Get ready to be guinea pigs, Chicago. The Chicago-based research group UI Labs announced Monday plans to open CityWorks, a R&D outfit that would make Chicago a testing ground for urban innovations. CityWorks's creators say Chicago is an ideal place to develop and test solutions to urban problems because of its status as a major North American transportation hub, its diverse economy, and its top tier universities and research institutions. CityWorks will help develop six to eight ideas in 2015, ranging from energy and transportation infrastructure to water and sanitation, Curbed reports. It will also award grants to researchers focused on the Internet of Things, an emerging technology field that uses everyday electronics, from stoplights to wristwatches, to collect and analyze user data. CityWorks's founding partners include the software and tech giants Microsoft, Accenture, ComEd, and Siemens. [Curbed]