Smart Cities & The Internet of Things (IoT)

Scaleability, interoperability, the active role of makers, open hardware, open software, crowdfunding -- some of the drivers of the growth of the Internet of Things. Anything with an on-off switch has the potential to be part of the Internet of Things... interesting discussion from two industry players and insightful questions from Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft Research may have a solution that will bring 3D printing and the Internet of Things together without the limitations of RFID or visual encoding. Using 3D printing, researchers can build unique three-dimensional codes right inside the material of the object.

As today’s technology gives people the ability to work more quickly, powerfully and efficiently, it’s now beginning to do the same for our cities. “Smart Cities” projects are underway in Europe, Asia and other areas worldwide, and are making important strides in dealing with urban issues such as noise, lighting, air quality, waste management, infrastructure, traffic, and, yes, parking. 

In the case of parking solutions, wireless sensor networks can be deployed along with actuators, cameras and displays to gather data and communicate information to citizens. The benefits are easy to understand: both for the consumer and for the municipality.

The sensor nodes themselves are prime examples of sustainable, low-energy consumption “smart” devices. They rely on little power, and their communication protocols have been designed for long-term usage.

Such low maintenance makes it possible to deploy networks with hundreds of nodes relatively easily, giving cities the opportunity to ramp up smart parking solutions with widespread coverage and to add new services without the need to interrupt the network. 

The BBC asked a range of experts to describe life in their own smart city: London, New York, Singapore, Rio de Janeiro...

Hugh Aldridge thinks that research (validation and ideation) should be an essential part of any smarter city project -- to evaluate impacts, qualify benefits and bring an independent voice to the matter.

He says that universities as local employers and as corporate citizens are in a unique position to contribute to realizing a city’s vision to be smart, sustainable and successful.  Their particular combination of assets – buildings, roads, parks, etc. – with trained researchers and with their students, a ready and willing population of research ‘subjects’ and participants makes them an asset that a city and its partners can leverage to develop, demonstrate and evaluate new approaches to city management. 

Hugh Aldrige is the Director of the Cities Initiative at the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society, a research institute of the University of California, Berkeley.

Gehl is probably one of the foremost proponents of public spaces in the world, he was quick to clarify an important point: Cities should not focus on public spaces, but on people's behavior.

The article, video and live chat in Future Cities takes a look at how strong public policies are putting "people" back into planning, in cities such as Copenhagen, New York, Los Angeles and even Moscow.

I found the comments to Charles Murray's article to be a great read. 
The debate is on... 

The competition is modelled on a Bloomberg Philanthropies contest that awarded $9million (£5.6million) to five US cities this year.

The European version is looking for novel ideas that solve problems or make government more efficient or citizen friendly.

It is open to cities with 100,000 or more residents in 40 countries. Winners of a 5million euro grand prize and four 1million euro awards will be announced next autumn (2014).

This article by IBM's Rick Robinson explores the relationship between urban data, technology and quality of life, in a very interesting read.

Private and public entities are engaged in the rebuild of the city of Christchurch, aggregating data from public- and private assets, a sensor overlay, system integrator involvement, and not forgetting to create safeguards that ensure citizen privacy and protect other sensitive data. 

Also: because data sets are managed through a unified data model, public entities, companies and citizens can innovate and improve...

Libelium is a company that is enabling the Internet of Things, with its modular open source wireless sensor platform, Waspmote.