Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an approach for digital information management adopted by industries to improve building and infrastructure quality. It pays heed to the enhanced exchange and management of information. The generated data can be referred to as a trusted source for decision-making processes for the project. The digital representation of a building through BIM increases the productivity of engineers and designers.

But, to clarify the ambiguity and create awareness about the process of BIM, a globally accepted framework was required. It would formalize the procedure and rectify the conflict of choice between various accepted standards. For the BIM industry, no such fixed documentation existed until 2018.

Various stakeholders needed help choosing a definite set of methodologies, technologies, and standards aligned with the project, as many enlisted BIM guidelines worldwide exist. In 2018, ISO published ISO-19650 to encourage and support the use of BIM on a grand scale. It would articulate a mental model speculating the solution to the problems arising in the construction industry.

What is ISO-19650?

ISO-19650 is a standard document outlining information management specifications and principles. The provided framework applies to the entire life-cycle of the building, including initial designing, strategic planning, engineering, development, documentation, construction, day-to-day activities, maintenance, refurbishment, and repair. The standards adhere to projects of every scale and complexity, including infrastructure networks, large estates, individual built-forms, and the projects entitled to deliver them.

ISO 19650 is used by

• those involved in the procurement, design, construction, and commissioning of built assets; and
• those involved in delivering asset management activities, including operations and maintenance

It is based on the UK 1192 series that defines BIM level 2 in the UK. BIM level 2 is a series of national guidelines and publicly available specifications developed by the UK government in 2011. After this publication, many international asset owners realized the utility and efficiency of BIM and requested ISO to elevate the UK 1192 series to a globally acceptable level. The procedure to develop the documents was commenced by an international working group convened by Anne Kemp. The origin of ISO 19650 can be traced back to two British standards – BS 1192 and PAS 1192-1.

The international series ISO 19650 lays a leveled ground for related stakeholders to innovate, compete, and collaborate irrespective of location. When using BIM, it puts forward the concepts and principles required for various business processes. In addition, it supports the production and management of data throughout the life cycle of the built assets.

Bifurcations of ISO-19650

The ISO 19650 series is divided into two sections – BS EN ISO 19650 – 1 and BS EN ISO 19650 – 2, catering to different project stages.

The first section – BS EN ISO 19650 – 1, addresses how to deal with concepts and principles. It further recommends a framework for information management, which includes exchanging, recording, versioning, and organizing it for all parties. Furthermore, it involves the joint production of architectural, engineering, and construction information. Finally, it consists of a National Foreword explaining the new terminology.

The second section, BS EN ISO 19650 – 2, narrates the management process for information exchange using BIM during the project’s delivery phase. It is referred to by all organizations and used for projects of all types and scales. It includes a National Annex that aligns the standards of ISO with the UK BIM level 2.

How does ISO-19650 contribute towards the growth of BIM in the AEC industry?

The 19650 guidelines provide a data standardization framework for delivering information with reduced coordination time and cost. An everyday data-sharing environment is created for sharing information. Different organizations come together to bring a specific project to life. ISO 19650 has helped these teams combine and extract data through BIM with a unified approach.

Various companies have struggled to address the requirements and needs of their partners, clientele, or suppliers. ISO 19650 series rectifies this situation with bifurcated guidelines that articulate a proper working format for every client type. This further enhances the efficiency and mobility of their internal resources. The client and teams use BIM per these guidelines to identify owner’s exchange information requirements and maneuver towards efficient and effective project delivery.

This set of guidelines ensures a clear understanding of every task performed with a clarity of authority, capacity, responsibility, and competency for all involved members. A typical data environment in BIM ensures the security and duality of information. This environment is created for collecting, managing, and circulating information containers through a systemized procedure.

The operational and delivery phases of the project witness a smooth process involving collaboration, production, management, sharing, and exchange of all information due to the implementation of the ISO 19650 series.

The ISO 19650 series will drive client interest in the BIM working and implementation process, uplifting the entire sector. The provision of 19650 will bring all sorts of standards to a single information source that directs a smooth workflow. To improve the further additions of the ISO 19650 series, the stakeholders using these guidelines are advised to collect detailed information and experiences regarding its use and implementation.

Different aspects catered through ISO 19650 for the rise of BIM

1 Adaptation at a global level

The standards increase awareness about the digital BIM processes, leading to a rise in global adaptability. Furthermore, a specific set of guidelines will develop an understanding of BIM amongst the customers, enhancing their willingness to adopt and utilize it. In addition, the collaboration of projects can go global as local restrictions are eliminated, which could have restricted the planning and designing process.

2 Appropriate delivery of information

The exchange of information becomes more accessible with specific requirements that direct systemized information management. The manufacturer bears the pressure of supplying correct data and news at the right amount of time.

3 Ease of Optimization

The standards pave the way for many opportunities to optimize the supply chain. The overall process is catalyzed by the amalgamation of the client side (planning & construction) and industry (sales, manufacturing & shipping).

Documents that help in understanding the full potential of BIM and facilitate the digital delivery process into the project plan

• Guide for appointing party’s exchange information requirements (EIR)
• Pre-appointment – BIM execution plan
• Assess the task team’s capability & capacity
• Delivery team mobilization plan
• Delivery team risk register
• Post appointment – BIM execution plan
• Delivery team’s detailed responsibility matrix
• Guide for appointed party’s exchange information requirements
• Task information delivery plan
• Master information delivery plan
• Mobilization plan
• Information management process – collaborative production of information and information model delivery
• Project closeout

The publication of ISO 19650 moves towards converting the least digitized sector image of the construction industry and taking it towards innovation. The objective was to create a common approach toward Building Information Modeling (BIM) for every project worldwide.

It certainly provides a standardized method for the amendment of the data fabric to various projects. Following ISO 19650 in the BIM clarifies the scope of work that facilitates project planning, building, and operational stages. Also, the manufacturers are not directly impacted, and it creates a transparent digital process with the involvement of all relevant parties.

Featured Image Credit: Provided by the Author; Thank you!

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Over the past several years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has reached new heights. We now find ourselves on the cusp of the “Massive IoT” era, where the technology is reaching a nearly unimaginable scale due to the number of sensors and devices entering the market. Along with that comes new possibilities to operate businesses and address global challenges that were not feasible even five years ago.

Valuable use cases are already forming across industries, creating new ways to monitor resources, optimize processes, and save costs. Sensor devices deliver data about an asset’s location, condition, and other time-sensitive operational statuses that help prevent costly losses or potential liabilities. However, in order for the IoT to function correctly as it continues to grow, its ability to scale hinges on the expansion of Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) designed to support large-scale deployments of sensors that work seamlessly for decades at a time. Additionally, these networks need to be able to support different public and private deployment models, simplify the management of networking tasks, and scale on demand as needs and priorities change.

LoRaWAN has surged ahead of competing LPWAN solutions in meeting those needs due to its unique combination of cost efficiency, low power consumption, long-range, and non-proprietary model. Because of its functionality, according to the LoRa Alliance, it now leads global, at-scale LPWAN deployments across all metrics, ranging from the most solutions available, devices deployed, messages sent, and network availability, with coverage offered in more than 76,000 cities in 188 countries.

The value provided by large-scale IoT sensor deployments far outweighs the costs of moving away from legacy technologies and manual processes, which require relying on networks that are ill-fit to the requirements of the devices they support and lack the flexibility to adapt. To that end, the following three examples illustrate how IoT connectivity using LPWAN networks like LoRaWAN is improving public safety, conserving resources, and providing other unprecedented benefits by enabling businesses to do far more than they ever could.

Smart buildings and campuses – improving air quality

Smog, wildfires and other sources of pollution create unhealthy air that impacts health. Recent research by the American Lung Association found that 40% of the country lives in areas with failing grades of particle pollution or ozone. But poor air quality can extend to inside buildings and campuses too. For example, the pandemic taught us the importance of proper ventilation and good indoor air quality.  Sensor monitoring can help in both environments, not only giving states and municipalities an easy way to monitor environmental safety conditions like wildfire smoke or other air pollution, but enabling building owners to monitor indoor air quality.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring aims to measure and reduce pollutants indoors for the health and comfort of a building’s occupants, to ensure proper ventilation, air processing and filtration. Using sensors to monitor IAQ in smart building and campus environments helps to identify and reduce air pollution, viruses, and contamination that cause occupants discomfort and respiratory issues.

When deployed, IoT sensors provide building managers temperature, humidity, and CO2 level data. In the event a potential danger is detected, managers can execute remote commands and alarms to alert anyone in the building. The sensors also help to gather data to optimize heat or air conditioning usage, giving building owners the added benefit of saving energy costs.

To effectively monitor air quality, IoT devices require network connectivity to share data. To do that, their signals need to be able to pass through building materials without being blocked, never lose power, and periodically send small data packets. LoRaWaN supports this functionality and communication. Once building owners and operators have the data, they can further analyze it to identify where ventilation needs to be improved or where liabilities exist.

Natural Gas – preventing dangerous leaks

Like CO2 and poor air quality, methane and natural gas leaks are common and potentially an even more dangerous hazard. Outside of building environments, leaks can occur in pipelines and other related infrastructure. Methane leaks in urban areas have been reported to be more than two times higher than EPA estimates, which is why many gas utilities are implementing sensing and alerting systems with valve shut-off capabilities to provide more visibility and improve public safety wherever possible.

With sensors spread throughout all their infrastructure, gas utilities can gain complete awareness and control of their gas distribution systems, including automating the secure shutdown of single or multiple valves. In the past, natural gas utilities were unaware of leaks until long after they occurred, at which point most damage was already done.

These automated systems that detect hazards and shut off the flow of gas improve safety and reduce the risk of life-threatening incidents for residential and commercial building owners. Their connectivity needs to always work and communicate across long distances due to the spread-out nature of infrastructure. Additionally, using LoRaWAN to connect these sensors opens the possibility of obtaining additional property management sensor data to prevent things like water leaks, rodents, HVAC malfunctions, and more.

Water Utilities – conserving a resource that is becoming scarce

As we have seen in recent years, droughts are becoming far more common. Municipalities, water utilities, and residents must work together to conserve and distribute water.

Smart water metering in residential and commercial properties allows water utilities to measure trends in water usage wherever it is delivered without manual intervention. IHS Markit forecasts that almost 50 million smart water meters will ship globally in 2023, roughly four times more than in 2017.

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is not limited to Automatic Meter Reading (AMR), which allows utilities to bill customers directly based on their usage data. The data collected can also help reduce water loss through improved leak detection, streamline billing through enhanced water flow monitoring, and implement new rate structures to incentivize water conservation among customers. Additionally, the two-way communication between utilities and their metering devices can improve infrastructure diagnostics, provide advanced data analytics, and enhance field operations – all while giving tenants more detailed information about water consumption.

Perhaps most beneficial for water utilities, the wireless communication networks deployed by modern AMI systems are ideal for supporting multiple water metering and management applications. Establishing a shared LoRaWAN network infrastructure allows municipalities to support a wide range of commercial and citizen-facing applications beyond just water AMI.

Why LoRaWAN

For large-scale IoT deployments with relatively low data payloads that seldom require low latency — such as water metering and infrastructure monitoring – LoRaWAN has proven to be a cost-effective new technology investment and long-term replacement option for legacy systems. For critical infrastructure and essential enterprise IoT projects, LoRaWAN remains the leading choice given its open standards, propagation characteristics, extended end-device battery life, ease of deployment, and low cost.

Since its inception, LoRaWAN has been designed to connect low-cost, battery-operated sensors over long distances wirelessly. Once established, a LoRaWAN network is designed to support the broader set of resource conservation and sustainability initiatives prioritized at municipal levels across the country and worldwide today. Additionally, LoRaWAN’s open standards mean that end users can deploy ever-growing LoRaWAN-enabled devices on the network, offering more flexibility in deployment and more devices that function with the network compared to proprietary connectivity solutions.

As businesses and municipalities consider how data can be used to optimize their operations and services, they must also consider the networks on which IoT devices and their data depend. With LoRaWAN, organizations across industries can realize the cost, safety and resource conservation benefits of the Internet of Things.

Featured Image Credit:

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The construction industry has long been known for its resistance to change and slow adoption of digital technologies. However, in recent years, the landscape has started to shift. The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector is undergoing a surge of digitalization and innovation as a result of a high demand for infrastructure, a lack of trained labor, and rising pressure from stakeholders for data openness and integration. In this article, we will explore the trends that are accelerating the digitization of the AEC industry and discuss strategies for AEC tech companies to achieve efficient growth.

See also: Smart Cities Require Smart Construction 

The digitization of the AEC industry has been gathering momentum over the past decade, with the pace accelerating in recent years. Several economic factors and regulatory changes are prompting investment in AEC tech, fueling the growth of the industry. Let’s take a closer look at these trends:

Global demand for long-term construction is on the rise, driven by increased government stimulus and investments in infrastructure. Initiatives such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in the United States, which will cost $1.2 trillion, and the NextGenerationEU fund in Europe, which would cost $800 billion. Additionally, asset owners are investing in decarbonization efforts to make their portfolios more climate resilient. These factors are creating a need for digital technology to increase productivity and bridge the gap between the supply and demand of skilled workers.

The tsunami of digitalization that is sweeping across the AEC sector is also being bolstered by changes in regulatory policies. For instance, the Building Safety Act in the United Kingdom requires a digital ledger of all building data for newly constructed residential structures, but the ID06 law in Sweden stipulates the keeping of digital records of construction employees on a construction site. These rules are encouraging the adoption of digital tools and procedures, which will ultimately result in the sector becoming more connected and productive.

The amount of money invested in AEC technology has multiplied, and according to our research, an increasing number of investors are beginning to see the potential of AEC technology to radically alter the structure of the construction sector and redistribute value pools on a massive scale. It is probable that this momentum will continue. Seventy-seven percent of those who took part in our poll anticipate making the same amount of investment or more in AEC technology in 2023, and sixty-four percent believe that it will generate greater returns in comparison to other verticals.

With a surge in late-stage venture financing and M&A activity, the AEC tech sector is maturing. AEC technology received $11.5 billion in late-stage venture capital investment between 2020 and 2022, which is more than treble the sum allocated over the preceding three years. M&A, which accounts for 48% of all investments and 68% of all exits, continues to be the main source of finance for AEC digital firms. The higher median deal size and post-money valuation since 2017 both show the industry’s expansion.

