Smart Cities

Cities are the pulse of any nation. Vibrant and ever changing, they help citizens live in an environment that helps them grow as a community. Each city offers a unique lifestyle, and each city has its own characteristics. Technological progress has impacted our lifestyle, and cities are not an exception. In fact, as population of the cities grow due to increasing urbanization, many cities are forced to turn to technology and advanced networks to help them manage resources properly. Take the simple example of paying your electricity bill. Till a few years back, you needed to visit the local electric company office (State Electricity Boards, as far as India is concerned), and pay by cash or cheque. Ditto your phone bills. All these utilities have gone digital now, and you can easily pay most bills online. It is now the preferred choice of city dwellers to not only pay bills, but shop and even purchase software online as it saves them time.The model of cities, based on a network of infrastructure like roads, transportation, healthcare, entertainment, water supply, electricity, is all set to be replaced by digital technology. Called as ‘smart city’, the goal of thisradical transformation is to improve the quality andthe sustainability of life of its citizens through application of innovative Information technology. While there is no common consensus yet as to what exactly constitutes a 'smart city', the tacit assumption is that a smart city is one that is governed by digital information technology as the principal infrastructure.A smart city will have sustainable economic development and high quality of life that is made possible by using different types of electronic data collected via numerous sensors. These sensors will generate data that will be used to manage smart infrastructure and resources efficiently. In a smart city, buildings, cars and machines will be connected via IoT, constantly transmitting data to improve and develop the city. Smart cities will also have e-learning education and 24/7 healthcare, providing modern services to all its inhabitants.

Let’s illustrate a few scenarios in the smart cities of the future.

• You want to reach office, and there are a couple of ways to reach it. Your smart car communicates with the traffic controller and informs you the best possible route that has the least traffic.
• At a busy intersection, the signal senses the traffic density, and automatically adjusts the signals to ensure maximum flow of traffic with the least amount of delay.
• There are designated smoking areas in a commercial complex. If anyone is seen smoking outside these areas, the system automatically alerts the security.
• Smart waste management systems take inputs from sensors positioned in waste bins to measure fill levels and alerts garbage collectors. This ensures that the workers pick the most utilized garbage bins rather than using predefined routes that may not have any garbage in the bins stationed there.
• IoT enabled sensors deployed at strategic locations in cities collect and monitor important air quality data that includes levels of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and alert authorities in case some emissions exceed the safe limits.

These are a few simple real-life instances of how IoT can help smart cities.  In addition, smart cities will be able to monitor day to day environmental conditions with the help of sensors, monitor health real-time with the help of smart wearable devices, and provide enhanced monitoring and security to private residential, commercial,and public locations. They can offer remote surveillance, remote alarm,personal tracking, and public infrastructure protection. Smart cities will also better manage utilities like waterand electricity. Smart cities are not a dream anymore – some countries like Singapore, U.S.A and some countries in Europe have already started implementing the smart city concept in phases. India too has started implementing a ‘smart city’ policy that will change lifestyle of Indian cities in the near future.

IoT – Key Enabler for Smart Cities
Internet of Things – or IoT – is slated to play a stellar role in enabling smart cities. The term Internet of Things (IoT) was first coined by Kevin Ashton in the late90s. According to IoT paradigm, everything and everyone can be part of the Internet. This vision redefines the way people interact with each other and objects they are surrounded by. IoT is nothing but a complex network connecting billions of devices and humans into a multi-technology, multi-protocol and multi-platform infrastructure. It is envisaged that IoT will create a world where the physical, the digital and the virtual converge to create smart environments that provide more intelligence to all facets of human life.In other words, IoT will enable different devices to not only communicate with each other, but also make intelligent use of the data that each device generates. This will be achieved by having the objects that we manipulate daily to be outfitted with sensing, identification and positioning devices and allotted a unique IP address to become smart objects. All such smart objects, identified by their IP, will be capable of communicating with not only other smart objects but also with humans due to the advances made in the sensing, identification and positioning technologies.Thanks to this communication, it will be able to increase the quality of living in a way hitherto unimaginable.

Of course, smart cities are not only about IoT; it involves a broader spectrum of technologies and players.IoT systems are generally comprised of devices, or objects that need to exchange data with each other, or with a central server.

Smart city Challenges
While a ‘smart city’ is fine as a concept, there are many hurdles to overcome before it becomes a complete reality. Here are a few challenges that smart cities face:

• Apart from IoT, smart cities will rely on machine to machine (M2M) communication, artificial intelligence, smart energy grids, talking and serviceable bots, cybersecurity, etc. And integrating this vast technology platform spectrum poses a major challenge.
• Smart Cities utilize sensor technology to gather and analyze information in an effort to improve the quality of life for residents. Sensors collect data on everything from traffic to level of garbage in garbage bins. It is a real challenge to install these sensors and more importantly, ensure their safety.
• Smart cities are all about data and its management. As IoT and sensor technology use will expand, so will the threat of hacking all this data. All of us are already aware of hacking and its consequences; one cannot imagine what havoc miscreants will wreck if they can get their hands on such vast data.
• Another important concern is privacy. While everybody likes to be secure, no one wants their privacy compromised. Smart cities will need to maintain a fine balance between security and privacy.

To conclude, smart cities, enabled largely by IoT, look promising. However, there are a few hurdles to cross – technical, legal and ethical – before they become a reality.