Why technology is so important to smart cities?

The dizzying evolution of our society and the transformation of our business fabric into an increasingly hyperconnected world made us live submerged in cities where IoT’s technology and electronic devices are everything.

But becoming a smart city does not only mean to adopt smart technologies in any way, but rather taking advantage of business opportunities to take a step forward by taking on challenges optimizing resources efficiently and having a positive impact on improving services such as telecommunications, transport, health and environment. The objective: of technological innovation of the Internet of things, is to achieve a more sustainable and liveable environment that improves the quality of life of citizens. But how is this achieved? During the following lines, we will discover some keys.

Key objectives of a smart city

The fact that the population is growing in the main urban centres requires the option of technological solutions aimed at the intelligent management of them and the change of our way of life to a more sustainable way, improving the following fundamental aspects:

• Make transport and mobility easier. With an intelligent mobility system, such as that offered by electric cars, the aim is to optimize citizen movement time and also to reduce considerably emissions of polluting gases and particles. Another IoT bet is the introduction of shared transport services, widely used in large cities. Its use is based on Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Systems, that is with a simple app for Smartphones, user can open the car or unlock the bikes to use them as needed paying a small fee. Other elements that promote city sustainability are, for example, Artificial Vision systems, which are already used in Japan’s rail network to check passenger congestion on trains or the creation of intelligent exchanges.
• Reduce pollution, acoustics, light and environment. Among the most advanced technologies, we highlight two: first the implementation of garbage collection systems through sensors in containers, allowing more dynamic routes, saving time, costs and reducing emissions. Second, develop intelligent lighting systems to achieve greater energy efficiency.
• Promote the development of a smart economy. Thanks to the use of IoT technologies, such as digital sensors, satellite images or climate information, sectors such as agriculture will optimize resources and more accurately predict crop yields.
• More transparent public administrations. Ensuring that public institutions have intelligent management. It will not only facilitate access to information and management of administrative procedures for citizens, but will also insure the transparency of the sector itself.
• Improve the quality of the inhabitants. Above all, those aspects related to your health and safety. Thanks to Big Data based systems, we can find similar patterns across diagnosis, facilitate real-time communications between patients, physicians, and pharmacists, monitor their cases, and deliver personalized health services.

What are the best IoT App for a smart city?

There is no doubt that IoT is a tool of enormous potential that allows optimizing services, meeting needs and substantially improving the lives of the inhabitants of a municipality. To achieve this, basic needs applications are developed that help to make this possible. Do you want to know what they are? Here are some of them:

• Intelligent water meters. With this kind of apps it is possible to have a more efficient water supply in the cities, changing the user’s consumption mode. Thanks to these elements, it can improve leak detection and ensure data integrity.
• Smart traffic signs to ease traffic congestion. With these apps, schedules are best adjusted, for example, to adapt the routes to the traffic in the summer periods, thus avoiding the odious traffic jams. IoT tools also allow you to collect and aggregate data from traffic cameras, cell phones, vehicles and road sensors in order to monitor traffic incidents in real time and redirect drivers to the best routes.
• Intelligent systems to efficiently manage energy in buildings. For greater energy savings, for example, in shopping centres, the IoT devices connected to the building’s heating, cooling, lightning and fire safety systems are connected to an intelligent central management app to manage all energy in the most possible efficient way.
• Video monitoring systems to improve public safety. In order to address the growing security problems of citizens in large cities, they are used to cameras that monitor traffic monitor traffic and public roads. To be more efficient, the IoT technology converts each camera connected to the system into a sensor and joins the analysis to the Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning, to solve problems as fast as possible and keep the citizens safe.

Conclusion

Achieve the sustainable and efficient benefits of a smart city that enhances citizens’ quality of life by introducing ways to guide IoT apps to efficiently interpret data generated by smart devices.

But, in order to achieve this, it is necessary for governments to invest in these technologies, to have business models with innovative projects, and companies to direct us towards a future Indústria 4.0 through their digital transformation and service modernization. Do you think we are ready to take the definitive step to the new digital age?

Do you want your company to be part of this future? In Izertis We have experts in IoT that can help you grow and be more competitive, making the most of Internet of things. When do we talk?