By providing solutions that cover a variety of use cases, AEC tech businesses are attempting to solve the problem of client fragmentation. Due to customer need for interoperability, close to half of the examined AEC tech businesses provide solutions that meet three or more use cases. One-stop-shop platforms created by bigger AEC software businesses as well as virtual platforms built utilizing open standards and processes, such openBIM, are enabling seamless collaboration and integration throughout the industry.

In addition, property technology (proptech) and AEC tech are merging. While proptech concentrated on the funding, planning, operation, and maintenance elements, AEC tech historically concentrated on the design and building of assets. However, the importance of linking the two ecosystems is becoming more widely acknowledged. The use of digital twins to integrate the design and operation of building management systems is one of the proptech use cases that AEC tech firms are increasingly tackling.

Despite tremendous investment and expansion, there remain obstacles to effective scalability and growth in the AEC tech sector. Let’s examine these challenges:

With the average construction business employing less than 10 workers and each project needing a large number of suppliers and subcontractors, the construction industry is extremely fragmented. Because of this dispersion, scaling for AEC digital businesses is labor-intensive and slow. development requires selling to many of different businesses, but this risk-averse and fragmented industry might be reluctant to change, which will restrict development even further.

See also: The Upcoming Trends of Construction and Technology

Due to the confusion between user and buyer personas, identifying the true client in the AEC sector can be difficult. The customer may be the project manager, IT manager, or procurement manager, depending on the project. Rather than at the corporate level, purchase decisions are frequently made at the project level, necessitating that businesses resell their products for every new project. Net retention suffers as a result, and acquisition expenses rise. Successful businesses have a strategy for selling to the company as a whole, not simply the project.

Low profit margins and growing economic headwinds, such as rising material costs, are characteristics of the construction business. Due to their restricted investment capacity, AEC businesses spend less on IT than those in other sectors. In a low-margin sector, it is critical for AEC tech businesses to show how their technologies save money. Although the return on investment may be substantial, it has been difficult to accurately measure these advantages.

First Reported on: McKinsey

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What is construction technology?

A: Construction technology refers to the application of innovative tools, equipment, materials, and techniques to improve the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of construction projects. It encompasses various fields such as building design, project management, construction methods, and the use of advanced technologies.

Q: What are some examples of construction technology?

A: Some examples of construction technology include Building Information Modeling (BIM), 3D printing, drones, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), prefabrication and modular construction, robotics, laser scanning, and advanced materials like self-healing concrete and energy-efficient building systems.

Q: How does Building Information Modeling (BIM) benefit the construction industry?

A: BIM is a digital representation of a building project that integrates 3D modeling, data management, and collaborative tools. It allows architects, engineers, contractors, and other stakeholders to work together more efficiently, detect clashes or conflicts in designs before construction, improve cost estimation, enhance project visualization, and streamline the overall construction process.

Q: How can drones be used in construction projects?

A: Drones are commonly used in construction for surveying, site inspections, and monitoring project progress. They can quickly capture high-resolution aerial images and create accurate topographic maps, track stockpiles of materials, monitor worker safety, and perform inspections of hard-to-reach areas, such as rooftops or tall structures.

Q: What are the benefits of using prefabrication and modular construction?

A: Prefabrication and modular construction involve constructing building components off-site in a controlled environment, and then assembling them on-site. This approach offers benefits such as reduced construction time, improved quality control, cost savings, minimized material waste, and increased sustainability.

Q: How can 3D printing be used in construction?

A: 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, can be used in construction to create complex and customized building components or even entire structures. This technology can reduce construction time, lower labor costs, minimize material waste, enable design flexibility, and facilitate the construction of unique architectural forms.

Q: What is the role of robotics in the construction industry?

A: Robotics can be utilized in construction for tasks such as bricklaying, concrete pouring, demolition, and site cleanup. Robotic systems can increase productivity, enhance safety by reducing human exposure to hazardous environments, and perform repetitive tasks with precision and consistency.

Q: How does virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) contribute to construction projects?

A: VR and AR technologies provide immersive and interactive experiences that help with design visualization, project planning, and coordination. They allow stakeholders to explore virtual models of buildings, simulate construction sequences, visualize equipment layouts, and identify potential design issues, leading to better decision-making and improved project outcomes.

Q: What are some emerging trends in construction technology?

A: Some emerging trends in construction technology include the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices for real-time project monitoring and optimization, the adoption of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) for data-driven decision-making, the integration of renewable energy systems into buildings, the implementation of smart building automation, and the exploration of sustainable and eco-friendly construction materials.

Q: How can construction technology contribute to sustainability?

A: Construction technology can contribute to sustainability by promoting energy efficiency, reducing waste and emissions, optimizing resource consumption, and incorporating renewable energy systems. It also enables the construction of green buildings, which are designed to have a minimal environmental impact and provide healthier indoor environments.

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Smart cities of the future will be swarming with aerial drones that will improve the lives of citizens and the effectiveness of municipal systems (see our review of the best drones).

However, a new report warns of the threat posed by fleets of municipal drones that are vulnerable to hacking and interoperability problems.

South Africa’s ITWeb discussed a recent report co-produced by the Cloud Security Alliance and Securing Smart Cities.

See also: Mo’ drones, mo’ problems needing drone insurance

The report entitled “Establishing a Safe and Secure Municipal Drone Programme” outlines several examples of roles unmanned aerial vehicles will play in future smart cities.

Researchers concluded that drones will become smart city tools in the transport, medical and agriculture fields.

The report predicts drones also becoming integrated into smart city emergency management. Specifically drones will be used for police augmentation, critical infrastructure protection and inspection, forest fire fighting, coastal monitoring, and identifying vegetation changes.

Who owns “dronespace?”

Market intelligence firm Tractica forecasts that commercial drone-enabled services will grow to $8.7 billion annually by 2025.

“Whether you are a fan of them or not, it is becoming increasingly evident that drones will in fact play an important and even critical role in the smart city environment,” says report co-author Brian Russell. “It is important that these drone systems be safe, stable, resilient and sustainable.”

The report predicts that smart cities of the future will bustle with flying devices that rely on multiple drone platforms that all must operate in sync to run effective missions.

But the mass adoption of drones by smart cities will not only pose challenges with interoperability, but create complex problems in securing a mish-mash of drone systems.

“From a security perspective, this guarantees potential disasters, should one of several drone systems or the software used to control them become compromised or manipulated,” said Securing Smart Cities board member Mohamad Amin Hasbini. “We’re trying to raise these issues early to the public, which is why we’ve prepared these guidelines.”

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As residents on or near the coast of Texas continue to try to pick up the pieces of devastation brought on by Hurricane Harvey, the ability to communicate to the outside world has become more and more important. Yesterday, AT&T deployed a fleet of 46 drones to inspect areas in South Texas that have been impacted.

The key goals for the deployment were to check out all the towers, determine the network impact and ensure that customers continue to be able to speak to their loved ones.  A total of 26 drones were sent the day before, prior to sending out the 46 drones yesterday.  AT&T has an additional 58 drones on standby if needed.

See Also: Amazon’s drones will tell you when your house needs work

In natural disaster situations such as this one, drones can often be utilized to inspect areas that aren’t accessible to cars or trucks due to flooding (see our review of the best drones). The use of drones allows for quicker access to these inaccessible areas that could not be inspected otherwise. They can also see parts of the towers that people can’t reach when climbing or see from observing from the ground level.  They also speed up the inspection process of towers overall, because more towers can be studied in a shorter amount of time, freeing up time for making repairs.

AT&T said “Drones can take HD video and photos of a cell site, giving us a birds’ eye view of the tower. This offers high-quality visuals of equipment, components, and cabling so our engineers can remotely view cell sites safely from the ground – all in real time.”

Further help in the works

In addition to the two flights of drones, AT&T plans to deploy 2 Satellite Cell on Wheels (Sat COLTS) to Beaumont, TX.  These will be joining additional assets that are already in place.  AT&T is planning to send 12 more to assist customers and first responders located in that area, due to the second landfall of Tropical Storm Harvey.

Customers who live in these impacted areas will be receiving credits for extra data, voice and text charges, and prepaid credits for extra voice and text charges from the company.

Follow this link to see drone footage shared by AT&T:  https://ql.mediasilo.com/#ql/59a73367e4b0b55905b47c40/ec1edd79-9041-419b-a5a1-45a0d480164a

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Currently, we consider ourselves lucky if we don’t get stuck in traffic while driving to the office. The struggle of even finding a parking spot for your car is real. The smart city industry is projected to reach the $400 billion mark by 2020. The urban population is increasing at an alarming rate. According to one survey, 65% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2040. It sounds like chaos to me. We will need cybersecurity to ensure the sanity in smart cities.

In today’s world of digitalization, the world is already familiar with the concept of IoT, AI, and Robotics. Using these latest advancements to our advantage, we can prepare and self-equip our cities to support the increasing urban population.

Currently, only 600 urban cities contribute to 60% of global GDP. The idea of a smart city is to collect information through connected devices and make life more comfortable using these devices for logistics. If we follow the promising results of smart cities, every drive to your office will be a lucky one! You will know exactly where to park your car every time you reach a shopping mall or a supermarket. Sounds perfect.

Cybersecurity in Smart Cities – The Problem Statement

In 2012, a Puerto Rico electric utility company asked the FBI’s help after its smart meters got hacked and reprogrammed. When the company was reprogrammed, it allowed many people to pay substantially lower electricity bills. Smart meters had been introduced by the company to improve the efficiency and comfort of its consumers.

Multiple such cases have been reported over the years concerning the increased vulnerabilities of smart devices against cyber threats.

Without ensuring proper security measures, the risk of cyber threats can make one’s life more costly, dangerous, and painful in a smart city. There are many aspects of cyber securing a smart city, including the role of connected devices, isolating vulnerabilities, establishing secure endpoints, and dealing with evolving threats.

Identifying Vulnerabilities – What determines the security of Smart Cities?

Everything is connected in a smart city.

Having everything connected opens up the possibility of multiple pain points in a single infrastructure. Even a single vulnerable endpoint can corrupt the entire infrastructure allowing data theft, device hijacking, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), and more.

To give you a better idea. Let’s say that there are three systems – A, B, and C connected to a single server in an infrastructure. If an attacker finds a security flaw in Endpoint three of System C, they have entered and can end up corrupting all the connected endpoints and systems of the entire infrastructure.

The server of any smart city infrastructure is designed to help consumers and has user-centric information. It could be anything from trivial data – names and addresses to confidential information.

Confidential information includes bank account details, IP addresses, and other information.

Though the significance of data you share in a smart city infrastructure might not seem important to you, but the information is a blessing for a hacking entity. A hacker loves knowledge.

As such, the first step towards a secure smart city is identifying vulnerabilities and possible entry points for hackers in each infrastructure. It could be a single, smart meter in an extensive power grid system.

Remember how we were talking about hitting just green lights on the way to our offices. Imagine the chaos in a smart city with thousands of vehicles on the road if someone hacks into the traffic infrastructure and turns every light to green.

The Role of Connected Devices

By 2025, there will be over 21 billion connected IoT devices, says  US Norton, an internet security company. When we are talking about sensors, smart infrastructure, smart electricity, and smart data, what ties them all together? The answer is the Internet of Things.

Remember, not long ago, everyone was talking about smart homes and how your smartphone can control the functioning of everything in it? Well, a smart city is like implementing the technology of smart homes in the entire city.

You may be wondering why you should put your confidential data at stake? The most straightforward answer is that without the Internet of Things, connected devices, or shared information, the concept of a smart city would remain a dream.

It’s the data and the shared devices that make the whole system work. In smart cities, everything is inter-webbed, and the attack surface and possible weak links increase multi-fold for a hacker.

Connected devices – be it smart sensors, your mobile phones, smart meters, or anything else, are the only source to derive information that is used to enhance user experience or quality of life in a smart city. The deployment of connected devices across public domains is mandatory to establish interconnectivity in smart cities.

So, where do you begin your journey if you want to cyber-secure a smart city?

Security of a Smart City: Where to Begin?

The entire concept of smart cities is comparatively new, and one of the many challenges faced in cyber-securing a smart city is the lack of anticipated intelligence.

How do you ensure the security of such a vast network area?

Start at the bottom and move up from there – one step at a time. While governments are finding it hard to implement the essential internet privacy and security rules, many countries are starting to realize the significance of implementing cybersecurity regulations in their smart cities.

For instance, the GDPR was formulated by the European Union to safeguard the data privacy of all individual citizens of the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA).

Certain steps can be implemented to ensure data security and privacy in smart cities.

The management of smart cities needs to define clear boundaries for protecting the information and the extent of its usage right at the source. Besides these, the mobile and web applications (if any) that are responsible for the interconnectivity among IoT devices need to foolproof and created by highly experienced developers.

Against hiring full-time developers, you can hire a dedicated Laravel developer or any other developer using the Staff Augmentation model. Use wearing international boundaries to your advantage and save business dollars while ensuring the quality of your IoT services. Implementing smart city security solutions can be tricky but we have to start somewhere.

Securing Pain Points: Dealing with Evolving Threats

Every new technological discovery in today’s era can end up giving hackers a new tool or creating a new loophole to break into the inter-webbed network of our smart cities. Given that, is $135 billion enough to secure the entire web of connected devices across various sectors in all our smart cities by 2024?

Considering the number of connected devices and the complexity of the entire network in smart cities, human efforts won’t be enough for creating the required impact when dealing with evolving threats in cybersecurity.

We need security solutions that can detect evolving cyber threats and prevent them from corrupting infrastructures in smart cities.

In such a scenario, a possible feasible solution can be deploying Artificial Intelligence for cybersecurity. The AI security elements can be programmed to learn and detect any foreign elements in a smart city infrastructure.

But is AI enough?

There has been news and questions rising regarding the bias-ness of AI. Taking this into consideration, how do we deal with evolving cyberthreats in smart cities? There needs to be more research-based development of artificial intelligence in cybersecurity following well-defined legal and ethical guidelines.

Safety of Smart Cities Beyond Cybersecurity

Establishing resilience against cyber threats in smart cities is necessary. It becomes crucial to ensure that every smart city has a backup plan in case its functioning infrastructure goes down. A backup plan will ensure that critical services such as traffic networks of a smart city remain functional even if its infrastructure is under attack.

