GFE at Smart City Expo Barcelona 2026

5 days ago

5 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

Making water safety part of the smart city

What if a city could know, in real time, whether its lifesaving equipment is exactly where it should be?

From 3 to 5 November 2026, GFE will be exhibiting at Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, one of the world's leading international events dedicated to cities and urban innovation.

Hall 3 - Level 0 - Booth F82

And we are bringing a clear message to Barcelona:

A truly smart city should also be a safer city

As cities invest in connected infrastructure, sensors, data platforms and intelligent public services, one area should not be overlooked: safety around water.

That is why GFE is bringing the Smart Lifebuoy to Barcelona.

Why GFE is exhibiting at Smart City Expo

Cities are becoming smarter.

Street lighting can be monitored remotely. Traffic flows can be analysed in real time. Public infrastructure is increasingly connected, allowing cities to manage assets more efficiently and respond faster when something changes.

But what about lifesaving equipment along rivers, canals, harbours, docks, bridges and urban waterfronts?

In many locations, traditional lifebuoys still rely largely on periodic physical inspections.

GFE believes water safety can take the next step.

The Smart Lifebuoy transforms traditional lifesaving equipment into a connected safety asset.

And that is exactly why we are exhibiting in Barcelona.

Smart City Expo World Congress brings together cities, governments, technology companies and organisations working on the future of urban environments. The 2026 event expects more than 25.000 attendees from the public and private sectors, with representatives from more than 850 cities and 135 countries.

For GFE, it is the ideal international stage to introduce a new approach to urban water safety.

Meet the Smart Lifebuoy

From lifesaving equipment to connected safety infrastructure

A lifebuoy is not just a simple piece of equipment.

Its purpose is extremely important: it needs to be available when somebody needs it.

The challenge for cities and waterfront operators is therefore not only installing lifesaving equipment. They also need to manage increasingly large numbers of safety assets spread across different locations.

That is where the Smart Lifebuoy changes the approach.

By connecting lifesaving equipment to a digital monitoring environment, the Smart Lifebuoy gives organisations greater visibility over their waterfront safety infrastructure.

Instead of treating a lifebuoy as an isolated piece of equipment, it becomes part of a connected safety network.

Monitor. Manage. Respond.

The Smart Lifebuoy helps organisations move towards a more proactive approach to water safety.

24/7 monitoring

Keep an overview of lifesaving equipment across multiple locations.

Real-time alerts

Receive information when the status of equipment changes, allowing responsible teams to respond faster.

Asset visibility

Know where lifesaving equipment is located and manage it as part of the city's wider safety infrastructure.

Reduced inspection costs

Connected monitoring can support a more efficient approach to managing and inspecting lifesaving equipment.

We are not making the lifebuoy smarter just for the sake of technology.

We are using technology to make water safety more manageable.

Why water safety belongs in the smart city

Smart cities are ultimately about using technology and information to improve the environments in which people live, work and move.

For cities with rivers, canals, docks, harbours and waterfront developments, water is an important part of that environment.

And therefore, so is water safety.

Imagine a city managing dozens or hundreds of lifesaving installations across:

urban canals
rivers and quays
bridges
public waterfronts
marinas
recreational areas
ports and harbours
ferry terminals
promenades and mixed-use waterfront developments

Traditional equipment remains essential.

But adding connectivity creates something new: monitoring

It enables the people responsible for public infrastructure to manage water safety as a system rather than as a collection of individual pieces of equipment.

This is the Smart Lifebuoy vision.

From reactive to proactive water safety

For decades, waterfront safety has understandably focused on the moment an emergency occurs.

Someone enters the water.A lifebuoy is needed.The equipment must be accessible.

That will always remain fundamental.

But smart technology allows us to address another question:

What can we know before an emergency happens?

Is the lifesaving equipment still present?

Where is it located?

Which assets require attention?

How can inspections be organised more efficiently?

How can multiple lifesaving points be managed from one environment?

These are smart-city infrastructure questions.

Technology meets physical safety

Digitalisation alone cannot save someone from the water.

Physical rescue equipment remains essential.

That is why visitors in Barcelona will also be able to discover the GFE Diamond lifebuoy cabinet.

The Diamond represents the physical side of the GFE water-safety concept: a highly visible, purpose-designed location for lifesaving equipment.

Combined with smart technology, traditional rescue infrastructure can become part of a much broader approach to managing waterfront safety.

Physical infrastructure where it matters.

Digital intelligence behind it.

The Diamond will therefore have a supporting role on our stand, while the Smart Lifebuoy takes centre stage.

Turning water safety into data

This is perhaps the biggest change the Smart Lifebuoy brings.

A conventional lifebuoy is a physical safety asset.

A connected lifebuoy becomes both a physical and digital asset.

That opens the door to a more structured approach to:

Monitoring

Understanding the status of safety equipment.

Management

Managing larger numbers of lifesaving points across multiple locations.

Maintenance

Helping responsible teams identify where attention may be required.

Accountability

Creating greater visibility over safety assets and their management.

Planning

Building a clearer picture of waterfront safety infrastructure across a city or organisation.

For municipalities and asset managers, this can make water safety easier to integrate into broader smart-city and public-space strategies.

What can you discover at our stand?

At Smart City Expo World Congress 2026, the GFE team will demonstrate how traditional lifesaving equipment can become part of tomorrow's connected urban infrastructure.

Smart Lifebuoy

The centrepiece of our presence in Barcelona.

Discover how connected technology can transform the way cities, ports and waterfront operators monitor and manage lifesaving equipment.

See how the Smart Lifebuoy can help move water safety from periodic physical checks towards a more connected and proactive approach.

GFE Diamond Lifebuoy Cabinet

Technology needs a strong physical foundation.

The Diamond provides a distinctive and highly visible solution for housing lifesaving equipment in public environments. At Barcelona, we will demonstrate how physical safety infrastructure and smart monitoring can complement each other.

A complete smart waterfront concept

Most importantly, we want to talk about the bigger picture.

How can cities include water safety within their digitalisation strategies?

How can existing waterfront safety points become connected assets?

And how can municipalities use technology to manage those assets more effectively?

Who should visit GFE in Barcelona?

We particularly look forward to meeting:

Municipalities and city authorities
Smart City managers
Public-space managers
Urban planners
Asset and facility managers
Ports and harbour authorities
Waterway authorities
Waterfront developers
Technology and IoT partners
System integrators
Safety professionals
International distributors and partners

Smart City Expo is built around connecting cities with organisations developing solutions for future urban environments, which makes this audience particularly relevant for GFE's Smart Lifebuoy proposition.

Let's make the smart city a safer city

Technology is changing how cities manage mobility, energy, infrastructure and public spaces.

We believe water safety should be part of that transformation.

The Smart Lifebuoy connects one of the most recognisable pieces of lifesaving equipment with the possibilities of today's digital infrastructure.

Not to make safety more complicated.

But to give the people responsible for safety better information, better oversight and better tools to manage it.

That is what we are bringing to Barcelona.

Meet GFE at Smart City Expo World Congress 2026

3–5 November 2026

Fira Barcelona Gran Via, Barcelona