As of 2050, 68% of the total increase in the global population will live in urban areas, which introduces the concept of smart cities.
Here, buildings, cars, appliances, and infrastructure all connect and communicate with each other like smart devices. The expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT), or the increase in the number of connected devices, will help influence and enhance the effectiveness and logistical efficiency of urban life. Now that the networks needed to support smart city bandwidth and 5G connectivity are here, this is no longer a vision of the future, but a realistic feat.
Smart cities use sensors, actuators, cables and other technologies to connect components throughout the city, from the sky down to the streets. Sensors collect information, cables transmit information, and actuators use this information to perform actions. Sensors will collect specialized information, such as data related to travel or traffic. With this information, people can understand public transportation information in real time and perform predictive maintenance on transportation infrastructure. A variety of actuators and microchips can control smart traffic signals, navigate self-driving shared vehicles or micro-transits, and guide smart parking.
There are also a number of data-driven decisions that can be made using the vast amount of smart city data. A prime example of this is urban safety and law enforcement. Officials can use the same connected technology to enhance city safety, with applications ranging from predictive policing, real-time crime mapping, gunshot detection, smart surveillance, emergency response optimization, disaster warning systems, personal alarm applications, home security systems, data-driven Building detection and crowd management.