Surveys have shown that users are willing to offer more personal data when reassured of its safety.

Finally, an entity or an appointed officer needs to be accountable in case of identity theft, DDoS, PDoS, and more. The technology is evolving at an exponential rate and it’s almost time that we will live in smart cities. But, it’s high time to ask the question: Are we ready yet?

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The Current Scenario

No country can exist without transportation via roads. The development and growth of all nations are invariably connected with their roads. Despite the intrinsic nature of these improved surfaces for the purposes of conveyance of traffic, it carries with them one of the cruelest things to have ever befallen society – Road Accidents.

WHO estimates that 1.3 billion people succumb to their deaths owing to road accidents, every year. In such a deteriorating scenario, road mishaps have accounted for 1.5 lakh fatalities in India in 2021 alone. The current environment warrants the need to conjure innovative solutions to tackle this menace.

With time, the world has become more fast-paced, incorporating in itself new technologies. Technology has also paved the way for safer drives and safer roads by curbing road accidents and improving transportation. Technology has time and again proved its potential to mitigate the issues concerning road safety. Let us understand a few ways in which technological infrastructures have reduced road accidents –

Improved Vehicles

The automobile industry is also growing in leaps and bounds. witnessing a significant rise in technology penetration resulting in the introduction of newer features,

One of the finest cutting-edge technology that is believed to have contributed to reducing road accidents is the Automated Emergency Braking System. AEB, which has been designed to prevent imminent vehicle collisions by sensing stopped traffic, enables the rapid application of brakes, even if the driver is unable to respond promptly. Another feature that aids in averting potential accidents while changing lanes is the Blind Spot Warning which signals the driver if there is a vehicle in their blind spot. There are various versions available of this sensor and the most common type is signaling via symbols or sounds.

Adaptive headlights are the next technology that has made remarkable progress in furthering road safety. Unpaved roads, dark nights, etc. drastically increase the possibility of an accident. However, with Adaptive Headlights, drives become safer, especially during night time as the headlights move according to the movement of the steering wheel and thereby, adapt to the driving environment. Other such novel technologies integrated into the mechanics of the vehicles include lane departure warning, forward collision system, and curve speed warnings among others.

Advanced Cameras

Cameras in collaboration with technologies have offered much-needed visibility into various aspects that help in mitigating road accidents.

At an individual level, vehicles equipped with camera sensors function as drowsiness detectors, wherein the camera is monitoring the drivers’ eyelids and tracks their head movements to gauge if they are tired or drowsy. Tiredness or drowsiness of drivers leads to distracted driving which is a major cause of road accidents. This camera set-up will enable the drivers to rectify their situation by sending them alerts or warnings.

Cameras can also be used in another capacity when they are installed along the roads. Here, the cameras are used to monitor the roads by being vigilant about speeding. Overspeeding poses a grave threat to the lives of drivers and pedestrians alike and these cameras are able to capture data as to when a car crosses the designated speed limit. This permits the concerned authorities to take stricter measures against the offenders and allows them to foster a better environment regarding adherence to speed laws. Although not that common, cameras are also used with traffic lights by countries like the U.K. to identify a larger number of pedestrians waiting to cross the road and lengthen the period the ‘walk’ symbol is on. This helps in mainly controlling collisions with pedestrians.

Enhanced Emergency Services

A leading cause of road fatalities is delayed medical care and technologies have now been designed to solve this issue. It ensures that proper medical treatment reaches the concerned victims with minimal loss of time. Vehicles are now equipped with different features to help this cause. Some vehicles can send instant messages to different parties in the event of an unfortunate incident. While others have the ability to send a list of potential injuries to ensure correct treatment accordingly. Such a system helps in reducing the time required for emergency health care to reach the place of the accident, especially on roads and lanes with lesser traffic. Companies are continuously striving to design technologies that provide rapid assistance in the delivery of medical care and reduce the time required in post-accident response.

Monitoring Driving Behaviour

The human error takes the position of the highest contributor to road accidents. Mistakes on their part led to the drastic loss of lives of many. This issue usually stems from the unsafe driving practices people are often engaged in. Drivers recklessly indulge in habits that are counterproductive to their safety.  They make themselves and others on the road vulnerable to road accidents. Technology has developed so that something as simple as a mobile can now track behaviors of drivers that are risky and may lead to accidents.

Such technology will alert the drivers of their rash driving, highlighting mark-ups of unsafe driving such as overspeeding or phone usage. These insights will help people understand their own driving and encourage them to improve their performance. Such technologies change the unsafe behavior of drivers, thus eliminating one of the root causes of road accidents. Some companies have also rolled out Driving Safety Solutions to ensure the safety of field employees in particular who are rendered more vulnerable to road accidents due to their nature of work.

Message Boards

Message boards are often used at various intersections along the roads. It is used to display important information that pedestrians and drivers need to know. These messages pertain to anything related to road safety such as reminders to wear seatbelts/helmets, maintain the speed limit, etc. Now, the boards have evolved to include real-time data like traffic status, upcoming congestion, or ongoing roadwork. This feature is helpful to drivers.

These message boards are controlled remotely and can be coupled with cameras for better control over the traffic. The cameras will have the ability to tilt, zoom, or pan, providing the operators with a better view. Remote video monitoring will facilitate better road safety measures.

Miscellaneous

Smart road infrastructure is now a reality due to the prevalence of technology. With IoT sensors, connected traffic lights, etc. cities can enjoy improved roadways. Technology makes it possible for the concerned authorities to collect and analyze day-to-day data. It therefore essentially creates an environment of effective traffic management. The same can also be used to gather real-time road accident data and study its causes. Smart roads also contribute to fulfilling sustainable development goals. 

The Road Ahead

The future of technology and the mobility industry is still undergoing a lot of developments. to introduce new technologies such as connected cars. They are working towards reducing road accidents as much as possible and aim to make road safety accessible to all. The current situation calls for a dire need for solutions to help save lives. This landscape of technology and road safety will grow phenomenally with further research. By leveraging the power of technology to reduce road accidents, the coming days seem a little brighter. Continued efforts will ensure that families don’t lose their dear ones and the economy doesn’t incur a severe financial loss.

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As the global population continues to grow, and more people move to urban centers in search of better opportunities, city planners and authorities must turn to IoT smart technology to address the issues of large-scale urbanization. 

From public transport to waste management. Security systems to lighting and heating. Ensuring that the residents of today’s sprawling population centers can benefit from city life is a challenging and unforgiving task. That is without the aid of smart technology. 

The rise of the Internet of Things has revolutionized how local authorities manage, improve upon and maintain public infrastructure. Smart technology like this continues to lead the development of informed city management systems and automated essential public services. This article seeks to understand IoT’s changing role in the development of smart cities and how such systems are used to solve modern problems. 

IoT Systems and Essential Infrastructure 

The idea to automate and streamline essential city management processes such as waste disposal services, public transport and security systems with the aid of intelligent sensors and analytics isn’t an entirely new concept. However, modern IoT devices have taken the idea of smart technology to new and exciting extremes. 

Waste Disposal in Smart Cities

Perhaps the best example of this is in the way that modern smart cities handle large-scale waste disposal. With 56% of the world’s population now living and working in city centers, and urban populations projected to double by 2050, officials must find a way to modernize waste management and disposal services to ensure that residents are not overwhelmed by refuse. 

Research shows that 2.12 billion tonnes of waste are produced globally every year. Naturally, sanitation departments must find a way to efficiently collect, process and dispose of such materials without placing unwarranted stress on physical infrastructure. There are several ways the implementation of IoT devices can measurably improve these processes. One great example being the smart bin systems of the city of Nita, Slovakia. 

By utilizing a network of IoT smart sensors installed inside the city’s semi-underground bins, officials are able to view waste levels in real-time from a centralized monitoring station. Teams can then analyze this information alongside traffic reports and historic data to improve local services. Implementing such a system helps officials plan optimized collection routes to reduce carbon emissions, prevent traffic disturbances and ensure that the city remains sanitary. 

Public Transport and Pollution 

Another growing issue for the residents of modern smart cities is aging traffic infrastructure and related pollution concerns. According to data published by the World Health Organization, as many as 90% of global citizens live in areas with heavily polluted air. Additionally, the US EPA estimates 75% of this pollution to be caused by cars. 

Authorities must adapt the way that IoT systems are used to appropriately combat this issue. Primarily as doing so will help to reduce the public’s reliance on using personal vehicles to navigate smart cities. IoT sensors can be used to monitor traffic in real-time to improve public transport scheduling, as well as used to analyze vehicle data to refine the operational efficiency of taxis and buses, as seen in NYC’s CV program. 

In addition to transport management, intelligent IoT devices can aid in protecting smart city residents from ongoing pollution events. For example, authorities in Barcelona use IoT air quality sensors to monitor pollution levels and improve public transport efficiency. This program has ultimately reduced recorded air pollution levels by over 30% in the space of a few short years. 

Security Systems 

IoT devices are also becoming increasingly essential in the development and optimization of smart city security systems. Through the monitoring and analysis of real-time data provided by IoT-enabled security cameras, alarms and physical systems like door locks, officials are able to reduce city-wide crime rates as well as improve incident response times.  

By operating IoT security cameras installed in heavily populated areas, authorities can monitor situations in real-time. This allows teams to observe unfolding incidents remotely to plan more effective responses. In fact, research published by the McKinsey Global Institute reveals that real-time crime mapping using IoT devices could reduce the number of burglaries and assaults in smart cities by as much as 40%. 

Such systems will prove beneficial to both commercial and residential use cases. For example, teams can use IoT cameras to inform wider devices like alarms and locks to develop automated lockdowns. In practise this could prevent dangerous intruders from causing harm in high-risk locations like schools. 

The National Center for Education Statistics stated that in 2019-20, 97% of schools had some form of a door lock for school safety. Data like this proves how effective IoT automated response systems could be to the protection of vulnerable residents, homes and businesses.

The Future of IoT-Informed Smart Cities 

The future of smart cities and IoT-informed systems will really begin to transform modern life with AI developments. 

By developing AI analysis tools capable of not only understanding recorded metrics, but also able to learn from past events and apply that knowledge (through machine learning) to future plans, authorities and officials can automate a range of essential services to reduce workloads and markedly improve efficiency. 

Parking Management in Smart Cities

Take smart parking management, for example. Authorities can integrate IoT security cameras alongside AI-powered license plate recognition software and data analysis tools. Doing so provides real-time information regarding available parking spaces. Such a system could dramatically reduce congestion, and in turn pollution, with pilot schemes already proving successful in London.

Smart Energy Grids 

Officials monitor energy usage with IoT sensors in smart cities. This helps to reduce wasted resources and improve operational efficiencies. The use of AI-informed analytics will allow officials to make even more accurate predictions of future needs. This methodology could further benefit city-wide energy management and protect residents from shortages of finite resources. 

Self-Driving Cars 

To improve public transport and aid in the reduction of carbon emissions, self-driving electric vehicles can be integrated alongside AI data analysis tools. This helps residents navigate smart cities safely and efficiently. AI software programs can use machine learning to improve traffic flows, choose fuel-efficient routes and reduce the frequency of accidents.

Summary 

The Internet of Things has been instrumental in the conception, development and ongoing operation of smart cities across the globe. Providing residents with safer, cleaner and more intuitive essential services in line with a rapidly increasing population. The continued success of these projects will be necessary to provide future generations with a more sustainable way to live. 

As smart technology evolves, the role of IoT devices in the development of smart cities will continue to change. Teams can improve existing systems using data analysis and machine learning to benefit residents. With 2.5 billion more people expected to be living and working in smart cities by 2050, today’s residents can only dream of the advancements yet to come.

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It’s no secret that digital transformation is top-of-mind across enterprises, but many organizations have neglected to upgrade their connectivity solutions. This isn’t a surprise, as billions have been spent promoting 5G solutions. Still, enterprises have been slow to adopt the technology, in part because of its complicated on-prem infrastructure, which is very expensive to both implement and maintain.

Private wireless solutions that utilize the power of the edge can provide businesses with digital transformation needs. The solutions include secure, reliable connectivity, cutting through the unnecessary complexities of traditional solutions, and reducing reliance on legacy carriers.

What’s more, private wireless solutions are far more cost-effective and quick to implement — especially when deployed using APIs — than those of the major cellular service providers, giving enterprises the flexibility to build and expand their networks as needed.

Enterprise Private Wireless

With significant performance, security, and cost-saving benefits, enterprise private wireless has the ability to make an immense impact on a wide variety of industries such as healthcare, education, smart cities, and even across the supply chain in warehousing and manufacturing.

Read on as I highlight each of these industries’ connectivity-related pain points, as well as the unique value propositions that enterprise private wireless can deliver for key enterprise segments.

Private Wireless in Healthcare

Healthcare facilities grow organically over time, leading to a labyrinth of buildings and campuses that are unfriendly to the unlicensed spectrum provided by traditional Wi-Fi.

Effective communication is the lifeblood of timely and efficient care. As we know, the use cases that the healthcare community relies upon span patient, physician, and even machine-to-machine. This makes dependable network connectivity harder and harder to maintain, especially as more mission-critical use cases and device types get added to already-strained Wi-Fi networks.

Furthermore, a lack of high-performance network connectivity makes it difficult to accurately track patients, personnel, and equipment in emergency situations.

Advancement in Healthcare Tech

Given the advancement in healthcare technology and protocols, hospitals are proving to be early adopters in the emergence of operational technology that brings together a tapestry of users and use cases that drive better outcomes for patients and more efficient delivery for practitioners.

Enhanced Operation Through Sensors and Mobile Devices

Sensors and other mobile devices throughout a facility improve efficiencies and enhance operations, but this class of new simplified endpoints needs access to higher performance connectivity.

The time-sensitive nature of these communications also requires a robust and dependable network to work efficiently. Furthermore, new technology implementations can leave networks more susceptible to breaches if not thoroughly secured, and healthcare facilities are rife with valuable information for potential hackers.

Patient privacy, especially, must be carefully guarded in order to continuously comply with strict HIPAA regulations. Private enterprise cellular solutions can deliver all of the above and more.

