From the “stone jungle” to the “smart city”

Statistics, as you know, knows everything. She is also well aware of the global trends and movements that occur in our civilization. One of these trends is universal and mass urbanization. According to forecasts, two out of three born in the next 30 years will live in cities. Naturally, the cities themselves will increase: to the current 500 "millionaires" over the next 20 years, another 200 will be added. How to effectively manage the megalopolis, how to make it as comfortable as possible for living? Naturally, with the help of digital technology. In this post - the story of the "smart city", as represented by Intel.

... plus sensorisation of the whole city

One of the main features of a “smart city” is the widespread use of sensors of everything. Here are their main varieties:

• Sensors in the premises - movement, volume;
• Environmental sensors - temperature, wind speed, smoke, the content of various substances in the air;
• Sensors in vehicles - location and acceleration;
• Sensors on critical facilities - movement, vibration.

Location of sensors in the city

The very ideology of using sensors will change. Today, their role is mostly passive: readings are stored or, at best, shown in real time. In the city of the future, sensors will become the basis of active control systems - this applies not only to emergency situations, but also to everyday life. For example, the deterioration of water quality in any water intake can cause its automatic shutdown if there is sufficient reserve. More interesting examples are discussed below.
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Active RFID tag on car windshield

A separate topic and the main problem of modern cities is automobile transport and traffic jams. The urgency of the problem prompts the use of traffic control systems now. The designers of the smart city are pinning their hopes on active RFID tags. Equipping with labels of each car in the city will allow not only to observe the movement, but also to have data on each moving vehicle. Naturally, both the accuracy of forecasts and the set of observed values ​​will increase.


Intel Sensor Controller

The use of such delicate control mechanisms requires a large number of different sensors. Therefore, they should be not just cheap, but also the most standardized. Ideally, all sensors should have a single typical platform - and it has already been created by Intel. The sensor controller is a microcomputer based on the Intel Atom processor, equipped with a Wi-Fi interface, a slot for a Micro SD memory card and ports for connecting the sensors themselves via UART, GPIO, I2C, and others. The communication format of the controller with the control center is also maximally standardized, and although the information from the sensors may be different, its appearance is about the same, which facilitates the development of a single solution.

All the best - residents

If we imagine the metropolis in the form of a giant, then its head will be just where it is necessary - in the clouds. Cloud service is the brain of the “smart city”, because there is stored and processed the array of data received from the sensors. I think that over time, a “super-cloud” of the scale of the country will appear, where information coming from different cities will be integrated. The strategy proposed by Intel assumes maximum openness of stored information for various kinds of applications, both municipal (city managers) and personal, which make life easier for its residents. And the latter, by the way, are no less important than the first. After all, we are building a city for its inhabitants, is not it?
The ideal situation seems to be when a person residing in a city, using a client program on a computer, tablet or smartphone, can get any information from sensors - taking into account, of course, access sharing, anti-terrorism measures and protection against hacking. In principle, the unified system is ready for such work from the very beginning, although, of course, the functionality will be increased gradually. And now the promised interesting examples.


The trainer program changes the jogging route, receiving data on local air pollution


The client on the smartphone shows all publicly available sensors and can read the readings of any of them.

A single city portal is also required, where in addition to the already existing elements - forums for communication, maps with traffic jams and accidents, pictures from webcams on the streets, in stores and institutions will also include sensor readings on the map and in text form. I think that a real-time map of smoke or the content of harmful substances in the city will be interesting not only to scientists.
It would be interesting to predict how the global urban information system will affect the life of the metropolis and its inhabitants. Clearly, accurate data on the environmental situation in a particular area will affect its prestige and the cost of housing there. More accurate data on traffic along the way will allow you to more accurately determine its duration, although the subway will still be faster :)

What now?

In order not to look like a theorist-dreamer, I will give, finally, examples of implemented technologies of the “smart city” - from those that are already working.


Scheme of the system SYNAV. DENATRAN - Brazilian Transportation Department

• In Brazil, in 2006, a decision was made to equip all vehicles in the country with RFID tags. Information from sensors is collected in a single SYNAV (System for National Identification Automation for Vehicles) database.
• The center of Dublin has recently been equipped with combined atmospheric sensors - measured temperature, wind direction, air quality, and so on. While their number is small, the system is being tested on them.
• Dvizhuha takes place in our country. For example, in many cities, a GPS system for monitoring public transport has been introduced. At the stops, a board is installed, showing how long the bus of such a route will arrive.

Information board at a stop in Krasnodar

In general, one should not forget that a “smart city” is, first of all, one that neatly and carefully treats itself and its resources. Therefore, the intelligence of our own cities depends, among other things, on us. And not just from the sensors.