News Story

MK:Smart – Putting Milton Keynes on the Smart City Map

Wednesday 11 Mar 2026

This article is part of a special series celebrating KMi’s 30 years. Over the past three decades, KMi has been at the forefront of pioneering research and innovation in knowledge technologies, shaping the way information is created, shared, and understood. In this series, we revisit some of the most impactful projects that have influenced academia, industry, and society, highlighting their significance and legacy.

In 2014, the £17M MK:Smart initiative set out to transform Milton Keynes into one of the UK’s leading smart cities. Led by Prof Enrico Motta, the project brought together 21 partners from local government and universities to global tech giants like BT, Huawei and Samsung. The goal? To use big data and innovation to tackle urban challenges in energy, water and transport.

MK:Smart didn’t just build technology; it built community. Alongside a robust data infrastructure, the project launched citizen-led programmes, giving local groups funding and support for grassroots ideas. It also introduced training for schools, students and SMEs, ensuring that innovation wasn’t confined to boardrooms.

The impact was huge. MK:Smart positioned Milton Keynes as a hub for digital innovation and sparked global attention. In fact, its success led to numerous follow-up initiatives, including the SciRoc Challenge, the world’s first international robotics competition held in a public shopping centre. Over 250,000 visitors watched robots navigate elevators, deliver coffee and tackle real-world tasks, bringing cutting-edge research to everyday life.

Building on this momentum, KMi launched CityLabs, helping 80 local SMEs harness AI and big data to create new products. Today, that legacy continues through pioneering robotics projects like ResilientEnterprise, which is trialling AI-driven robots in hospitals and care homes to improve safety and efficiency.

MK:Smart proved that smart cities aren’t just about sensors and servers, they’re about people, collaboration and ideas that make urban life better. And for KMi, this is what drives us.