Consider Edge-Based Private Cellular Solutions

Edge-based private cellular solutions deliver reliable, secure communications across facilities to improve critical care experiences and ensure regulatory compliance — all while integrating with existing IT network governance.

The edge allows for stronger, more mobile network connections than those provided by traditional Wi-Fi offerings, ensuring equipment and systems spread out across the facility stay online at all times.

Private wireless networks also enhance security measures related to connectivity, helping to keep unauthorized eyes off of patients’ private information even when implementing new technologies.

With private wireless solutions powered by the edge, healthcare providers can administer crucial services and maintain patient privacy without needlessly worrying about the resilience of the enterprise connectivity platform.

Private Wireless in Education

Universities, K-12, and related organizations continue to have difficulty ensuring reliable coverage and network performance across their campuses. With hard-to-reach locations both inside and outside campus buildings, issues stemming from traditional Wi-Fi technology are rampant, as it fails to provide the mobility needed across widespread areas.

Furthermore, on nearly every educational campus, there are places where Radio Frequency (RF) blind spots and interference cut connectivity completely.

Stable Connectivity Ensure Safety

Stable connectivity infrastructure is required to ensure the safety of students and personnel — no matter where they are on the property. With carrier-class private wireless solutions, educational institutions can ensure their security, surveillance, and access control systems are working around the clock to maintain strict safety measures.

Schools can even utilize their networks to send out targeted communications to students, staff, and the community at large, including class notifications, campus weather alerts, schedule changes, and more. Additionally, edge-based solutions enable IT teams, to implement new localized and experimental applications in a much faster, more cost-effective way.

As educational institutions seek to upgrade their networks to keep up with an increasingly digital society, they should also look into what federal grants their organizations may be eligible for when it comes to connectivity.

Multiple federal programs exist today dedicated to providing billions of dollars to get campus communities better connected and help close the digital divide.

Private Wireless in Smart Cities

The more technology has evolved, the more businesses, consumers, and entire communities demand. However, legacy service providers cannot execute and deliver quickly enough to keep up with continued evolution and demand. The 5G ecosystem is too complicated, too hard to program, and too expensive to implement and maintain. This is especially true when it comes to covering entire cities.

“Smart cities” are becoming increasingly common as technology continues to infiltrate more and more of our lives, but much of America’s infrastructure is in need of investment, improvement, and intelligence. As such, the next generation of connectivity and computing implemented at a wide-scale municipal level will need to be used to help support reimagined roads, utilities, public transportation systems, and much more.

Digital Transformation of This Magnitude Should Move to the Edge

Simply put, cities looking to supercharge their digital transformation initiatives need to move to the edge. By implementing edge-based private wireless solutions, smart cities can enable stronger, safer connectivity across their communities. Complexity and costs associated with the implementation and maintenance of traditional mobile networks will be enhanced.

Smart traffic lights, low latency utility monitoring, real-time transit information, and accessible computing resources are just a few examples of the types of public benefits edge-based private wireless can enable.

Ultimately, the edge guarantees fast and reliable low-latency responses for the applications that require them most, creating more secure, more productive municipalities overall.

Private Wireless in the Supply Chain

The global supply chain has been under immense pressure for a while now due to a series of devastating worldwide events, and increasing investment in various supply chain technologies.

For instance, on the manufacturing and warehousing facility floors, humans and robots are working closer than ever as crucial elements of highly complex workflows optimized for the digital world. This means strong, reliable connectivity has never been as important in these spaces as it is today.

By ensuring connections remain firmly intact at all times, private wireless solutions powered by the edge can help ensure the safety of all supply chain personnel and equipment. It will help to drive continuous supply chain productivity. Additionally, cellular-class private network mobility substantially eclipses that of traditional Wi-Fi offerings, also enabling easy portability of the network.

What About Device Security With Private Mobile Networks?

As it pertains to device security — private mobile networks are able to secure all devices on the manufacturing and warehousing floors just as well, or even better, than a traditional cellular network can. Standard enterprise security mechanisms also natively apply, providing unparalleled defense against any would-be hackers.

When supply chain players look to deploy private mobile networks, it’s important for them to do thorough research to land on a solution that provides the maximum benefit for the lowest cost and the quickest deployment time.

A number of existing options require costly, time-consuming equipment and software implementation–but not all. Modern solutions that utilize easy-to-use APIs simplify the implementation and operation of a network, providing manufacturers and warehousers with the secure mobile connectivity they require to keep business running smoothly and safely today and beyond.

Last Words

As described throughout this article, private cellular solutions powered by the edge can greatly boost performance and security across the enterprise in key industries like healthcare, education, smart cities, and warehousing and manufacturing.

Offerings from traditional providers are expensive and often require long lead times plus mounds of equipment to implement.

Private wireless solutions powered by flexible, programmable APIs allow enterprises across industries to host, orchestrate, and customize mobile and Industry 4.0 applications at the Edge–as-a-Service.

This allows enterprises to time investments and enable enterprise connectivity capabilities to meet the diverse needs of use cases and users with a highly secure, reliable, and cost-effective long-term enterprise communications platform.

Featured Image Credit: Conny Schneider; Unsplash; Provided by the Author; Thank you!

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The Internet of Things (IoT) will change smart city parking — and make everyone’s life easier in many ways. IoT will move beyond simple conveniences like fridges that reorder milk when you’re out — and your bathroom shower that turns on and finds just the right temperature when you’re near.

Instead, IoT will change how we experience our homes, cities, and worldwide communication and travel — even in your own smart city.

How About IoT Finding Your Parking Spot in Smart City Parking?

IoT will make every aspect of running errands easier, up to and including taking all the pain out of finding a place to park. Especially relevant will be how IoT finds your car a parking spot in cities.

As you begin the long, head-on-a-swivel hunt for a big enough spot to park your car, it legally will become something of the past with the aid of smart city planning and zones. But, as stories of the hour-long hunt for a better spot to park close to work — our kids won’t believe we ever put up with that.

The Latest Trends in Smart Vehicles and What They Mean for Smart Parking in Smart Cities

While many aspects of the IoT will help us more easily find parking. Yet the major innovation in this newfound convenience is the smart vehicle (also called a smart car).

Around the world, but especially in car cultures like the United States, smart vehicles will reshape everything about driving, from how and where we go to how we stop when we get there.

Smart vehicles will be one of the critical factors in the success of IoT, as they will be central to how to maneuver in ever-tightening living spaces when we travel around.

What’s a Smart Vehicle, Anyway?

A smart vehicle is anything we’ve been driving since the late 90s that had an onboard G.P.S. So any automobile featuring integrated, advanced electronics is already a “smart car.” Speaking broadly, you could count the microprocessors that have monitored mechanical functions in cars since the 60s.

Indeed, today the phrase “smart vehicle” would include the vehicles we drive, which feature around 100 microprocessors per vehicle. But for many, the cut-off between “car with computers in it” and “actual smart vehicle” is when the computers began providing functions beyond just making the automobile stop and go.

The Integrated G.P.S., etc.

Integrated G.P.S. is an excellent place to start thinking about smart vehicles — though some might argue that those 1980s brick-like car phones were the first genuine article.

Whether we count the phone or the G.P.S. first, by now, smart vehicles can do so much more than that effortless task.

The Smart Vehicles Today — in Smart City Parking

The smart vehicle of today automatically saves gas on smooth rides, toggles high beams on and off on dark roads, and tells us when we’re drifting into another lane. In addition, the vehicle will buzz and warn us if we look poised to fall asleep at the wheel.

Smart vehicles can scan the road for pedestrians, animals, or other cars. Effectively, smart vehicles bridge the gap between older, analog cars and the AI-driven autonomous vehicles still being perfected at places like Google and Tesla.

Finding the Best Ways to Relieve Stress in Parking

Our smart vehicles memorize how each driver likes the seat and mirrors and warn us if we’re about to back into a bus or integrate our G.P.S. with traffic reports and road hazard alerts. But, the best is yet to come as smart vehicles are finding new and fascinating ways to help take the stress out of parking.

If the car does any cool sci-fi thing —  except drive itself or flies (and there’s no saying our future flying vehicles can’t be smart, too!) — it is a smart vehicle.

Parking Smarter, Not Harder

Smart Parking refers to a whole suite of technologies and innovations that makes it easier to find a place to stop your car.

Smart vehicles will integrate with one another with specialized smart parking apps and smart spaces within the city to efficiently and painlessly find spaces near their drivers’ destinations.

Though it seems like just one more component in the tapestry of IoT, Smart Parking will drastically reduce the drain on people’s time while on the job, running errands, or out enjoying themselves, and contribute significantly to the efficiency and livability of our developing Smart Cities.

Innovation in Smart Car Tech

The best way to understand the different ways that smart vehicles will change how we park is to look at the many new innovations in smart car technology. What difference can each type of technology make in the parking experience?

The better we understand what’s next for smart vehicles, the better prepared we’ll be to leverage the technology and reshape how we get around our smart cities.

Communication Skills in Smart Tech, Including Smart City Parking

Perhaps the foundational and most important innovation in smart vehicle technology is the Internet of Things itself. This means the communication skills and interconnectedness of cars with online uplinks.

Stable onboard internet connections

As more vehicles are produced with stable onboard internet connections, they will be able to form a network and communicate to create a comprehensive, shared picture of what’s happening on the road.

Accidents and Roadblocks

Not only will accidents and blockages be reported immediately, encouraging drivers to reroute before a traffic jam can form — but accidents can also be avoided entirely as a mechanical breakdown. One vehicle can be promptly reported to other cars in the area, allowing them to stop immediately.

Car-to-Car Internet Communication

If any single invention besides A.I. is vital to the advent of autonomous vehicles, it’s car-to-car internet communication.

Not surprisingly, car-to-car communication is just as helpful in finding a place to stop as where and when to go. Cars on the network could communicate where drivers are going. When someone is leaving a nearby parking space, internet communication can coordinate the timing of arrivals and departures so that one vehicle is scheduled to arrive just as the other departs.

For either street or lot parking, the interconnectedness of the internet signals can create a seamless transition between vehicles. Every parking period can effectively become scheduled and automated, with every car in the network communicating parking spot availability seamlessly.

The J.A.R.V.I.S. Experience

Remember how before he became a lovesick magenta robot and lost his dry wit, Tony Stark’s supercomputer in the Avengers movies was called J.A.R.V.I.S.? Tony could control J.A.R.V.I.S. through slick, intuitive hand motions to make projected holographic images grow and shrink, spin and zoom?

Just Move Your Hands to Contact Your Vehicle

That incredibly nerdy J.A.R.V.I.S. reference is an example of a system employing 3D gestures, which users use to interact with computers by moving their hands. The hand movement responds to augmented reality (or, if we’re really being futuristic, projected) interface.

No interface is even necessary so long as the gestures are precise. But soon, we will be able to select music, set climate preferences, speed up or slow down, and otherwise wholly control our vehicles just by moving our hands.

How does a system of 3D gestures change parking?

Imagine approaching your destination and seeing a 3D image of the nearest parking structure. The image can highlight parking spots closest to your destination through IoT that is likely to become available soon.

All you need to do is point to the spot you want to park then your navigation system will lead you to the parking structure you prefer — and just in time.

Soon, just like swiping on a smartphone — you will be able to move between potential spaces and set parking times. You’ll even be able to use gestures to maneuver into and out of spots or call another vehicle out from tight spaces when returning from errands.

All World Gadgets Integrated into Your Car

No discussion of the Internet of Things is complete without talking about all the connected things and all those that will be interconnected in the future.

As we integrate all our devices into the IoT, we will definitely include our vehicles, which will be connected with our phones, our smartwatches, and our home organization devices like Siri, Alexa, or Cortana.

This interconnectivity means we will never be far from a way to communicate with our cars. For example, a simple tap of a phone or watch could draw a car out of a parking spot. In addition, you’ll be able to interface with your vehicle’s cameras to see if a more desirable area has opened up nearby to remotely pilot the car into a better, closer parking spot.

While relaxing at home before running errands, drivers could reserve parking spaces using their home organization tools, merging the seamlessness of the IoT with the convenience of smart parking — and smart everything else.

Automation Rules the Nation

When discussing smart city parking as a concept, most people’s thoughts likely go to a feature many vehicles already possess: automated parking. Automated parking refers to vehicles that can perform the maneuver of parking on their own.

Some vehicles can only park in perpendicular spaces (think parking lots), while newer models can parallel park so quickly that many people will have flashbacks to their driving exams.

This automation parking feature, still most common in upper-mid or upscale automobiles, is a bit of simple autonomous driving that is worked into an otherwise human-controlled vehicle. So its utility for parking is pretty straightforward, right?

Automated parking helps you park, but sparing drivers the hassle of scooching into a tiny parallel spot is just the beginning of what semi-autonomous parking can do to advance the cause of smart parking.

How Much Autonomy Will Your Car Possess?

With just a bit more autonomy, these vehicles could pull into and out of parking spots all independently. Can you picture your car dropping you off at the door of your destination and then self-piloting over to your network-designated location?

The car could then do the same thing in reverse and pull out of the spot and pick the driver up where they’d gotten out.

Rather than full, AI-driven autonomy, this feature would harness interconnectivity to control all the connected cars in a lot — like cogs in a machine. The car would move through a smart city parking space in a designated order, using existing collision detection features to avoid accidents.

Cameras on Cars and Other Vehicles for Smart Parking in Smart Cities

Many vehicles currently have cameras on them. From the complex array of cameras, RADAR, LIDAR, SONAR, and more on an autonomous vehicle to the backup cameras on a standard sedan, smart cars are brimming with visual recording devices.

These cameras are used primarily for navigation and safety to help drivers find their way and maneuver without causing accidents. But thanks to the IoT, a car laden with cameras is a moving source of helpful information about traffic, road conditions, and smart city parking for other vehicles out and about.

Connected to the Network, a Car Easily Moves Through the City

As cars connected to the network move through the city, their cameras could film the conditions on the road and the presence of parking spots. They could then inform other cars on the smart city parking network that these spots are available.

With straightforward communication or interconnectedness — even vehicles or their owners not on the network could have interconnectedness through their phone’s presence be factored into the network’s data. All drivers could know when a spot is available regardless of whether the past occupant is uplinked or not.

Applying analytics to this data could help create predictive trend models for parking in any area, accurately projecting where and how frequently spots become available to guide the smart parking process.

