In the last decade, there are a lot of talks about smart cities, though what exactly are they and how “smart” does it have to be to become a smart city?
Frankly speaking, there is no official definition of smart cities, they can be varying among different places due to the culture and planning of the location, but the focus of cities always remains the same – to create a better living environment by using technologies.
The Meaning of Smart
A big part of smart cities is based on the word “smart”, the connotation here is beyond just a description of the solutions, but more like using technologies to improve our life by solving city problems.
With our world developing rapidly, our living environment has been transformed accordingly as well while some of the transformations might not be ideal in the citizen’s viewpoint, mainly due to the inadequate research and development throughout the process. A smart city, however, is surrounding the idea of letting citizens build their own city.
What Makes a Smart City
According to research, the number of connected devices in 2020 is around 35 billion, and the number will rise 4 billion further each year. In another world, the average number of smart devices per person would be over 4.5. These devices are all connected, and they can deliver real-time data to the city to help optimise the city’s performance. With that being said, cities still have to embed sensors across city frameworks in order to apply big data to monitor and improve the enhance the interconnection.
Big Data and IoT in Smart Cities
Big data are basically data that come from everywhere, they can be from weather information, GPS signal from mobile devices, or even posts on social media. There are a few main features of big data that makes it so unique and full of potential, also known as the five Vs:
1. Volume – The gigantic amount of data
2. Variety – The ability to collect data from various sources
3. Velocity – The speedy transmission of data
4. Veracity – The accuracy or truthfulness of the data
5. Value – The actual value that the data creates
In order to achieve its potential, big data requires the right tools and methods.
The term IoT may sound intimidating to some people, but the simplest explanation would be everything that is connected to the internet, from tangible to intangible, from things that are as small as a chip to something as big as a car. By connecting the devices, IoT allows objects to sense and manage other smart devices in distance, which builds up a direct linkage between the virtual world and reality.
By utilising big data and IoT, various benefits can be provided to the smart city citizens while also improving the quality of life, economic competitiveness, and sustainability.
Conclusion
With technologies advancing, smart cities are no longer just a concept but something happening right now and data is the fuel to support the whole initiative. The most important part is to analyse and translate them into something usable.
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