When people use the term ‘smart cities’ they are usually referring to new technologies that will help cities to be more efficient, environmentally friendly, provide better transport and mobility and offer the public services that residents need. Smart city technology that will implement these goals usually focuses on the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data analytics which together form the basis for a smart city.
In general terms, Smart city technology to improve services and the lived experience of their residents. By using IoT sensors and other connected devices the smart city is connected into a network where applications running on it gather and analyze the data that is collected (such as traffic congestion, availability of public services and air quality) in order to manage it and provide insights. These insights are then used to make improvements to city services.
Most major cities around the world are implementing smart technology and solutions, not only because it is desirable in itself but to solve pressing problems that cities are experiencing. Urban environments need to be greener to meet the challenges of city hot spots caused by climate change, for example. Clean air and water are also becoming significant issues and there is an increasing belief that their availability is a basic health right, Improvements in transportation and mobility feed into this by ensuring that unnecessary pollution is reduced as much as possible by limiting the number of vehicles that are used in city centers.
To make successful changes to large urban areas, however, being able to analyze the data about existing infrastructure and usage is vital – in fact the concept of the smart city fundamentally relies on this information to be, in effect, ‘smart’. Advances in IoT technology and their rollout into every aspect of the city’s technology is required. The management and processing of the huge datasets that these devices will provide can only be done with advances in big data processing capabilities and the use of AI technologies to find patterns and draw conclusions from them.
Advances in robotics are also likely to play a large part in implementing the goals of the smart city and will become a part of everyday life. The ability to automate certain repetitive and mundane tasks (such as garbage collection, package delivery and other services) and the ability to apply resources quickly and automatically based on different levels of need at different times will streamline the provision of fundamental services to smart city residents.
