IoT for Smart Cities and Smarter Future
Anyone who distinctly remembers the era of Nokia 3310 can vouch on the remarkable evolution in mobile communication. And mostly what has made the technology “smart” is actually the interconnected network (i.e. internet), which enables connectivity and data transmission. That’s how now you can do plethora of tasks on your smartphones. So for a moment imagine taking all the things in the world (which can potentially generate vital data) and connecting them to a network. Simply put this is the concept behind internet of things. The “thing” in subject here can be sensors, actuators, biochips etc. embedded in range of objects varying from pacemakers to automobiles, with given unique identifiers (UINs), communicating via internet protocol in a network and thereby minimizing human-to-machine or even human-to-human interaction to nil.
The major application of IOT is in building smart cities. With continuous rise in population density especially in economic capitals across the world, technology is being leveraged to manage rapid urbanization by creating smart cities which are characterized as being sustainable, resilient and efficient. In year 2015, 193 countries came together to sign the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda at the United Nations. ‘’Sustainable Cities and Communities” is one of the 17 world development goals of this 2030 Agenda. Aiming to achieve these goals IOT is being actively researched on and deployed.
In recent years many smart-city projects have seen successful IOT implementation. London, where car parking is a major issue, a smart parking project has been announced to allow drivers to locate parking spot quickly. Copenhagen, the bike-capital of the world collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop an innovative smart bike system. Sensors are being used to monitor bike traffic in real-time which provides data to improve and manage bike routes. New York Police has tested a very interesting IOT application called gunshot detection system or gunfire locator which detects and notifies a gunfire by using acoustic or optical sensors. Further development to this application will even be able to detect the kind of gun been used.
However it is to note that IOT cannot be claimed under a sole proprietorship. It is an eco-system of partnership between the governments, network providers, enterprises, builders, software developers, energy providers etc. With such a varied array of stakeholders, IOT-based applications demand high accountability, equal participation and active collaboration in order to build, implement and sustain such futuristic yet critical projects. And more often than not, this balancing act of stakeholders is a hurdle in achieving all that technologies like internet of things promise to provide.
