About Smart City Technology

Advances in digital technology, particularly the Internet of Things (IoT) and pervasive networking, will lead to smart cities that will help to make urban environments more sustainable and environmentally friendly as well as improving living standards for their inhabitants.

Smart city technology relies on the huge amount of data that is provided by IoT devices. By analyzing this data, smart cities can improve decision-making about resources, have a better understanding of current conditions, be able to forecast changes in these conditions, and thereby optimize city services and functions so that they operate more efficiently.

Following are some of the benefits that smart city technologies will provide:

• Saving Time

By connecting all services that a city provides and delivering them efficiently, it can save residents and business time. Improving travel times within a city can have huge impacts on both the city’s economy and the quality of life for its residents; it could enable residents to quickly access different parts of the city through a connected travel management system, for example, that controls private vehicles and public transport through variable traffic signs and traffic lights that can respond to traffic patterns and manage congestion to improve flow.

• Reducing Costs

Smart cities will be able to reduce costs by conserving their resources, particularly water, gas, and electricity. Energy management systems that are connected to the users of these resources will be able to automate the collection of energy usage data which is used by intelligent systems to improve energy delivery and efficiency. These could, for example, control heating and cooling systems in buildings by using smart shades that respond to the position of the sun or weather conditions or by responding to occupancy levels during different times of the day. Sensors can also be used to inform timely decisions when maintenance is required, thus preventing more costly repairs.

• Improving the Environment

Smart cities will help achieve the goal of sustainability by monitoring environmental conditions and responding to them. As well as efficient use of energy, this can also involve taking air quality readings so that inhabitants can be warned when pollutant levels are high; a smart city could also respond by limiting the number of cars that enter the urban center when pollution is high. Sensors located in a smart city could also be used to pinpoint the source of any pollution that occurs within the city’s environs.

As IoT sensors, and the systems that analyze the data they provide, become more widespread, smart city technology will provide future benefits we cannot even envision today.