6 ideas to consider in smart city development

The recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona revealed that while few brand new and innovative smart city deployments are center stage, it’s an area of technology that is intensely interesting to many and worthy of much consideration.

Here are some of my thoughts based on what was showcased:

Idea #1: Traditional industries should continue to form alliances with start-ups to create innovative solutions to local problems

In 2017, Deutsche Telekom will roll out NB-IoT commercially in eight countries: Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, and Croatia.  They used their NB-IoT prototyping hub, to showcase their work with selected partners and start-ups to develop cutting-edge solutions for Smart Cities.  Some of the notable examples showcased included a collaboration with Ayyeka,  a California start-up that makes smart water management a reality. It develops end-to-end remote monitoring solutions that streamline and secure the process of bringing field data to decision makers and SCADA systems, enabling smart infrastructure and environmental networks.

Also showcased was a beehive monitoring solution by  BeeAndMewhich provides technical assistance to beekeepers: A microprocessor unit measures all significant beekeeping parameters. The data collected by the “baby monitor” for bees is also processed via data mining techniques, helping find answers to important scientific questions. Such partnerships and alliances mean that start-ups can bring creative innovation to smart city deployments, a cohort that could easily be otherwise outnumbered in decision making by the big players.

Idea #2: Smart city solutions should be interoperable and multilayered.

We need smart cities and not just a disparate collection of smart city projects. In terms of practicality and streamlining, there’s a need for smart city solutions that solve multiple problems rather than stand-alone devices with single use capacities.  This needs to be managed by a primary vendor so that issues such as planning, implementation, and repairs are straightforward to resolve.

For example, a light pole was showcased by AT&T equipped with sensors that can communicate to public safety and traffic officials about road, parking and pedestrian conditions. Sensors can also be installed to monitor air pollution, weather or the sound of gunshots. The light pole alone has a range of different abilities (with more to come) as well as data that is distributed to multiple service providers. It is important that stewardship for the device is clear and straightforward.

Idea #3: Big telcos are propping up the funding of smart cities

Current, GE’s digital industrial startup business, used MWC to announce a deal with the City of San Diego to upgrade thousands of the city’s outdoor light fixtures to sensor-enabled LED technology, making it the world’s largest smart city IoT platform. AT&T will act as the data carrier and provide highly secure connectivity for the San Diego deployment, which is expected to save the city approximately $ 2.4 million in annual energy costs.

Such deals involve a reasonable amount of costly, upfront infrastructure that, even if it reaps financial benefits in the future, may be out of the financial reach of many local councils and municipalities. As a result, there are many big companies offering time and research at a reduced cost or for free.

A 2016 report into smart city development in the UK that revealed that the task of achieving smarter, more connected cities in the UK lies with local councils a cohort that was in many instances, struggling to deploy funds into smart city research and deployment.