Thanks to rapidly growing technology, our urban areas are increasingly relying on IoT solutions to function optimally. By 2040, roughly 65% of the world’s population will be living in a city or urbanized area. The number of megacities, or a city with a population of 10+ million people, is increasing each decade. This means a shift in economic effect and growing environmental influence.
What does this mean for IoT applications in these smart cities, and how does IoT management connect these solutions needed to optimize different platforms in a city?
Smart infrastructure remains a necessary building block — quite literally — for urbanized smart cities. Urban landscapes use smart monitoring devices that sensor and track electricity usage, providing cities with better energy control and servicing their environmental footprint.
Energy usage, such as heating and lighting, consumes almost a fifth of the world’s total electricity usage. This IoT application provides a smarter, more sustainable solution to achieve improved energy distribution.
Smart cities also use IoT technology to streamline waste collection. This allows management companies to “optimize efficiency and reduce operational costs”. Smart waste containers use sensor technology to collect data on the levels of waste in the bin.
This data is then sent to the waste company, notifying them of the threshold when met. This solution helps manage pick-up schedules and reduces the need for unnecessary waste collection, resulting in lower costs and a greener city environment.
Smart cities are an excellent example of how our society can resolve environmental problems; however, with that comes the large amount of people residing in these areas. This results in a surplus of traffic and parking complications.
IoT technology implements smart resources to enhance traffic patterns. Much like infrastructure and waste management solutions, sensors connect traffic lights and pavements to send data from car movement, signaling real-time updates for an optimized traffic flow. Drivers with electric vehicles should also expect a shift in connectivity for parking. Smart cities are beginning to utilize sensors in parking areas to notify drivers of available spaces via a mobile app.
There are many megacities that exist today that implement smart IoT solutions into their urban landscape.
New York City revealed its goal for a connected car program. The plan is to collect data on poor driving conditions and find ways to alleviate the problems with IoT technology. Chicago has incorporated not only waste, traffic, and infrastructure sensors, but also water sensors to help monitor the levels of the river. This technology provides flood tracking, resulting in safety and security for city residents.
While the use of IoT technology for smart cities grows, so too do the challenges of implementing these massive IoT applications. The barriers don’t stop at deployment, either — managing and scaling smart city solutions is daunting for urban areas across the globe. KORE understands the complexity of massive IoT use cases like smart cities, and we walk our customers through a series of 49 considerations to help ensure the success of their IoT initiatives.
Download the eBook, “Why IoT Projects Fail: Six Critical Capabilities You Need to Consider,” for an in-depth look into the challenges facing companies as they look to launch an IoT initiative.