City of Bits
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The field guide to Physical AI & the intelligent city

Building the
City of Bits.

By Vlad M. Trifa — MIT / ETH PhD, co-author of Building the Web of Things (O'Reilly, 2016). Every build in this book has been run on real hardware.

12 chapters9 builds~400 pagesPDF + ePub · DRM-free
↓ Chapter 1 — free Buy — €29
Building the City of Bits — book cover
The offer
Free sample
€0
Chapter 1, complete
CityScope builds on GitHub
Newsletter — every Thursday
Early backer The Book
€39 €29
All 12 chapters · PDF + ePub
DRM-free · lifetime use
Free updates + iterations while we're writing
Locked at publication (Jan 2027)
→ Buy the book — €29

€29 early-backer price · limited · then €39

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Everything in The Book
All book updates while subscribed (not just writing phase — continues after launch)
Exclusive Deep Dives articles
Skill packs (datasets, MCP servers, starter repos)
Video lectures (chapters walked-through)
Private Discord channel (#patrons)

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What's inside

12 chapters across four parts.

Part I — Foundations

  1. 01 · From Web of Things to City of Bits →
  2. 02 · The Urban Nervous System — Zürich →
  3. 03 · Physical Connectivity — Mexico City →
  4. 04 · The City Data Bus — Amsterdam →

Part II — Intelligence

  1. 05 · Agents in the City — Singapore →
  2. 06 · MCP and Device Discovery — Austin, TX →
  3. 07 · Agent-to-Agent Protocols — Shenzhen →
  4. 08 · Edge AI at the Source — Jakarta →

Part III — Economics

  1. 09 · DePIN — Infrastructure You Own — Nairobi →
  2. 10 · Data Micropayments — Málaga →

Part IV — Govern & Close

  1. 11 · Neo-Tokyo 2049 — Governance, Risks & Scale →
  2. 12 · The City You Will Build →
CityScope

9 progressive code builds. Every one runs.

01

Pi + SEN55 sensor → live PM2.5 page

node:http · sensor.ts · zero npm deps
Chapter 02
02

LoRaWAN uplinks via The Things Network

mqtt · TTN topic schema · simulator included
Chapter 03
03

City data bus — Mosquitto + SQLite + live map

node:sqlite · SSE · Leaflet · docker compose --profile sim
Chapter 04
04

First civic agent → Telegram alerts

PSI thresholds · Singapore deployment
Chapter 05
05

MCP server — natural-language sensor queries

Model Context Protocol · tool descriptions · WoT bridge
Chapter 06
06

Two A2A agents coordinating

Shenzhen PCB-coordination scenario · A2A v1.2
Chapter 07
07

Pi AI HAT+ edge inference → anomaly map

Hailo · BanjirWatch flood model · MQTT labels
Chapter 08
08

DePIN node + token reward dashboard

ATECC608B attestation · NodeRegistry contract · 3-tier rewards
Chapter 09
09

x402 priced endpoints + auto-paying agent

HTTP 402 · revenue counter · Málaga SolarStream scenario
Chapter 10
Browse all builds → CityScope on GitHub →
Vlad M. Trifa
“This is not a theoretical book. Every build in it has been run on real hardware — it breaks where reality breaks.”

Fifteen years across MIT, ETH Zürich, EPFL and two exited startups. There's a lot more — the full story, the other work, and how to get in touch — on my personal site.

PhD — MITPhD — ETH ZürichMSc — EPFLCo-founder, EVRYTHNG ($85M+, acquired)
Learn more at vladtrifa.com →
Questions

Honest answers.

What formats? Is it DRM-free?
PDF and ePub, both DRM-free, both included in every digital purchase. Print is sold separately via Amazon KDP (~€40, link on this page once it lists).
What if the protocols change after I buy?
Lifetime updates for digital buyers. Protocols like MCP, A2A, and x402 are still moving — when a meaningful change lands, you'll get the revised chapter in your account.
Is the code on GitHub?
Yes. github.com/city-of-bits/cityscope — MIT-licensed, runs in simulation mode with zero hardware.
Do I need a Raspberry Pi to follow along?
No. Every build has a simulator that runs on any machine with Node 24 + Docker. A real Pi + SEN55 (~€45 total) makes Build 1 satisfyingly tangible, but it's optional throughout.
Can I buy for my team?
Yes — team license is €99 for five seats. Email [email protected] with your invoicing details and we'll get you set up.
Why is Chapter 1 free?
Because the only way to know whether the voice and depth are right for you is to read a chapter. If Chapter 1 doesn't earn the rest of the book, the rest of the book won't earn it either.