based smart city analytics?

  In the joint solution with Outsight and Advantech, 14th Gen Intel Core processors are described as enhanced for LiDAR, image and AI inference processing. They come with integrated Intel UHD Graphics and Intel Deep Learning Boost. In the system, Outsight's software processes the LiDAR data on the CPU cores, while Intel SceneScape uses the integrated GPU to perform video analytics on camera frames. The outputs of both are merged into a live digital twin of vehicles and pedestrians on one edge PC.

• How does the LiDAR smart city solution compare with conventional 2D perception for accuracy?

  Outsight positions its Smart Cities solution, built with Advantech and Intel, as providing detailed and precise spatial measurements that outperform conventional 2D perception technologies. LiDAR uses laser light to create detailed 3D maps of environments, which the partners describe as offering unparalleled precision in spatial measurements. The solution lists accuracy and reliability among its advantages, alongside a scalable LiDAR fusion architecture and GDPR compliance with no personal data collection.

• Which traffic applications does SHIFT software handle in the Advantech and Intel solution?

  Outsight's SHIFT software provides accurate real-time tracking of vehicles and pedestrians from 3D LiDAR data, and the partnership lists several smart transportation applications it supports. These include automatic incident detection, safe distance monitoring, traffic flow measurement, vulnerable road user safety and parking occupancy monitoring. All of them run on the Intel-powered Advantech MIC 770 edge PC, and the results can be merged with camera analytics from Intel SceneScape into a live digital twin.

• When was the Advantech and Intel smart cities partnership announced and who is it for?

  Outsight announced its partnership with Advantech and Intel in June 2024 to deliver a Smart Cities solution powered by Spatial Intelligence built on LiDAR. The announcement invited urban planners, transportation authorities and smart city developers to explore the solution for managing high-traffic urban areas. Its goal is to address the growing demand for advanced urban mobility management and safety tools, helping cities become safer and more efficient through real-time measurement of traffic and pedestrian movement.

• Has the LiDAR smart city solution with Advantech and Intel been deployed in a real city?

  Outsight states that its Smart Cities solution is already making strides in urban environments, and the announcement points to its work with the City of Bellevue as an example. In Bellevue, Outsight completed a LiDAR installation designed to increase road users' safety at busy intersections. Vulnerable road user safety is also one of the applications listed for the joint solution with Advantech and Intel, alongside automatic incident detection, safe distance monitoring, traffic flow measurement and parking occupancy monitoring.