San Jose, the home of American high-tech companies, is aiming  at using technology to better serve the residents, including setting up of   wireless nodes that will be used in a pilot to become a smart or connected city.

Sensors on the device will help the city improve traffic flow and reduce energy use, officials hope.

A Smart City Vision for San Jose provides a framework aimed at making the city become the most innovative in the nation by 2020.

In a unanimous vote, the City Council has passed the vision that will help guide the city with basic values and desired outcomes in using technology to help serve its residents, Mayor Sam Liccardo said.

The vision comes as the city has stabilized itself after eight years of “fiscal tightening” and is rebuilding services by looking into new ways of working, said Shireen Santosham, the mayor’s chief innovation officer.

“Few cities in the world have actually accomplished this sort of unified digital strategy for the city,” she said.

“We’re looking for transformative technology that will really shape the way we live and work in the future,” she said.

Partnerships with universities, the private sector and other organizations will help bring the projects to fruition, Santosham said.