Smart City Parking Lots — Lots Better

Smart parking will benefit more than just drivers and vehicle owners — it will also be a significant source of efficiency and monetization for the owners of parking lots.

The IoT-connected smart cars can schedule each other’s parking times and locations, then interface with participating parking lots to position every vehicle into the most advantageous spots.

With IoT in cities, will mean smart city parking. It will even be possible to rotate an entire garage’s worth of cars using the IoT to reposition vehicles to more convenient locations.

Automated parking garages use complex machinery to move immobile vehicles around. With a fully connected smart garage, the cars would move independently, programmed in concert through the IoT.

Automated parking also means that vehicles can park much closer together.

Without drivers and passengers needing to get in and out, cars can park inches apart, dramatically saving space and allowing lots to fit in many more cars. In addition, using the same system, these cars can all move through the lot automatically, which means that drivers can leave their vehicles at the lot entry.

The network of interlinked vehicles in smart city parking would maneuver their car into a good parking spot and then wait at the designated location for their car to come rolling up on its own.

Park-by-car could keep pedestrians out of the parking lot itself, increasing both safety and smoothness of operations. Vehicles in smart city parking would enter and exit spots without waiting for pedestrians to pass.

Conclusion

Smart city parking is, again, just one of the many ways in which the Internet of Things will empower our devices to facilitate a streamlined modern culture better.

Every new innovation in smart automobile technology will have its own effect on smart parking, making the process more and more efficient.

For those of us who will never give up our right to enjoy driving, smart city parking will at least take the hassle out of looking for a great parking spot and will make sure that lot proprietors can maximize the value of their space.

Image Credit: by Kostiantyn Stupak; Pexels; Thank you!

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The Internet of Things (IoT) is bringing about a sea change in our lives. It is nothing but a technological paradigm that uses a wide range of technologies to develop various applications for multiple sectors. IoT in Kitchen helps in several ways from getting menus from restaurants to tracking your micro and macro nutrients.

IoT enabled consumer devices focus on connected devices that can help consumers with their daily lives. These devices can range from simple ones, typically worn on the body, to high-end automation applications for industries.

Among these emerging technologies IoT enabled smart kitchen and kitchen appliances is rising. The success of smart kitchens hinges on the fact that this tech improves nearly every aspect of cooking. As an example, a smart oven connects to apps that provide cooking tips. Moreover, smart kitchens can also bring down waste. 

The Smart kitchen technology also tracks how long items have been in your fridge and notifies you when they’re nearing their expiration date.

These are a few of the many reasons why people are so excited about this technology. Let’s read more about it.

Benefits of IoT in the kitchen

Here’s a list of the key benefits of an IoT enabled smart kitchen: 

Personal Nutritionist

IoT-based connectivity in the kitchen enables people to consume healthy meals. For instance, technology has emerged that serves as a personal nutritionist, helping users to achieve their personalized health goals.

Smartphone IoT apps are capable of providing fully customized dietary programs approved by experienced doctors. Now, there are apps that can identify foods, scan food products for nutritional information and even keep track of your nutrient’s consumption throughout the day.  

Also, by keeping a check on the weight of the jars through sensors, users can be alerted about the food items like lentils, nuts etc. when their quantity is less than a threshold value.

Smart Kitchens ensure safety

Here are some of the safety benefits that an IoT enabled smart kitchen brings:

• Detection of cooking gas level and mass.
• Leakage detection in cooking gas pipe/cylinder.
• Smoke detection and fire.
• Alarm sound and visible LED indicator for gas leakage and smoke detection, and low gas levels.
• Mobile notifications for gas detection, smoke detection and low gas level.

Makes Cooking Less Hectic

Cooking is not a task everybody enjoys doing. Most people find it quite cumbersome and require patience. With the help of smart kitchen appliances, you will be able to save time in the kitchen. These appliances will explain to you the steps of the cooking process, analyze your cooking preferences, and increase the efficiency of food preparation.

As IoT technology grows and matures, it will even be possible to control cooking appliances remotely with an app. 

The smart kitchen helps in making cooking much easier for the average person to cook delicious dishes in less time. More importantly, consuming more nutritious food prepared in a smart kitchen will encourage people to eat healthy homemade dishes, as opposed to unhealthy fast food. 

IoT In Kitchen Helps in Cost and Waste Reduction

If the refrigerators are made smart enough to process what vegetables and fruits are stored in them, and accordingly it could make suggestions of what to cook based on what’s already in your fridge, then food waste can be reduced to a great extent. Smart Fridge can also make suggestions based on what ingredients have the possibility of expiring soon.

Moreover, it would also eliminate the hassle of going to the store to buy additional ingredients.

Use Cases of IoT in the kitchen

There are several use cases of IoT in kitchen appliances, when we talk about AI enabled smart homes.

Advanced Cooktops

Smart kitchen devices like smart cooktops serve as highly useful replacements for the conventional cooktops.  Therefore, there is no need to be concerned about the exact temperature because the app communicates cooking settings directly from the cooktop. 

The scheduling can be done to turn off the flame after a certain time, which can also be suggested by the AI powered app. Also, with smoke detections, chimneys can automatically be turned ON.

Grow Your Own Fresh Herbs

With the help of a smart garden, you can grow your own herbs. Based on the moisture level of the soil, the water sprinklers can be turned ON and OFF.

Also, Nutritive value of the soil can be measured and fertilizers can be added accordingly based on the suggestions of AI Powered Apps, Moreover the system could also suggest what herb can be grown with current soil conditions. Smart Farming is an essential aspect of healthy living and Smart Kitchens.

Make Your Coffee with Just Your Smartphone

Using the smart coffee maker, you can make coffee remotely. By pressing a few icons on your smartphone or tablet, the coffee maker will start brewing.  You hardly need to be concerned about the taste of the coffee as the coffeemaker has been used globally.

How smooth will your day go, if by pressing the stop on the Alarm clock, your Coffee maker is notified to get your coffee ready? IoT in Kitchen can introduce you to an AI empowered new world.

Camera in the Refrigerator

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a smart refrigerator featuring an LCD screen that provides information about its products, expiration dates, and your grocery list and so on?

With the help of a wireless camera added to your refrigerator, you will be able to see exactly what you have inside from any location. It doesn’t matter if you’re at work, a shop, or anywhere else, you’ll be able to see precisely what ingredients you have. This will ensure that you don’t buy what you already have in the fridge.

IoT in the kitchen provides a brain to the kitchen and transforms the most important place of the house – Our Kitchen – into intelligent and remotely accessible.

Image Credit: by Michael Burrows; Pexels; Thank you!

The post IoT in the Kitchen appeared first on ReadWrite.

Using human-centered innovation, AI, and SaaS to achieve a more effective last-mile delivery, while making a positive impact on the environment.

A Personal Story — Where’s My Passport?

After not seeing my family for years, I purchased a flight to visit them for Christmas. I will never forget that afternoon in December 2020 when I was impatiently waiting for my U.S. passport. I couldn’t believe that something so personal and delicate as my passport — was located — who knows where. Lost in New York City, trying to find my abode. I repeat: I was impatient. I couldn’t wait all day just sitting on my couch, so I escaped to the dollar store to buy more detergent.

Believe it or not, that specific moment was when the USPS truck ran through Myrtle Avenue in the direction of my house. I moved as fast as I could because I knew that my naive baby passport was there. “PLEASE DON’T GO,” I shouted to the USPS truck guy who was about to leave.

The USPS guy smiled through the window, stopped the truck, and brought it to my hands. This was at the beginning of the pandemic, so imagine, I almost cried and had to hold myself back from hugging the postal worker.

Last Mile — But Not the Least Mile

That final “knocking on the door” moment when people receive their packages is known as the last mile. It is the final delivery leg from the supply chain that takes the orders from the retailer to the customer’s arms.

It is also during the last mile that many things can go wrong — like almost missing your passport — and where many aspects can be reevaluated to remove anxiousness and disappointments of the customers.

NOTE: The four main steps to Supply Chain are: Planning, Sourcing, Manufacturing, and Delivery. If things go wrong — then there is another step — a devastating one — The Return.

Lonely Boxes in the Odyssey to Reach Your Door

Delivery is the fourth step of the supply chain, which means that it’s affected by the timing of the previous steps, specifically manufacturing. As a result, the last mile is unpredictable and its efficiency depends on the communication of the various stakeholders in this system, including the consumer.

Like all relationships — communication is key — and communication is usually a challenge.

The consequence of frequent miscommunications is that packages arrive too early or too late, which not only frustrates the consumer but leaves packages unguarded. Computers, mouse traps, art, books, you name it. Items on different levels of essentiality and urgency, entertainment and luxury — anything and everything.

Essentially — all packages can end up outdoors, exposed to various weather conditions, and vulnerable to theft, especially in urban zones which are facing an increase in overall index crime, like New York for example.

According to Eyal Shats, co-founder of SimpliRoute, a decision-making SaaS platform for logistics, the main challenge of the last mile at a global level is the agility and speed that it demands. “The terms in which products are delivered have been shortened, to the point that today some businesses offer delivery within the same day that the purchase was made.”

A Never-Ending Problem

The cost of this step is expensive in multiple ways. “Free delivery” is marketing.  The cost is either included in the price of the product, or it is unfairly taken from the workers’ salaries. The overall process adds up in gas emissions too — which in 2021 grew by 6.2 percent in the United States.

Time costs more than just money; more time in logistics results in more gas emissions. The gas emission cause more harm to the environment. Plus there will always be delays caused by traffic at any given time of the day.

The last mile seems to be a never-ending problem.

Online shopping is a service in high demand that will keep on growing as the next billion online users are born. The wait, delays, and stolen boxes, all generate friction in the shopping experience, and therefore cart abandonment and other issues.

As designers and producers, we don’t want users to abandon us, so we need to find better ways to work with and for the consumer.

NOTE: In digital marketing, abandonment refers to a situation when a visitor accesses a website but terminates any actions by leaving the page.

Lonely Boxes Can be Happy

Yes, you read my mind, we have to consume consciously and choose products that last longer, that’s the first solution to these issues. But remember that deliveries not only carry treats and luxuries. They also carry medicine, food, documents, educational supplies, and so on.

When I asked Eyal Shats how SimpliRoute is developing innovations in this field, he emphasized that “the implementation of technology in the optimization of processes leaves great savings, and not only in costs but also in time.”

And it’s true, the implementation of SaaS like SimpliRoute can reduce the routing time by 80% and the number of vehicles needed to make the dispatches by up to 10%. This also lowers costs associated with logistics by 34%, increasing the performance of each delivery by 25%. As a result, it reduces the carbon footprint associated with these operations by 30%.

Five Priorities for Industry Leaders to Achieve a Happy Last Mile

• 1. Innovate using algorithms

Powerful algorithms optimize your delivery plan according to the fleet, destination, and available drivers. AI and machine learning allows the product to apply its own experience, and use that information to enhance the service, providing more accurate options.

• 2. Meet software as a service (SaaS)

Apply new technologies to increase efficiency in the delivery routes. This reduces logistical costs and increases customer satisfaction using software that takes the shape of handy apps and websites.

• 3. Build products and systems that are user-centered

These apps and websites are spaces where consumers can participate, giving them the power to follow up and see what’s going on. They can rapidly report changes, requests, or complaints, and even express satisfaction when things go well. This immediate feedback and participation help services get better.

• 4. Iteration generates perfection

Systems — and the people that design them — don’t evolve from plain old repetition. Rather, they learn from their mistakes, bugs, lost bets, and by listening. When we embrace problems as opportunities and prioritize the voice of users, processes evolve.

• 5. Prioritize creating a positive impact

Simplifying the delivery stage by optimizing routes, results in a positive impact on the planet. Yes, the horizon of zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050 is achievable.

When Lonely Boxes Meet Human-Centered Innovation

As designers and industry leaders, we have the responsibility to focus on building a healthier and more resilient infrastructure.

These transformations will be a challenge for the development of logistics since they offer new perspectives. The technologies created to make the supply chain more efficient will be increasingly standardized at a global level.

A standardized supply chain will let us handle the import and export of products agilely.

Working together we can unleash new opportunities, create jobs, drive competitiveness, and cut pollution. We can guarantee that shiny little passports make their way to the right home.

Image Credit: Rodnae Production; Pexels; Thank you!

The post The Problems of Last Mile Delivery and 5 Ways to Improve It appeared first on ReadWrite.

As an increasing number of companies aim for comprehensive digital transformation, the need for increased connectivity and the adoption of IoT are matched only by the proliferation of cybercriminals – both the masterminds and the crime-as-a-service purchasers, whose main target is exploiting IoT devices, with their ultimate goal being attacking the entire organization. IoT devices can be compromised to leak data, harm operations, deny service, or infiltrate the organization’s IT network.

Their ever-growing numbers – current stats range from 27.5 billion devices to 75 billion in only a few more years – means that secure communications and the adoption of IoT security solutions is crucial.

A recent survey revealed that an average of 61 percent of businesses are using IoT to bolster operations. At the same time, 28 percent of companies experienced a cyberattack due to the use of IoT infrastructure, as threats on IoT devices tripled compared to the same period in the previous year.  

The data and findings are based on extensive research done in cooperation with Infiniti Research, a premier provider of market intelligence solutions for leading players across industries.

As IoT devices, networks and uses are an evolving domain, organizations must keep abreast of developments in the ecosystem to take advantage of the operational and cost benefits ahead of the competition.

Cyber security is a pillar in the enablement of IoT deployment, and, in many cases, an inhibitor to large scale remote operations, if not taken into account at the design level. Both the hardware and the software must be protected.

For other IT networks, and other connected devices such as laptops, servers, mobile phones and others, security is often an afterthought, added on to close security gaps on the go.

However, the simplicity of IoT devices in terms of software and hardware, and the possibility of large-scale data sharing among applications and systems, are advantages that may bring an organization’s downfall.

We’ll dive into some of the factors that make IoT device security is a top concern and drive the criticality to address it.

•  Increasing dependence on IoT devices – Growing reliance on IoT devices is borne out of their efficiency, user-friendliness, automation capacity, and time- and money-saving features. Moreover, the IoT world opens new business models for organizations, monetizing on data-as-a-service, product-as-a-service, and process-as-a-service.These new business models lean on digital transformation that has resulted in the need for increased connectivity and technologies – such as 5G, AI, and machine learning – and the increased adoption of IoT especially in communications, finance, hospitality, and healthcare.Furthermore, the global telecom industry depends on IoT adoption to monetize 4G and accelerate 5G adoption to realize business goals, while the automotive sector relies on IoT to advance connected vehicles operation and capabilities.

