Smart City Services
Our IoT technology is at the heart of the world’s new smart cities. They enable a range of people-friendly solutions, such as intelligent transport, improved safety and security and remote monitoring and maintenance of public facilities. Smart cities are necessary to adapt to the demands of urban growth. IoT technology lies at the heart of a smart city, improving the lives of the citizens within it. The IoT-enabled smart city can reroute traffic around congestion in real time, automatically schedule repairs for failed infrastructure like street lighting or bridges, and intelligently manage energy use and pollution right across the built environment. It can protect citizens and businesses from crime more effectively, and safeguard vulnerable citizens in their homes.
Smart city services include services for public safety and emergencies. Below are the key areas where IoT and connected technologies can help:
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Smart Kiosk:
Smart kiosks play an important role in providing different city services to the public such as Wi-Fi services, 24×7 IP surveillance cameras and analytics, Digital signage for advertisement and public announcements. In some cases, free video calling and free mobile charging station, as well as environmental sensor integration can also be implemented. Smart kiosks also provide information about restaurants, retail stores, and events in the immediate area. It can also provide mapping for visitors and can sync with smartphones to give additional data as needed. -
Monitoring of Risky Areas:
Sensors (cameras, street lights) and actuators for real-time monitoring can be implemented in risky areas or areas prone to accidents. Upon detecting any crime, or mishap, these sensors can alert the citizens to avoid such areas temporarily.
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Public Security:
IoT sensors can be installed at public organizations and houses to protect citizens and provide real-time information to fire and police departments when it detects a theft. Applications using real-time crime mapping, for example, use statistical analysis to detect crime patterns and identify problematic zones, predicting the incidence of crime. This allows police forces to reinforce security in these areas. One example was the trial of HunchLab, a predictive technology solution in New York City which significantly lowered crime.
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Fire/Explosion Management:
Smart fire sensors can detect and automatically take actions based on the level of severity, such as detecting false alarms, informing firefighters and ambulance, blocking off nearby streets/buildings on the requirement, helping people to evacuate, and coordinating rescue drones and robots.
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Automatic Health-Care Dispatch:
Smart healthcare devices can be implemented at public places to provide 24/7 health care for patients like dispensing medicines and drugs to patients. These devices can also be used to call an ambulance to pick up the patients in cases of emergencies.
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5G Connectivity:
Smart city technologies require connectivity to work. 5G cells provide urban areas with a strong connection between millions of devices and sensors, enabling the IoT to work efficiently. Therefore, cities like London are installing 5G cells across the city, using drones to identify available spaces.
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Geospatial technology:
Urban planning requires geolocation accuracy and detailed geographic data. Smart cities rely on technologies such as Global Positioning System (GPS) for transportation management and connected vehicles. The Geographical Information System (GIS) helps city planners to build an urban digital model with georeferenced data. This enables building engineers, for example, to determine the best route for bicycle lanes or where to locate multimodal transport stations. In the case of new cities such as Belmont, USA, city planners use geospatial technologies to design residential and urban areas in a way that promotes walking commuting
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Robotics:
Robots left scientific movies to become part of everyday life. The integration of robotics aims to improve city operations, such as using drones for postal services. Cities such as Dubai, Singapore and Tokyo are at the forefront of this trend, introducing humanoids for services such as room service in hotels, surveillance and to attend the information desk at public offices.
For example, visitors to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are going to get help to communicate in Japanese from humanoid robotic translators. Meanwhile, in Dubai, Robocop is not a fantasy anymore, since the city is testing humanoid police officers with the intention to replace 25 percent of their police force by 2030.
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Faster commutes:
For most city residents, improving the daily commuting time is basic for a good quality of life. Cities that have smart-mobility applications in place can reduce commuting time by as much as 20 percent on average. Multimodal mobility solutions allow passengers to choose between all available transportation options. This results in lower car usage since residents can opt for the transportation mode that better suits them at the moment.
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Economic prosperity:
Smart cities tend to attract technology companies and talent. This, in turn, attracts venture capital to the cities. Cities like London and New York have received an influx of investment capital thanks to their smart initiatives.
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Greener environment:
Environmental concerns are at the core of every smart city strategy. Smart cities aim to reduce pollution and emissions, through smart urban planning and transportation management. When people walk and use multimodal mobility, the result is fewer cars on the streets, reducing emissions. Smart cities are also characterized by the smart management of their resources.
