In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks with Jim Shea, Founder and CEO of Deepsig.

Accenture on Wednesday opened its Cyber Fusion Center in Arlington, a facility designed to help organizations to defend against data breaches and cyberattacks.

The company plans to add 1,000 technology jobs in the Washington metro region by the end of 2020 in high-growth areas such as security, digital and cloud.

In addition to the new Cyber Fusion Center, Accenture’s innovation hub in metro D.C. includes an Accenture Lab and a Fjord Studio to facilitate a design-thinking approach to problem solving, and leverage relationships with local economic accelerators and startups.

WASHINGTON — For the fourth straight year, D.C. ranks No. 1 on a list of Best Cities for Women in Tech, compiled by personal finance advice website SmartAsset.

SmartAsset compiles its annual list based on the gender pay gap, income after housing costs, women’s representation in the IT workforce and four-year percentage growth in IT employment.

Two other cities in the area are on the list: Baltimore ranks No. 3 and Arlington, Virginia is tied with St. Paul, Minnesota for sixth.

Most drivers today depend on hand gestures, or “the wave,” to communicate with pedestrians and cyclists, as well as one another. However, as the industry continues to make strides toward an autonomous future, automakers will eventually need to find an effective way for their self-driving cars to tell walkers when it is safe or appropriate to cross the street.

Ford is already aware of this predicament and last month entrusted the help of Virginia Tech Transportation Institute to conduct an experiment to see how people would interact with a driverless vehicle.

ARLINGTON (ABC7) — People in Arlington might remember doing a double take last month seeing what appeared to be a driverless car. But it turns out someone was behind the wheel in a very distinct and strange way.

Ford, which is partnering with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, posted a video on the study that took place.

You can see a man putting on a "seat suit" to conceal the driver and simulate a driverless car since the actual driverless car isn't quite ready for prime time.

Education is supposed to illuminate metaphorical lights in students’ minds, but teenagers who took part in the Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab had the chance to light real ones.

The ninth- and 10th-graders from Arlington Tech High School who took part Aug. 17 in the second of two lab sessions, held at the Virginia Tech Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church, learned how to draw an electrical schematic for a basic traffic light, then assembled components and keyed in computer codes to make the miniature red, amber and green bulbs light up.

If you’re a millennial thinking about moving to a new city, you’re likely mulling over its job market, cost of living and tendency for sunny days. But perhaps you’re also considering whether a city has a vibrant, diverse community.

Niche, a website that ranks schools and neighborhoods, released its annual list of the best cities for millennials. The list puts an emphasis on how many bars, coffee shops and restaurants are accessible to a city’s residents — these factors make up nearly 40% of the ranking.

Arlington has ranked No. 19 on Livability.com's list of the Top 100 Best Places to Live. The study says Arlington's perfect blend of both urban and suburban make it one of the most highly desirable places to live in the Washington, D.C. area.

Also in the top 20 out of 100 are Charlottesville, Virginia and Rockville and Columbia in Maryland. Other regional communities on the list are:

• No. 27 Fairfax, Virginia
• No. 29 Bethesda, Maryland
• No. 32 Alexandria, Virginia
• No. 58 Reston, Virginia
• No. 63 Ellicott City Maryland
• No. 80 Ashburn, Virginia
• No. 88 Burke, Virginia

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Arlington, Virginia, located just steps from the nation's capital and quickly becoming established as a major tech startup hub on the East Coast, is starting off the new year with an incredible opportunity for technology startups. Startup Arlington is a competition that will give one tech startup the opportunity to discover the opportunities and resources available in Arlington with three months of free living space, office space, transportation amenities and $25,000 of investment.

New report focuses on building the workforce for the 21^st Century economy

(15 December 2016 – New York City) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) today released a new research report, Ladders of Opportunity: Growing and Retaining Tomorrow’s Talent. It details how Intelligent Communities create a system and structure that prepares their children and youth for the high demands and entrepreneurial opportunities of tomorrow’s workforce.  The principles of workforce development are illustrated in depth by the strategies and experiences of four Intelligent Communities in North America, Europe and Asia.