• Increasing incidences of data breaches – The proliferation of connected devices has created a security blind spot where cybercriminals can launch zero-day attacks to compromise devices such as webcams, smart TVs, routers, printers, and smart homes. The ramifications of such attacks span from inconvenience to day-to-day privacy to disastrous shutdowns. This doesn’t even consider brand damage, legal liability issues, and regulatory fines.Remember the December 2019 lawsuit filed against home security products provider Ring for reports of multiple hacking incidents on its security cameras? The good news is this incident increased market awareness of IoT device security and a demand for more effective security software.
  A 2020 Thales Data Threat report indicated the following top IoT security concerns:

• Privacy violations related by IoT device-generated data-26 percent
• Attacks on IoT devices that may impact critical operations-33 percent
• Loss or theft of IoT devices-27 percent
  
• Lack of product updates provided by manufacturers – To accelerate time to market, manufacturers are spending less time testing and securing their devices. Lack of IoT industry standardization also means manufacturers have had to base programming protocols on their hosts’ ecosystems – losing synchronization across platforms, limiting developers’ ability to create a universal security protocol, and offering hackers multiple platforms from which they can breach the devices and steal data.
• Built-in vulnerabilities in IoT device security – IoT vulnerabilities are broad and wide thanks to default or hardcoded passwords and fewer manufacturer updates. Furthermore, the broad range of transmission technologies make following standard protocols difficult, resulting in unsecured networks with IoT devices remaining exposed and defenseless.

There has also been an increase in the number of attacks on blockchain-based applications, where social engineering is being used to extract usernames and passwords.

While some IoT device security firms are taking steps to identify threat intelligence data and match them with endpoint security solutions to minimize vulnerabilities, they cannot offer complete security against hackers, as the technology requires regular testing, patching, and updating.

 Market Trends Pointing to An Optimistic Future

 IoT security is being addressed with a variety of approaches and technologies.

• The growth of blockchain – This decentralized, distributed ledger-based technology enables direct information-sharing among connected devices. It monitors the information collected by the sensors, without causing them to be duplicated, and enables sensors to transfer data, eliminating the need for a trusted third party.For instance, IBM introduced a new supply chain service based on its blockchain platform, which helps developers combine data onto the distributed ledger with the help of an API. This allows end-users to securely integrate the data from IoT sensor systems onto the hyperledger.

• Increase in the use of AI for IoT security – AI helps safeguard assets, reduce fraud, support analytics, and enable automated decision making in IoT applications. Machine learning can be used to monitor incoming and outgoing traffic in IoT devices to create a profile that determines the normal behavior of the IoT ecosystem – helping detect threats via unusual behavior patterns.Moreover, using AI to collect data from smart homes and organizations, web cameras, and other IoT devices helps provide data security and strengthen privacy, reducing the chances of cyberattacks.For example, organizations are using AI to determine employees access patterns, get insights for future office layouts, and detect suspicious activities. Aerospace and defense companies are combining IoT, AI, and cloud infrastructure to discover DoS or DDoS attacks. 
• Taking a network-based approach to IoT security –IoT security is critical to all aspects of enterprise and personal security. However, due to the volume of devices and the range of manufacturers who may end up in the same environment, it’s next to impossible to ensure the highest level of security in each one. Therefore, securing everything at the network level ensures that threats never have the opportunity to reach the devices. In addition, if manufacturers use virtual SIMs, they can easily be upgraded with security applets from the network itself with minimal hassle.

There is an abundance of approaches for dealing with the cybersecurity gaps that exist in IoT deployments. As the market is set for hyper-growth, we can expect to see a growing ecosystem of companies offering solutions for IoT cyber security, at the hardware, software, communication, and network levels.

We are already seeing cybersecurity companies expanding their offering to address the specificalities of IoT, as well as leading device and software manufactures taking a stance on security and aiming to integrate it into their products.

National bills and regulations, as have been recently passed in the United States and Australia define basic guidelines, but do not give organizations the tools they need to comprehensively protect themselves.

Moreover, as in most cases, vendors are playing a cat and mouse game with threat actors, covering one entry point, while leaving others exposed. Organizations that methodologically take a security-first, network-based approach to their networks and IoT deployments have the advantage of scalability, flexibility and being device agnostic, thus increasing their security posture in this ever-evolving threat landscape.

The right approach to security will ensure that IoT devices make it easy for all of us – except threat actors.

The full FirstPoint Mobile Guard-Infiniti Research report, which will include IoT security market size and trends, will be available in mid-September from FirstPoint Mobile Guard.

Adam Weinberg, Founder & CTO, FirstPoint Mobile Guard (www.firstpoint-mg.com), applies his extensive executive R&D experience in communications intelligence and cyber technologies in shaping FirstPoint solutions, which secure any SIM device, anywhere, against cellular network-specific attacks, app-free and without user intervention.

The post IoT – It Just Isn’t Safe – But it Can Be appeared first on ReadWrite.

Data management through Big Data technology and tools is a relevant topic at the enterprise and state levels. Today, mainly large enterprises use Big Data technology today (about 60% of the market). However, the number of medium and small businesses infusing this tech is growing each year.

By 2025, Big Data analysis and management will no longer be the prerogative of large companies only. In the coming years, Big Data technology will continue to help work more effectively and optimize internal processes.

What can you learn from those already implementing the technology in workflows? First, let’s see some of the bright Big Data success stories.

Big Data as a New Business Development Driver

The amount of information generated in the era of digital technologies and social networks is growing exponentially. If a company has a website and an app, it already has data that can be analyzed. But how can it help the business?

Large companies started to ask this question 7 years ago. However, only about 17% of companies worldwide employed Big Data in their operations in 2015. IT firms, banks, and telecommunications companies have turned out to be the early adopters of Big Data. However, it’s no surprise. These sectors accumulate the most significant amount of data. Banks accumulate data through transactions; telecoms get data through geodata, search engines use query histories.

In the United States, a wide range of industries is using Big Data. Meanwhile, in Europe and Asia, the demand for this technology is slightly lower.

Businesses have started using Big Data three times more in the last five years. Moreover, the application is going to grow. Statista predicts that the global Big Data market will reach $103 billion by 2027, doubling what it was in 2020.

Big Data Trends, Tendencies, and Impact Across Industries

Companies that ignore Big Data technology risk losing profits. Therefore, this fact explains the growing interest in this tech. For example, Caterpillar, a leading specialized equipment manufacturer, admitted that its distributors lost about $15 billion simply because they didn’t implement Big Data technologies. To illustrate, Caterpillar has over 3.5 million vehicles equipped with sensors that collect data on operating conditions. This data assists owners in optimizing the use of their equipment and managing maintenance costs.

Lost profits often manifest in the form of lost customers or missed optimization. Today businesses are focusing on the development of internal Big Data expertise. Hence, a good understanding of Big Data’s impact on processes goes by default.

Investments in Big Data analysis are increasing. Indeed, companies that already employ Big Data analytics will not stop growing the number of their Big Data projects over the following years.

Spendings on Big Data analytics depend on the industry domain. For example, the use of this technology costs millions of dollars to telecom companies. This is because telecoms use more and more servers to store and process data. Additionally, it helps to ensure data protection and confidentiality.

Big Data solutions for businesses differ based on the type of collected data and the challenges addressed. Let’s have a look at some great examples.

1. Big Data in eCommerce

Before the advent of personalization, marketers relied on surveys and sales analysis to determine customer needs. However, this method produces results that are hardly comparable to reality.

H&M suffered ten consecutive quarters of falling profit in 2018, threatening the company’s survival. Big Data algorithms were utilized to stabilize the situation, allowing for removing 40% of the store’s inventory without lowering sales.

Retailers get a massive amount of data that can be used for customer communication and the optimization of internal processes. For example, the Walmart network also uses Big Data technologies to process 2.5 petabytes of data every hour.

Modern retail is shifting away from CRM marketing and toward predictive analytics.

2. Big Data in Healthcare

Medical data analysis has enormous potential. With the use of Big Data technology in healthcare, it’s possible to:

• Lower treatment costs;
• Forecast epidemic breakouts;
• Provide early screening for diseases;
• Improve the overall quality of life;
• Introduce modern treatment methods into practice.

The largest independent manager of pharmacy benefits and one of the largest pharmacies in the United States, Express Scripts processes millions of prescriptions for home-delivered and retail pharmacies every year. Their information about individual patients has become so rich that they will soon be able to notify medical personnel of drug side effects long before it is even prescribed to a patient.

This will result in significant beneficial changes in the health system of the nation:

• Health care providers will determine if a patient is at risk of addiction before prescribing pain relievers. In such cases, it will be possible to choose a different treatment plan or more closely monitor drug consumption;
• Analysis of prescriptions, physiology, and other medical information will aid in identifying the development of a chronic illness or illness that has not yet been adequately diagnosed;
• Analyzing patient compliance with doctor’s orders after discharge will assist in predicting the likelihood of readmission over the next 90 days and take appropriate action to prevent it.

3. Big Data in Telecommunication

Telecommunication companies create solutions that attract many users every day, which makes a vast field for fraud. Illegal access, authorization, fake profiles, cloning, behavioral fraud, are the most prevalent types of fraud. In addition, fraud has a direct impact on relationships with the user. As a result, systems, tools, and methods for detecting fraud are widely employed in the telecom field.

The world’s largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers, China Mobile, has developed the Sky Shield system based on Big Data analysis and machine learning technology. It’s capable of detecting phrases typical of fraudsters, intercepting spam mailings and calls. Developers used the extensive database of fraud cases provided by the police departments to train the algorithm.

The system can also identify user groups who are particularly prone to spam and alert them. Moreover, according to China Mobile, as the Sky Shield is put into practice, the system’s accuracy improves.

4. Big Data Potential for Web Application Development

Big Data can be used to optimize the internal processes in a company through its implementation and infusion into existing corporate mobile and web applications. For example, the UPS logistics firm and the most significant supply chain management company in the US delivers more than 16.9 million goods per day to over 220 countries. It can’t do without Big Data solutions.

To optimize routes and cut costs, the company has implemented the Orion application. It stands for On-road Integrated Optimization and Navigation. The app is the firm’s fleet management web application. The system uses massive cartographic data, data on points of departure and arrival, sizes, and required delivery times of goods to generate optimal routes in real-time.

As a result, UPS saves around 6 million liters of fuel per year, cuts carbon emissions into the atmosphere by 13,000 tons per year, and speeds up deliveries.

5. Big Data Benefits for Education

An American leader in corporate, educational programs, Skillsoft, in collaboration with IBM, leveraged internal data on user interactions to tailor their experience, increase engagement, and improve learning outcomes, directly through the program and email newsletters.

The data on user activity was utilized to monitor engagement and determine the best time and channel of communication to capture the users’ attention. In addition, based on the preferences of the users, a recommendation system of educational content was built (84% of users rated the recommendations as relevant). Moreover, the company infused data-based visualization tools that tailor to each individual user in the system.

6. Advantages of Big Data for Marketing

To track and predict shopping behavior, an ecommerce store of bicycles and motorcycles, BikeBerry has implemented sophisticated machine learning algorithms and statistical models. The collected data on purchase history, demographic and behavioral information combined with the technologies the company used allowed for identifying and utilizing behavioral patterns on the BikeBerry website.

As a result, the store was able to recommend the most relevant products to customers and began making targeted discount offers exclusively to those customers who indeed required them, which helped to:

• Increase sales by 133%;
• Improve user activity by 200%;
• Double the number of returning customers;
• Increase the average check of such customers by 30%.

7. Big Data in Transport

The largest railway corporation in the US, Union Pacific Railroad, has employed Big Data to strengthen its risk management system, resulting in a 75% reduction in train derailments. The company collected data from thermometers, acoustic and visual sensors of each locomotive, information about weather conditions, the state of brake systems, and GPS location of trains.

Based on the data, Union Pacific was able to develop predictive models that allow for the monitoring of the condition of the wheels and the railway and the prediction of train derailments several days or even weeks before an incident.

Big Data technology made it possible to handle such problems swiftly, avoiding damage to trains and delays.

8. Big Data Trends in Public Administration

Governments employ Big Data analysis to make decisions in sectors such as healthcare, employment, economic regulation, crime and security, and emergency response.

Using a Big Data solution, the Los Angeles Police Department could obtain the most likely terms and areas (with great precision, about 50 square meters) of various types of crimes and dispatch additional police forces to prevent them. The LAPD’s system uses historical data on the time, type, and area of ​​crime, and processes them using clustering algorithms in space and time.

No personal data of people in the city and data about their location is used in this case, which allows compliance with privacy regulations. In addition, the decline in crime has resulted in financial savings for the police, the judiciary, and the correctional system.

9. Impact of Big Data on Agriculture

Data analysts believe that Big Data has the most significant prospects in conservative industry sectors such as agriculture. This is because big data will help save both labor and resources in this industry.

Global food demand is anticipated to nearly double by 2050, putting farmers under pressure to raise output. In this case, Big Data refers to the information received from soil sensors, tractors with GPS trackers, and local meteorological channels. Comprehensive analysis of this data allows farmers to manage seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. More, it helps increase productivity.

10. Big Data Benefits for the Mining Industry

In the mining sector, companies face increased competition due to increased requirements for the environmental component of production. As a result, the trend makes it critical for companies to use resources as sparingly as possible.

A mining giant Severstal has implemented a system based on the Internet of Things and Big Data analytics to monitor electricity consumption. According to the company, the solution can significantly improve the quality of energy consumption forecast (by 20-25% monthly) and save $10 million annually by reducing fines, optimizing procurement, and countering electricity theft.

Conclusion

Businesses have been using Big Data for quite a while. However, the flow of data has never been as intensive as it is now. Social networks, online services, and applications today can all be interlinked. At the same time, businesses can get the complete picture of potential customers.

Many would call Big Data the “new gold.” Data analysts predict that Big Data will soon become the primary decision-making tool for every business. Small start-ups and big international organizations will benefit greatly from using this technology.

