With massive urbanization and population growth, cities must prepare for these new challenges. In order to keep pace with this expansion while conserving their resources, it’s not enough to just grow larger; they must develop and implement innovative solutions. The IoT (Internet of Things) technology is one of these solutions. From security to health, urban mobility to energy management, with billions of connected device users worldwide, IoT offers numerous opportunities for cities of all sizes.
What is the importance of IoT in smart cities today? Let’s take a closer look.
Smart cities and IoT: current state
Technologies are developing at a rapid pace, along with the growth of connectivity worldwide. A smart city is one that uses these innovations to facilitate life for residents and businesses, improve their infrastructure, and become even more sustainable. Among these technologies are:
- Machine learning
- Artificial intelligence
- Cloud computing
- APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)
- IoT
IoT is a network composed of thousands – if not billions – of interconnected devices and sensors. They collect data about their environment and share it, often in real-time. In a smart city, everything can be interconnected through IoT: buildings, the power grid, cars, and objects (traffic lights, electric devices, charging stations, etc.). Residents can connect to these devices via their cars, homes, or smartphones. Even the smallest cities can thus become smart cities.
How does IoT make cities smarter?
Far from being a futuristic concept, smart cities continue to emerge worldwide. Many have developed thanks to IoT solutions built on LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) networks. Their advantage? They provide reliable and ubiquitous wireless connectivity. Through sensors and devices, cities collect data such as traffic conditions, air quality, and energy consumption, among other things.
In a smart city, IoT can serve various purposes such as:
- Improving air quality
- Streamlining waste collection
- Enhancing energy distribution
- Reducing traffic congestion
- Increasing efficiency of urban services
- Improving public safety and video surveillance systems
Read also: The IoT technologies behind the “smartization of the world”
Concrete applications of IoT in smart cities: Examples
Security, mobility, environment, energy: IoT devices are being used innovatively in urban areas. Here are a few examples:
Connected street lights
They allow for remote scheduling of on/off times. The advantage: save energy and ensure passenger safety. In bad weather, the street can be lit up. Depending on the season, the lights can be turned on earlier in winter and later in summer. In smaller communities, residents can use a dedicated app like “I light my street” to plan the lighting according to their movements.
Water level monitoring
In Dublin, Ireland’s capital, IoT companies have developed devices capable of detecting water levels and instantly reporting flood risks and incidents. In Paris, sensors are also present in waterways like the Seine to prevent overflows.
Connected traffic lights
Sensors from roads and cars send them data. With this data, they adjust the traffic light timing to regulate traffic in real-time and reduce time spent in traffic jams. In collaboration with the government, Ford is developing a system that allows connected traffic lights to communicate with emergency vehicles (such as ambulances). The goal: streamline and secure their routes and facilitate emergency interventions.
Reporting platforms
To involve citizens in city development, platforms allow reporting issues such as water leaks or damaged bike-share stations. These platforms improve communication with municipal services and their responsiveness.
Smart bins
They are equipped with sensors that monitor fill levels and automatically schedule a pickup. The benefits are many: avoid overflow, reduce unnecessary pickups, optimize truck routes, and lower CO2 emissions from unnecessary or inefficient trips.
Video surveillance
Key to urban security in smart cities, intelligent video surveillance uses 4G/5G to protect people. Equipped with smart algorithms, cameras can automatically analyze abnormal situations (crowds, intrusions, etc.) and identify objects (weapons, etc.) in real time. The result: significant time and efficiency gains. By analyzing the entire video feed, connected cameras save security teams hours of manual review.
These are just a few examples! In the coming years, we can expect even more surprising IoT use cases within smart cities worldwide.
The importance of cellular IoT networks in smart city development
Cellular IoT networks (4G, 5G, LTE-M, NB-IoT) play a particularly important role in the development of smart cities. Much more secure than WiFi or Bluetooth, they enable the transfer of large volumes of data and adapt to numerous data-hungry IoT projects.
Moreover, these are often existing networks. With antennas already installed, cities do not require major projects (cabling or wiring) and can implement smart city initiatives without excessive spending.
These technologies are versatile and adapt to each city’s specific applications. A connected street light will use LTE-M or NB-IoT as latency is not an issue due to the sending of short messages. On the other hand, a traffic light will use more 4G if it interfaces with V2X to benefit from low latency.
Other examples: bins that send short messages and for which latency is not an issue will use NB-IoT. Water level monitoring will adopt LTE-M, except in cases where video or images are involved, in which case 4G will be preferred.
Participate in the development of smart cities with Objenious
Do you want to leverage the incredible potential of cellular IoT networks? Implement efficient solutions in terms of services and management with Objenious, Bouygues Telecom’s brand dedicated to IoT. We offer solutions to improve energy quality, environment, security, and mobility. Offering both LTE-M and NB-IoT networks, we have been providing coverage to more than 99% of the national population since late 2022. Contact our experts and discover our digital offerings.