Smart Cities Internet of Things technology is going to affect every field of application related to human life on earth. Somewhat similar to the famous industrial revolution which brought a positive impact on everyone’s life, IoT or Internet of Things will also affect mankind in a number of different ways. First and foremost, the application of IoT is not limited to any particular sector and the fact that it is capable of providing wireless connectivity to all physical media; hence making it possible for all physical entities to communicate with each other without the need of any kind of third- party intervention.
Whether we are talking about human to human interaction, human to machine or machine to machine transfer of information, with the help of Internet of Things technology, all physical and natural entities across the globe will be able to lead a more convenient as well as smart life. Now that we know how IoT will lead us towards a smarter planet, let us take a look at some of the examples on how Internet of Things is making our cities smarter.
Smart Cities Internet of Things Applications & Examples
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Santander, Spain – uses IoT technology
The Spanish city of Santander is undoubtedly one of the smartest cities in the world, thanks to the use of IoT technology throughout its common areas of working and traffic regulation. Under a project promoted by the European Union, 15 different institutions as well as companies such as Ericsson, Telefonica and Telefonica I+D and several universities as well as research centers across Germany, Spain, Denmark, UK, Australia and Greece were given the responsibility to turn this Spanish city into a smart city with the help of IoT technology.
Application: With the use of over 20,000 sensors, electronic device, mobiles and cameras installed throughout this city, a number of day to day intelligence tasks are carried out with utmost ease. These include information on public transportation timetables, conditions, advices for traffic, water needs, information regarding the quality of air and much more. As a result of this upgrade, the city of Santander has also earned the Future Internet Award.
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New York City, USA – IoT Technology Example
When we talk about smart and next generation cities across the globe, how can New York be left behind? Giving a more innovative twist to the concept of IoT smart city, citizens of this mega city are making use of smart phones, DIY (Do It Yourself) sensors as well as applications for solving problems that concern the city of New York.
Application: In New York, there is a special app designed along with DIY sensors which the citizens are using for the purpose of saving the city from a crucial issue regarding its water and sewage. At times of heavy rainfall, raw sewage gets pumped onto the harbor of New York City at a rate of 27 billion gallons per year. With the use of the sensors, water level is determined at the time of overflowing sewage and with the help of the smart phone application “Don’t’ Flush Me”, all citizens get to know when it is the right time to flush water.
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Aguas de Sao Pedro, Brazil – Smart City IoT Example
Telefonica Vivo is a trusted customer of Ericsson and it has helped the city of Aguas de Sao Pedro in Brazil in turning into a smart city with the help of various aspects of the Internet of Things technology. Situated exactly 187 kilometers outside the city of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Aguas de Sao Pedro is Brazil’s very first digital smart city. Based on the results of IoT technology on this pilot city, it will be considered whether such implementation of new- age IoT technology should be carried out across major cities like Sao Paulo and others.
Application: With the help of IoT, the urban population in Brazil is highly connected with more than 84 percent of residents in Sao Paulo using their smart phones on their everyday commute. This has given this city the power to have better quality of living along with providing smart city services and benefits to the middle class residing here. This application of IoT in creating a smart city may appear to be a little out of the box, but it is to be taken into consideration that in order to develop a smart city, the citizens have to be digitally smart first.
Not only these, rather there are several smart cities across countries like China, UK, South Korea, Dubai and some parts of Europe which have also adopted the idea of making their cities digitally smarter with the help of IoT technology.
Currently, there is an ongoing race to make cities smarter and more efficient and this can only be achieved through a mutual partnership between citizens, businesses as well as the governments, who can all reap the benefits of a well- connected society. These three cities are the perfect Smart Cities Internet of Things examples.