Image Credit: neklo-llc; thank you!

The post Big Data Technology Success Cases and Trends 2021-25 appeared first on ReadWrite.

Purchasing a second-hand car can either give you a complete nightmare or a fantastic experience. However, it depends on your knowledge when you sign the deal or offer your hard-earned money to the car seller.

Many used car organizations are well-known in Australia. But there are still a few that will be delighted to sell you slightly fewer cars than you negotiate for. In reality, some individual sellers and car dealers have no car history reports. Also, they have no knowledge about the issues with cars when they provide them to you.

If you seek to shop for a used car and want to feel satisfied with your purchase, this blog is just for you. This blog discusses how to check a used car’s history before purchasing it with the help of car history reports.

The specialist motoring websites always help car buyers get details and understand how essential it is to revs check car history. A lot of issues arrive when buyers do not follow the appropriate process and ultimately regret it.

Purchasing a second-hand car can be exciting as well. At the same time, it could be a costly deal for you if you don’t go for the background checks. So let’s discuss how to revs check the accurate car history reports before investing your hard-earned money!

Purchasing a Second-Hand Car

When it comes to purchasing a second-hand car, you should understand that it has a history. Sometimes this history can be good also, such as no accident, dealer-only service, and low mileage history. If you get such a used car, this will be a great deal for you to purchase a brand new car.

However, not always the same thing happens with a second-hand vehicle that is affordable for anyone. In case you are purchasing a car privately, you only need to depend on the details the seller gives you. Over the years, this has changed significantly, particularly with the launch of Revs check and PPSR search for cars across Australia.

This government-given information helps you make the right decisions about car buying as you can access the appropriate data before investing your hard-earned cash.

Why Should You Know the Real History of a Second-Hand Car?

Will you ever purchase a new device without reviewing its details and specifications? Won’t you check its online reviews so you can have all the details before deciding the final choice? So, if you go through this tedious process to buy something exclusively new, why not go for the same method while purchasing a second-hand product?

Just like how you conduct a study on a product online, ask questions and review its specs before purchasing, you need to follow the same process while purchasing a used car. You should get as much precise info on the used car as you want, just like you get lots of details while buying a new car.

And doing this process is not difficult because you have many online portals to get the answers you require to know the history of a used car.

Which Car History Details are Essential to Know?

The Revs check car history reports contain all the necessary details you need to know before purchasing a used car. And if you receive this information from an official online portal in Australia, you know that you will get the best information to make a comprehensive decision.

Let’s have a look at some details that come from looking into a used car’s history!

1. Finance Check

One of the issues related to purchasing a second-hand car is that there may be a loan attached to it. Hence, if you were to buy the vehicle, the loan would come alongside it, and you would need to return the vehicle to the lender or pay off the outstanding. So, before getting its possession, confirm whether it has been paid off or not.

2. Write-Off Check

A check also unveils whether a vehicle has faced an accident before. Sometimes a car that has been considered a write-off at that point wrongfully goes on to be fixed. The car can often be repaired and written off because it costs more to fix than its actual value. However, sometimes the vehicle’s condition is too bad to think about fixing and could even be hazardous if it was on the road again, yet they can appear on the web.

Car history reports tell you that the car you will purchase is safe. So, it is worth paying a nominal fee that the check demands.

3. Stolen Status

Knowing whether you are buying a stolen car is also the essential information to have before deciding. Every year, many vehicles are reported stolen, and often they are found for sale online. If you check the car history reports before taking over the car ownership, you can be sure that you have signed the right deal.

4. Vehicle Identification Number

To check a car’s history, you need the vehicle identification number. This is found behind the windscreen, on the chassis of the car, and the car body. The seller must permit checking this number. Do not forget to check this to ensure that it hasn’t been tampered with and must match the documentation.

5. Manufacturing Status

Car history reports also help you find the model, manufacturing, and similar types of cars. Moreover, you can find the cars in similar shades at the current date and every color available earlier. Also, you will get to know the date of manufacturing and registration of the car and how many owners it has had previously.

To get car history reports online, you can visit the revscheckreport dotcom online portal that is affordable for anyone. By checking car data, you can get all the essential info and make a detailed decision on car buying.

Furthermore, most used cars that are advertised online are completely legal and authentic. So you can negotiate with the price; however, some indecent people may try to make fun of you. This is why it is essential to check car history reports online on your own.

How Will You Get the Real Car History Reports?

A PPSR search gives you access to govt collected information in one place. This search helps car buyers receive all the necessary details discussed above to know the car before buying. Sometimes, this detail is available via official government channels also.

The revs check online portal gathers all cars in Australia with a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). You can collect this information from different registries and access it at an affordable cost. Then, you can use this data.

Suppose you are looking for easy-to-read and already available car history reports that are affordable for anyone and an official government-issued PPSR certificate. In that case, you must run a PPSR search through REVS Check Report.

Are You Ready for Your Car History Reports?

Getting car history reports is now easier than ever. You can go online with the REVS Check Report website and check the history of any second-hand car in Australia. This will genuinely help you invest your hard-earned money in the right product.

Image Credit: Provided by the author; Thank you!

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Lots of articles have been written in the past year explaining what you need as a city planner to make your city smart, but the Dutch city of Breda believes openness with citizens, stakeholders, and utilities is the best way to achieve your goals without confusion or additional cost.

Speaking to Computer Weekly, Corné Kriesels, co-ordinator of cables and pipes for the city of Breda, said a “bottom up approach” is the only way for a smart city to succeed, which requires city planners to understand the challenges of its own systems and goals for the city.

See Also: Most U.K. councils’ smart city projects just hot air

From there, city planners start talking to stakeholders and smart city architects to create a vision for their future city.

“Ultimately, we all need each other, so we need to optimise processes for everyone involved,” said Kriesels to Computer Weekly. “That takes time and money at the start, but will ultimately yield substantial savings.”

On top of openness from the start, there must also be an understanding across all parties involved on the roles and responsibilities. Kriesels claims that the understanding from all parties will remove issues in the long term, even if it takes longer for city planners to move forward.

City planners should also be public about investments and interests from the get-go, to avoid public complaints. Plenty of public projects, like Budapest’s attempt to cut down green space and replace it with another museum center, has led to public outcry against the city leaders.

A smart city is an open, transparent city?

Kriesels ultimately sees all smart city projects working in an open, public environment, like iCass built for Breda. The app is run by city administrations, which add projects and other resources for contractors and stakeholders, who can upload progress of the project in real-time. In the future, the app will be open to the public, giving them more opportunities to view and discuss the projects.

In the future, Kriesels hopes to bring public WiFi, currently available in the city center, to the entire city. He also wants charges for smartphones available at bus stops and other areas, and smart garbage that recognizes when a bin is over three quarters full.

Breda is an interesting case study for other smart cities in development, on how openness and an ability to strategize before rushing into decisions can pay off in the long term.

Not everyone agrees: Google’s Sidewalk Labs has been lurking in the shadows for months, attempting to win a smart city contract. Instead of an open platform where the city controls the flow of information and projects, Sidewalk Labs wants to be responsible for the development of new zones, the creation of new public tech, and an apparent requirement for Sidewalk Labs service is deregulation of utilities.

There’s no one perfect method for smart city success, but Breda is ranked the smartest city in the Netherlands, and one of the highest ranked in the world. The openness since the beginning also means Breda is less likely to be accused of unorthodox development or a lack of public interest, at least, compared to most smart city projects.

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Cities, college campuses, and communities of all shapes and sizes use smart technologies to help keep their residents safe, city operations efficient and improve local quality of life. But whether it’s smart lighting, connected vehicles, networked intersections, or smart buildings, the real value is in the data being collected. This in turn can be used to provide the types of crucial insights used to make long-term planning and improvement decisions.

Navigating the New Normal: How Cities are Using Data to Adjust for New Norms

When it comes to traffic patterns, this kind of data can help governments identify their most congested and hazardous streets and intersections – and in turn plan for ways to reduce travel times and traffic-related injuries and fatalities.

Predictable traffic patterns are no longer predictable

Historically, the use of travel demand surveys and sophisticated traffic simulations and models has accomplished this work. These technologies relied on predictable traffic patterns based on years of ground-truth movement data.

However, our traffic patterns are no longer well understood or predictable due to the ongoing pandemic. Most people are no longer commuting to and from work. Visitors aren’t coming in and out of cities on the weekends, traffic to and from airports has largely disappeared, and commercial vehicles are delivering different goods to different locations and at different frequencies.

The pandemic has altered everything that we previously knew to be “normal.”

Governments now need to invest in solutions that can recharacterize this new and fluid post-pandemic normal by putting an increased emphasis on more versatile Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) solutions that can give transient and near real-time transportation insights.

At its core, the value that intelligent transportation systems can provide governments and other businesses has been well known throughout the transportation industry. Others (including additional government entities) also realize this potential from both an operational and financial standpoint. They have added emphasis on use cases such as recharacterizing post-pandemic local traffic profiles.

Changes in large city shifts and dwelling

For instance, with many companies publicly stating that their employees will continue to work from home permanently and a lion’s share of their children still attend school virtually, we see a major shift in people leaving big cities like New York City, San Francisco and Toronto.

Many people are migrating to the suburbs. In fact, during the second quarter of 2020, Realtor.com’s quarterly Cross Market Demand Report found that 51 percent of property searches on the site from city residents in the nation’s 100 largest metro areas were for homes in the suburbs of those metro areas. This was a record high since the website began tracking that data in 2017.

The migration

This migration will have a major impact on traffic patterns, potentially reducing traffic in major metropolitan areas and increasing both consumer and commercial traffic in suburban jurisdictions. Without a detailed understanding of these changes, traffic engineers and signal operations cannot make the necessary adjustments to their traffic infrastructure.

Fortunately, unlike the abrupt pandemic-driven changes in traffic patterns that cities have been dealing with over the past several months, governments have more advanced opportunities to prepare for this newer migration trend.

As a result, we are going to see a growing interest from some of these smaller cities to acquire near real-time transportation analytics products and services to manage this trend better.

This is where a source of probe-based transportation data can add value, and in particular where aggregated connected-vehicle insights such as what is offered by Geotab are of increasing interest.

Data driving solutions

These relatively low-cost solutions (compared to legacy systems) can be used to make more informed decisions on how to improve traffic based on real-world driving characteristics. More specifically, they can enable cities to:

• Reduce surface congestion and streamline the movement of people and commercial goods
• Minimize traffic-related injuries and fatalities
• Maximize operating efficiencies and reduce traffic operations costs

These solutions can help governments build better and more accurate local traffic models capable of adapting to real-world spatial and temporal traffic variations. For instance, insights on traffic speed, bottlenecks, traffic signal efficiency, driving behaviors and much more can be gleaned from these solutions. They can also identify when and where there are hazardous driving conditions.

With the pandemic definitely putting a spotlight on the need for more modernized public services, many governments are looking for ways to become more nimble and versatile.

As a result, governments will be moving toward adopting these kinds of new and innovative technologies to streamline operations and automate services at a much lower cost compared to more intrusive alternatives. For example, many are using expensive legacy systems for monitoring, planning and managing traffic operations.

The majority of these systems are static and therefore only collect traffic information in set locations. While these systems have worked for cities or transportation departments during more normal, pre-pandemic times, new and our volatile post-pandemic world needs more versatile technologies.

Cities need to make investments in smart city technologies that will continue to adapt and scale to ever-changing environments.

Understanding operations

Government organizations have begun to understand the importance and true benefit of modernizing their operations. However, there may now be fewer resources and more scrutiny around allocating net new spending for these technology initiatives.

Geotab offers solutions that can help governments modernize their operations while providing them with a net positive return on their investment. In particular, by harnessing the power of connected vehicles, we provide relatively inexpensive intelligent transportation solutions and data insights to several government organizations.

Bringing Smarter Streets to Las Vegas

While planning for the post-COVID landscape is by nature almost entirely theoretical at this point, some of the potential transportation solutions that could be used to navigate it are already in place to some extent.

Earlier this year, a white paper published by Geotab outlined some of the progress being made in Las Vegas using smart city technologies that can help create just the sort of data-driven insights cities will need when adapting to an uncertain future.

Geotab, along with Waycare and the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC), collaborate to create a first-of-its-kind product that utilizes data-driven analytics and actions to support traffic signal operations.

Each partner contributed a unique set of skills to the project, with Geotab processing and analyzing the traffic data, Waycare applying the data to its traffic management platform, and RTC using the results to formulate long-term traffic plans.

Data to correlate

Thanks to data processed from millions of connected vehicles, as well as additional third-party data sets, Geotab was able to gain a larger understanding in a number of key areas:

• Traffic queue lengths per intersection per time of day per turning movement
• Average dwell or stop times per intersection per time of day per turning movement
• Signal cycles per queue (how many green lights to clear a queue)
• Corridor travel time
• Corridor stop propensity

How insights serve the community

These insights can help equip traffic engineers with the necessary intelligence to move residents and commercial goods more efficiently. Data understanding helps cities to implement and effectively manage traffic calming and road improvement projects, and proactively deploy first responders to critical areas in an effort to reduce on-site arrival times.

Crucial data

By adopting these new and innovative capabilities, cities can make an immediate and positive impact on their transportation networks. In addition, cities can gather crucial data to help them make informed decisions for years to come.

In the era of big data and the Internet of Things, and with an increasingly large number of connected vehicles, we can generate insights that were not possible before.

By leveraging cloud infrastructure and machine learning techniques, we can create smarter cities that provide more data and enable governments to adapt and improve continually.

Image Credit: craig adderley; pexels; thank you!

The post Navigating the New Normal: How Cities are Using Data to Adjust for New Norms appeared first on ReadWrite.

The telecommunication industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region grew moderately between 2010 and 2014. Increased revenues resulted in a 1.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in 2014. The market flourished even when compared to the American and European telecom industries.

B2B Growth in the Light of Digital and 5G Era

Notably, most operators have invested in mainly the fiber and mobile markets (4G and 5G). The industry’s revenue is anticipated at 1.7% CAGR, which amounts to $7.1 billion. This rapid growth can be ensured by deploying innovative digital transformation and technologies.

The Telecommunication Industry in MENA Region

MENA Telecommunication market growth in B2B, especially in the context of their ongoing Digital Transformation and the preparation of 5G network and new services deployments.

