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The ongoing discussion and debate on the importance of Smart Cities often neglect the Internet of Things, the essential component for holding Smart Cities together through the networks designed to enable communication across a myriad of sensors embedded in practically everything.
The prediction that 60% of the earth’ s population will live in metropolitan areas by 2030 spurs on a modern-day space race between cities in order to earn the time of “Smart City’, by applying smart technologies and application that improve sustainability, system automation, quality of life and other key areas. The Internet of Things (IoT) is an essential component for the functioning of all these technologies and applications.
A step that is currently being taken in the evolution of Smart Cities is the integration of individual smart technologies or solutions with each other and within the city infrastructure, such as its transportation network. In this context, with networks integrated with each other and in constant communication, reliable connectivity is essential for the efficiency and effectiveness of the city. The further evolution of smart transport, with the application of machine-to-machine communication, which will be a prerequisite of the expected autonomous vehicle revolution, increases the importance of connectivity even more.
This connectivity is possible only thanks to the Internet of Things. After being set up, IoT networks need frequent benchmarking in order to ensure stability and performance, and testing and monitoring in order to catch faults before they have an impact on the city. In addition, the IoT will play an important role in efficient energy consumption, as IoT system can monitor heating, cooling, lighting and all energy-related systems, reducing power consumption, cost and damage to the environment.
The continued evolution and deployment of smart city technology are very much dependent on the growth and integration of the many systems and networks that connect all the elements of a smart city. These transmission paths must be reliable and robust, must interconnect between networks and must be monitored.
In short, it is essential that the Internet of Things networks are not only installed but also systematically monitored, evaluated and benchmark, to ensure that all Smart City services are running properly and efficiently. In the fervor of municipal advancement as the smart city revolution takes hold and expands, it is easy to forget the importance of such a system of check and balanced, which holds smart cities together.
The original article by Paul Carter can be found at GCN.