Brave New World and the Cities of the Future

I hope you watched Brave New World on Netflix. 

Or at least, that you’re familiar with this brilliant futuristic dystopia by Aldous Huxley.

So, let’s talk about the cities of the future and the infrastructure.

Half of the Earth’s population lives in urban areas today. 

It is estimated that this percentage will rise to 60% by the year 2050. 

The amount of people living in these megalopolises puts an enormous strain on the environment and resources. Governance and technology are also subjected to this growing strain.

Let me paint the picture for you with this example. 

If the entire population of our planet, for instance, gets moved to the Republic of South Africa, the population density would still be significantly lower than it is in Tokyo today.

We started to devise plans for transforming urban areas into smart cities. We are talking about traffic, parking, railway system, infrastructure, water, food, and other supplies. 

The value IoT provides is hidden in all of the data that gets collected on this network. Interpreting this data gives important insights into all of the crucial aspects of life in the city. 

And this is exactly where the problem lies. 

Cities need to have an infrastructure that supports IoT, along with custom made software that will store and analyze the copious amounts of data collected through sensors and various devices. 

Over the last few decades, we have developed a strong car culture, which means that no matter how good public transportation is, in most of the world’s largest cities, people will always prefer driving their cars to work.

This inevitably results in high traffic during the peak hours of the day. Making the city’s traffic smart by installing tracking sensors and cameras on major intersections throughout the city can benefit the traffic system in many different ways.

The majority of polluting gas gets emitted during the stop-start driving that happens in spots where traffic is regulated by lights. By making traffic smart, you can also reduce it.

Smart traffic can also be used to smooth out public transportation traffic during rush hours. 

This has to be done because busses take up much of the space and are significantly slower than cars. Smart traffic can ensure that every bus gets through the “green wave” thus significantly improving the traffic flow. 

With IoT powered traffic management systems, the response time to traffic incidents becomes much shorter. All of the data can be gathered and analyzed in real-time, which allows the system to make real-time adjustments to traffic regulation via traffic lights.

The idea behind the smart rails is to take the load of the road traffic, ensure that commuters get to work on time, prevent pollution from greenhouse gasses, and increase the safety of the passengers. 

Smart rail also affects the traffic by making the transition from rail transportation to buses and other transportation means more synchronized.

By analyzing all of the data we can identify and analyze the commuting patterns.

This data is then used for real-time adjustments to the train schedule. Furthermore, by comparing the data received by the system handling the traffic lights and bus schedule, smart rail management systems can adjust the schedule so that passengers arrive in time to make a smooth transition to a bus.

Synchronizing data from the rail and car traffic also empowers the system to calculate for how long the gates at the rail crossings should be kept closed. This significantly improves the traffic flow during rush hours.

Also, a computerized system keeps track of all the trains’ locations at all times, preventing any collisions from occurring. Smart rails in cities and those that connect cities have the potential to prevent traffic jams, increase the flow of traffic, and significantly reduce pollution in urban areas.  

The unique way of applying digital infrastructure composed of Machine Learning, Big Data, Sensors, IoT, Networks, etc. to physical infrastructure allows the systems in place to provide accurate real-time information feed. 

Faster, cheaper, and better decision-making can then be used in areas of physical infrastructure.

When we talk about physical city infrastructure, we are referring to transport, energy, water, telecommunications, and waste. And we already have examples of IoT implementations in the real world, making each of these aspects smart. 

Singapore and Barcelona, for example.

Other smart city initiatives include the implementation of smart cooling systems, smart windows, and other smart infrastructure perks that increase the efficiency of using current technologies. Let’s not forget the benefits of having a free-flowing Wi-Fi ecosystem throughout the entire urban area. 

All these IoT implementations help citizens, industries, and the environment to thrive. 

Let’s start with IoT and water management, as well as the gas and electric utilities.

The devices that allow this implementation are called smart meters. When cities attach these devices to their smart system, every company that supplies energy to buildings can do this more efficiently.

Big cities put enormous strain on water supplies. This is why it has become very important to conserve water. IoT helps in water conservation by allowing water utility companies to use sensors that track water consumption, pressure, temperature, and quality. Companies and citizens have a direct insight into the values such as average water consumption per household and the ability to compare it to their current one. 

Water leak detectors are also gaining in popularity, since they both prevent serious water damage to households, but also allow water utility companies to prevent water leaks that might cause water shortage during hot months.

Smart meters are also used in homes to help users determine their energy consumption. This monitoring proved to have a significant financial effect. 

Be smart, save the water, save energy.

We’ll need it for the future generations that will come.

#future #iot #ecology