Human-centered designs build techs for ‘smart communities’— experts say

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Experts from the Central Visayas region emphasized that a smart community becomes one when its citizens and leaders can make informed decisions, underscoring the crucial role of coupling human-centric approach and technologies to address current issues.

In a forum during the Regional Science, Technology, and Innovation Week (RSTW) in Central Visayas last July 15, 2026, three industry partners discussed how technology acts as an enabler, provided it remains tied to real-world needs of the community.“I believe that a smart community isn't just one filled with technology. The technology serves as an accelerator and the citizens need to understand and [relate to the problem, voice it out, and see the changes],” Timothy Joshua F. Vargas said.

Smart community, as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defined, is focused on the integration of physical, digital, and human systems to provide a sustainable and inclusive future.

From the ground up

Neil Clyde Kho shared that true “smart development” is grounded in identifying the real-world problem first prior to even building the technology.

“We cannot create something really smart without really understanding what is [happening in the] community,” Kho said.

Kho and his team immersed themselves in a community for more than six months to understand the residents’ “hopes and dreams,” especially in regard to agriculture, prior to proposing solutions.

They have developed the Ark of Agriculture (ARKA), an agricultural supply chain platform aimed at connecting farming communities directly to the market to improve their productivity and yield.

Similarly, Vargas urged that to understand the community more, each individual must be understood to create smart technologies and innovations.

“We're very human-based. We're very individual. As we always say, everyone has a valid point. We go down to the individual level, because a community is composed of different individuals,” he said.

His team developed SEERMO, an AI-powered urban mobility platform designed to help local governments build safer and more inclusive streets.

This platform uses crowdsourced data to capture lived experiences of pedestrians and commuters, to monitor how people move and live.

Extending through AI

The experts see AI to quantitatively understand the community, from movement patterns or resource usage, which humans cannot track efficiently.

“We're trying to understand quantitatively the experience of each individual. […] Then from there, we have an understanding, like, what should we do? What are the smarter ways to do, to fix things,” Vargas remarked.

However, he also added that data must be paired with qualitative understanding of the individual, to ensure the technology addresses their specific socioeconomic and geographical realities.

Hence SEERMO’s efforts to validate AI outputs against local contexts, languages, and culture to reflect local and real nuances, similar to their approach in Bicol, Cebu, and other areas in Luzon.

The experts also described that AI facilitates filling the “zero data” gaps, wherein such systems allow the collection and use of unique local data that eventually springboard efficiency at work and maximizing of resources.

“I always want to build my product here, but [also understand] what is outside. I want to leverage what is existing here (data), but put in the right data,” Kho shared.

Towards smart community

However, beyond the human-centric approach and AI, the experts also mentioned that community involvement remains a must towards establishing a smart community, hence the call to tailor-fit technologies to address their concerns.

“Because without the community involvement, even if technologies are there, it will not be deployed or used because the community doesn't benefit,” Kho explained.

Lance Brandon Pascio of Xeleqt AI also shared this sentiment and reaffirmed the mission of their technological startup to help the community.

Xeleqt AI uses smart devices, wearables, and sensors with AI software to optimize operations, especially in the logistics industry—building a unified platform to monitor tasks, personnel, machinery, and workplace.

“We want to continue to grow or help our customers improve their own companies, which will later positively impact the economy,” he said. “If you develop these smarter companies, we can further develop smarter cities as well as a whole,” he added.

The Regional Science, Technology, and Innovation Week (RSTW) is one of the flagship programs of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) aimed at providing science-based, innovative, and inclusive solutions across four strategic pillars: human well-being, wealth creation, wealth protection, and sustainability. These pillars embody the mantra OneDOST4U: Solutions and Opportunities for All. For more information, visit www.dost.gov.ph or the National Science, Technology, and Innovation Week (NSTW) Facebook page. (By Karl Jerome M. del Mundo, DOST-STII)