Smart Cities & The Internet of Things (IoT)

Dublin has a range of cutting-edge technology projects underway, but the one that Smart City Program Manager Jamie Cudden is particularly excited about is the Academy of the Near Future.

The education and skills programme, a collaboration between CONNECT at Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City Council and the Smart Docklands testbed, aims to bring a broader range of people into the conversation about new technologies through interactive workshops, hands-on activities and online resources.

“There’s all this technology and it’s moving so fast, but we need to educate people in the public sector and citizens about the potential of these technologies, what the risks are and how we can make the most of new tools,” Cudden says.

While there are a growing number of academic courses about smart cities and data, Cudden saw a gap for practical sessions based on real-life implementations and experience. Through the Academy, local authority staff and secondary school students get the chance to see sensors in action, understand how they work and prototype their own solutions.

A Global Shift

Over the coming decades, the large-scale role of cities will become even more amplified as rapid urbanization spills over to the rest of the world.

Billions of people — especially in Asia and Africa — will be seeking opportunities in cities over the coming decades. Between 2018 and 2050, the global urban population will increase from 55% to 68%, adding another 2.5 billion people to cities around the world.

Nearly 90% of this growth will be in Africa and Asia, with India alone adding 416 million new people to its cities — more than any other country in the world over this timeframe.

Not all cities can be as car-free as Venice - but all city planners can bring pedestrians and cyclists to the forefront #smartcities #IoT 

New trends and business models for the IoT are emerging, and the way we plan, envision, and discuss the IoT will likely change in 2019. More Human-IoT Interaction Sensor data is a core component of IoT technology, but most sensors in use today monitor machinery or tech infrastructure. Employees can be expected to interact more with IoT technology, according to a recent McKinsey study. 

A walking city is a smart city,  where you can leave the car out of the equation and lose the noise and pollution. It's possible, even in large capital cities.

"...and all urban design should think first about the only transit equipment that comes factory-standard for the average human being — our feet."

In September 2015, the FBI released an official warning to the public about the dangers of the Internet of Things (IoT) ㄧ Have our devices become any safer since?

One challenge is that many companies deploying IoT PoCs give short shrift to security until they are focused on rolling it out to the production scale.  Nevertheless, interest in IoT cybersecurity is building given a growing number of hacks with an IoT component. But addressing the problem isn’t easy. 

Like IoT itself, there are few one-size-fits-all solutions when it comes to IoT security.

The project aims to obtain predictive behavior patterns in the vineyard relating to grape quality, production, biological cycles, potential pests, and plant diseases.

The IoT technology has been provided by Libelium, a Zaragoza company created by Alicia Asín and David Gascón in 2006, which sells a hardware and software platform to "connect any sensor to any cloud using any wireless technology", including industrial protocols such as CAN bus.

Building a smart city is ultimately about creating momentum throughout society to deploy tech for public good. 

Gloria Lomana interviews Alicia Asin, Libelium CEO in a very interesting place-- the Zaragoza aquarium, where Libelium IoT technology monitors water quality, temperature and a host of other factors in Europe's largest aquarium. Inspiration, technology, work-life balance, Smart Cities and the concept of "datacratization" are covered here. Listen and learn! 

Here's a solution to help urban air management:

IoT technology manufacturer Libelium is offering to install for free its Air Quality Station air pollution analysis metrology devices in cities that meet its set of criteria.

The new Air Quality Station is based on machine learning algorithms and statistical data analysis. The device learns and improves its accuracy as it acquires data that is compared and analysed with those recorded by official reference stations.

“With this new platform, Libelium helps smart cities to add capillarity to their urban air measurement network,” said Alicia Asin, CEO of Libelium.

“Many cities have a single device with high metrological capacity that costs hundreds of thousands of euros so they can only measure pollution levels in a certain location. With IoT technology, more measurement points can be added with quality and precision devices that reduce the required investment to a tenth of the cost.”

Libelium reports it has tested the new technology at five sites with different weather conditions and different pollution levels to feed the artificial intelligence (AI) of the device and provide continuous improvement in the accuracy of the device.

Here's a look at what made headlines in the IoT in 2019; the most important acquisitions, investments, research findings, and announcements.

Smart city solutions will fall into six broad categories, transforming the urban landscape:

1. Infrastructure
Smart lighting is one of the most important solutions that will be implemented in citywide infrastructure. While smart lighting sounds trivial at first glance, it’s worth noting that lighting alone consumes a whopping 19% of the world’s total electricity.

2. Buildings
Heating, energy usage, lighting, and ventilation will be managed and optimized by technology. Solar panels will be integrated into building design, replacing traditional materials. Fire detection and extinguishing is tailored to individual rooms.

3. Utilities
Smart grids (used for energy consumption monitoring and management), water leakage detection, and water potability monitoring are just some smart city aspects on the utilities side.

4. Transport
Intelligent, adaptive fast lanes and slow lanes (cycling, walking) will be implemented, while charging stations through the city will power EVs.

5. Environment
Air pollution control, renewable energy, and waste management solutions will make for greener cities. Rooftop gardens or side vegetation will be integrated into building designs, to help with insulation, provide oxygen, and absorb CO2.

6. Life
There will be citywide Wi-Fi for public use, while real-time updates will provide citizens information on traffic congestion, parking spaces, and other city amenities.

How do you think IoT is changing cities and society?

‘The IoT is creating a data culture by introducing the concept of measure, think, and then make a decision. If you’re the mayor of a city and decide to implement a congestion charge or restrict access to diesel vehicles but you cannot demonstrate the levels of pollution, citizens will think the decision came down to political or ideological reasons. But if you can back up the decision with data, then that’s working towards more transparency.’ - Alicia Asin, CEO & co-founder, Libelium

David Gascón of Libelium brings us one of the most exciting IoT stories out there about collecting data from inside a volcano. He discusses the process of designing and testing an application built for one of earth’s most volatile environments and offers his advice on choosing the right sensors for your IoT application.

San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley,  is upgrading its broadband infrastructure and laying the groundwork for the future deployment of 5G service. 

According to officials, the San Jose agreements with the three carriers represent the largest small cell deployment of any U.S. city. In all, about 4,000 city-owned light polls will get the cells.

So how does a management team decide what it wants from the IoT?

For Stacey Higginbotham, writing in IEEE Spectrum, there are two paths here. The first is to start small with a project that can offer a short-term return on investment (ROI). In a factory, this could mean installing cameras and sensors on a manufacturing line to replace human spot-checkers. 

The second path is a bit more visionary: Build a platform or product that can change your entire business model. For example, in 2015 Emerson Climate Technologies launched a new connected product in its HVAC business. With US $100 worth of sensors per home, the HVAC installer and Emerson could guarantee a period of time that a customer’s heating or cooling system would operate before needing repairs.