The MENA Market Trends and Forecasting

By 2025’s end, the MENA region will mark its stellar achievements in the telecom sector. This will be done with digital revolutions and the integration of new technologies and services—the data provided below spells out the telecom industry’s potential milestones by 2025.

Mobile Subscribers

There were 375 million mobile users in the MENA region in 2017. This amounts to 64% of the total population. It is projected to increase to 69% (459 million unique mobile subscribers) by 2025.

Mobile Operator Revenues

The revenue generated from mobile users was $68 billion in 2017. Trends and forecasts show that this will become $78 billion by 2025. The operator capital expenditure (CAPEX) from 2018-2020 is $34 billion.

Smartphones Connections

In 2017, smartphone connections were 49%. This percentage will be 74% by 2025’s end.

Telecom Market in the Digital Transformation Era

1. Evolving Core Telecom Market

• A great demand for data.
• The decline of voice revenue due to the high demand for over-the-top media services.
• A challenging regulatory environment.

2. Growth in digital services

• Growth in B2B (Business to Business) services such as IoT, cloud, cybersecurity, and megaprojects (E.g., smart cities).
• Growth in B2C (Business to Consumer) services such as digital across entertainment, digital lifestyle, and emerging services.
• Growth in areas like mobile financial services (MFS), digital advertising, and e-commerce.

3. Network Transformation

• Deployment of new access technologies (E.g., 5G, Fiber, Edge, NB-IoT, LTE-M).
• Network virtualization and digitization of front-end and back-end.
• IT full-stack modernization and Exchange-to-Exchange (E2E) orchestration.

4. Changing Consumer Behaviors

• Demand for a seamless customer experience.
• Increasing demand for digital interactions across the customer journey.
• Evolution of enterprises powered by Industry 4.0.

5. Internal efficiencies and transformation

• Enhancement of efficiencies and agility with Robotic Process Automation (RPA), analytics, and AI.
• Optimization of operating models and process re-engineering.
• Culture change and talent acquisition/ re-skilling for new capabilities.

Industries that will be impacted by 5G

Energy Sector

5G technology will ensure the efficient control of energy and power production. Furthermore, it will be used to process tower monitoring and remote transmission. It will also improve security.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing 5G use cases are tied to the mission-critical concept of factory automation (the processes that must happen in extremely tight time frames to ensure revenue stability without any loss).

In this industry, 5G will also enable abilities like real-time production inspection and assembly line maintenance.

Healthcare

5G will facilitate remote telesurgery and patient monitoring. This will enable doctors to provide care from afar. The network could help augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications.

Smart Cities

5G will improve smart cities’ prospects, including transportation, smart buildings, and smart metering.

Transportation

Thanks to 5G, the emergence of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) is growing faster than expected.

Enterprise concerns regarding 5G and Internet of Thing (IoT)

1. IoT Use and Cases

IoT is associated with a positive investment profile. It is a key driver of the fourth industrial revolution. However, a surprising number of enterprises are still unconvinced about it.

40% of enterprises cite poor understanding of its benefits and use cases as a concern, the joint-top answer. IoT’s game-changing potential may be lost if these basic concerns are not addressed.

2. Immature Strategy

While the 5G investment is set to catch up with IoT spending over the next two years, doubts surround its readiness and relevance. 34% fear that 5G is immature, while 32% believe it is not relevant to overall technology and business strategy.

This is instructive since Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT) providers position 5G as much more than just a better mobile connection. Findings suggest that 5G has yet to punch its weight as a driver of strategic change.

3. Security and OPS

Both 5G and IoT will give rise to a new horizon of connectivity endpoints. While this can help catalyze new value propositions and closer customer relationships, it may also open the door to new cyber threats. Tellingly, this ranks as the highest concern for both technologies.

Enterprises also struggle to see how both technologies integrate with legacy systems or function with other emerging technologies.

Select 5G use cases for enterprise and B2B

Here are the three main pillars in which 5G might affect the use cases for KSA:

SMART GRIDS

• Public
• Mission-critical utilities –water active grid & energy active grid

Global electricity demand is growing at a tremendous pace. To manage this demand, new technological solutions such as smart grids and virtual power plants have emerged.

Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are connected entities that optimize energy flow through the entire network. VPPs help owners gain maximum profit while keeping the electric network’s balance at the lowest cost available. Typically, they combine several types of resources.

LOGISTICS

Semi-Autonomous vehicles: Fully autonomous, self-driving cars may not be a reality just yet. However, semi-autonomous vehicles with intelligent driving systems installed by default will take to the highways in 2021. And by 2022, 100% of the new vehicles shipped by OEMs will have smart telematics and other connectivity systems.

New Solutions for vehicles: The greater state of connectivity will result in multiple new technological innovations and business models. These include new fleet management solutions, in-car payments and connected commerce, remote diagnostics and OTA updates, predictive maintenance, usage-based auto insurance, and more.

SMART CITIES

Smart Street Lights: A connected system that manages street light schedules, combined with LED lights, can decrease energy costs by up to 77%. This will generate a positive ROI in four years.

Connected CCTV Systems: They can streamline more data in real-time to ensure better monitoring of traffic conditions and public safety. For example, smart streetlights equipped with a video camera and/or gunshot detection sensors can deliver real-time information to officials so that they can respond faster.

Intelligent Parking: Smart parking stations can send 5G data about free parking spots and pricing straight to the driver’s onboard vehicle system. Such solutions can reduce traffic congestion by 8% and generate $93,700 in monthly revenue per parking space.

Connected Traffic Lights: New real-time traffic management systems can emerge and deliver a greater level of control over traffic flow in response to specific demand levels. The integration of 5G will allow for the creation and deployment of traffic strategies in response to real-time conditions like rush hour and congestions.

City managers could also use other strategies to prioritize public transport and optimize the overall traffic flow to reduce stop-start driving. This will reduce pollution.

How can 5G contribute to MENA operators?

1. Customized Pricing

Most providers offer multiple pricing plans with different data limits and other features. One plan might have low set-up fees and high overage charges, while a second offer the inverse.

When evaluating their options, most companies choose a standard plan rather than requesting a customized offering. This is because they lack insight into their connectivity needs and usage patterns.

Without this information, they often pay for unnecessary features, such as a data-volume allowance that far exceeds their requirements.

2. IoT Solutions

Solutions that are easy to adapt must be implemented. Real-time data analysis and the provision of rapid actions to changing needs will drive various sectors. Considering the MENA region and KSA landscape, smart cities, health care, and energy will be the leading sectors.

3. New Products & Services

With the enhancements of 5G, businesses will further change their working traditions. Virtual offices, holographic communications, and real-time live translations might easily become part of the new business environment and customer services. As Saudi is a service-oriented country, some of the new solutions could easily be monetized.

4. Smart Cities

Due to the government’s investments in improving the nation’s quality of life, there is vast potential in the adaptation of these services with a particular focus on security.

Conclusion

This article concludes that introducing the 5G network with digital reforms will create many opportunities for the MENA Region. It will assist investors and the telecom industry. Furthermore, it will lead to economic growth potent enough to enable the region to compete with the rest of the world.

Additional sources you may wish to read:

GSMA – The Mobile Economy Middle East and North Africa 2018

Ericsson, NGMN, TechRepublic, Tech Pro Research, ZDNet, CNET

TM forum Analysis, And Press Releases of Telco Op.

https://www.ey.com/en_gl/telecommunications

Additional Links on this Subject from ReadWrite:

1. As Oil Flags, Middle Eastern Capital Flowing to IoT, Smart Cities
2. Big Data in the Telecommunications Ecosystem
3. Are Telecoms Being Overlooked in Smart City Deployments?
4. Not Just Connectivity, Telecom Must Leverage the Most of IoT to Deliver Value-Based Services

Top Image Credit: jo kassis; pexels

The post B2B Growth in the Light of Digital and 5G Era – Middle East Market appeared first on ReadWrite.

Research firm Gartner says Middle Eastern governments are spending more on the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart city investments, as the region tries to diversify away from oil.

As reported by ZDNet, recent research by Gartner anticipated $11.5 billion in IT spending by governments across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region this year. The 2016 projection translates into a 2% increase from 2015.

“Overall spend is on the increase,” said Moutusi Dey Sau, a Gartner analyst. “Most of the investment is focused on industries beyond the oil industry.”

This comes as governments all over the world are increasing their IoT and smart city infrastructure investments.

The move to concentrate more government spending beyond petroleum-related IT investment is seen as an attempt by MENA countries to diversify away from oil. The fall in global oil prices has hit traditional petroleum-dependent economies hard, particularly Saudi Arabia.

“High dependence on the oil industry is one of the biggest challenges for this region,” said Sau. “These regions are in a very early stage of technology adoption,”

She says the attempt to diversify by MENA governments is seeing increased IT spend in such areas as IoT and smart city initiatives. As well, regional governments are investing in such areas as software, data center systems, devices, telecoms and wider IT services.

Gartner anticipates $3.1 billion in MENA government spending on mobile network services this year. Sau says the bulk of this spending will come from Saudi Arabia, which is the region’s largest IT investor.

“Saudi Arabia is a fast-growing market and is projected to be a $1billion [mobile] market by 2020,” she says.

Despite oil prices, impressive spending in the region

However, Sau says Gartner is seeing impressive mobile spending growth in areas beyond the Persian Gulf states which are the MENA region’s traditional IT powerhouses.

“The regions in North Africa are mainly driving the spend in telecoms in mobile phones, close to $3 billion in 2016,” says Sau. “Changing consumer behavior, fast adoption of technology, the spread of digital transformation are all reasons for North Africa leading the IT spending in this region.”

Meanwhile, Turkey is the MENA region’s lowest government IT spender, largely due to the country’s ongoing political and economic turmoil.

The post As Oil Flags, Middle Eastern Capital Flowing to IoT, Smart Cities appeared first on ReadWrite.

How often do you use a smart device at your home? Indeed several times, knowingly or unknowingly. Be it a smartphone, wearable, personal electronics, smart bulbs, or tablets, these devices have become an integral part of our lives. Our homes now have multiple smart devices that are considered “intelligent devices.” However,  the trend for smart spaces or cities extends far beyond our homes.

We live in a time of urban transition. Increasingly people are flocking to cities, and cities are evolving rapidly. The UN predicts that 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050. Accommodating more people is not only a challenge but these cities are trying to work with “quality of life and sustainability,” which are the key issues everywhere. Smart city initiatives can address these issues.

What smart city looks like?

A smart city concept focuses on utilizing technology to effectively manage the city’s assets and resources to improve the quality of services, and hopefully, life for its residents.

The technology comprises six building blocks. It encompasses what is termed, smart people,  smart city economy, smart mobility,  smart environment.

It also includes — smart living and smart governance — that together can contribute to the realization of smart city strategy by augmenting social inclusion, technological inclusion, economic development, and environmental sustainability to drive the smart economy.

Smart People

Smart people being at the heart and the fundamental block of the smart city system requires attributes like professional excellence, high Human Development Index, integrated education system, attracts knowledge workers, inhabitants opts for e-learning models, embraces technological changes, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and contributes towards making the city more liveable.

Smart city residents have to be more involved. But how is that possible? Thanks to technology.   Let’s look at the example, wherein citizens can utilize apps that allow them to report local issues more easily or community networking platforms that allow neighbors to connect and share resources.

This is just one, there are several ways in which technology can help. Therefore, developing a center for learning new technologies, and encouraging investments in technology are essential.

Smart City Economy

An ideal smart city economy has a very long list of attributes; however, in a nutshell, the city should be well versed with its economic DNA and work closely towards enlightening entrepreneurship, investments, tourism, human resource, natural resource, and innovation.

A dedicated innovation center, eCommerce, and business center are what facilitates a smart city economy. The idea of Technopolis can accelerate the economic development of the city and ultimately the nation.

Smart Mobility

Mobility here not only should be focused on vehicles but the human aspect. Traffic being the bane of many a city-dweller’s life, technology can offer some promising sustainable transportation solutions.

Example-public transport routes can be adjusted to demand in real-time, intelligent traffic light systems to improve congestion, traffic management, public transportation apps, intelligent bus stops, vehicle sharing apps, parking sensors, etc.

Robust ICT, Logistics, and public transport powered by technology can solve traffic woes and keep it flowing.

Smart Environment

The smart environment is another crucial block of the smart city system. Here the aim is to preserve the ecological and environmental system with the help of network & environmental monitoring and energy efficiency.

Here, too, technology has a critical role to play. Providing environmental information and alerts, monitoring distribution networks, and using sensors in containers.

It is also making use of apps to identify accidents, using electric vehicles, intelligent lighting, smart grids, and numerous other technological solutions that can drive the efficiency and results that a smart city aims for all.

Smart Living

What contributes to smart living? Aesthetic daily life in the city. However, achieving this is not easy. One has to focus on health and safety along with technological accessibility.

Everything revolves around technology so how would smart living not?

Telehealth, video surveillance, Wi-fi, optical fiber, appointment booking apps, etc., portray the bigger picture of urban liveability and resiliency.

A smart city living should have vibrant downtown around the clock and provide convenience, rapid mobility, and connectivity along with social cohesion

Smart Governance

Smart governance is the final building block and the necessity of a smart city. An ideal smart city is one that practices ART (accountability, responsiveness, and transparency) in its governance.

E-municipality, social networks of city councils, GIS, smart justice, and other smart systems can drive ART.

Also, other technological solutions like Web portals, online forums, mobile apps, and unified services can help residents share their questions, suggestions, and grievances with the government.

A government can adopt any of the four models G2C (Government to Citizen), G2G (Government to Government), G2B (Government to Business),  or G2E (Government to Employee) to achieve this.

Key Challenges faced in developing smart cities

• Funding
• Lack of interest
• Illiteracy

Funding is a critical issue need to be addressed to remove the roadblocks in successful smart city initiatives. A regulatory framework of the country here plays an important role in addressing the challenges of funding.

The city government can seek central grants, subsidies, national investment, and infrastructure funds from the government. On the other hand, it can opt for direct financing by issuing shares or other long-term sources of finances.

The financial can opt for indirect financing, municipal bonds, equity market instruments, mezzanine financing or Real Estate Investment Trust along with exploring the options of international modes of finance.

Here, another issue, i.e., lack of interest can create hurdles and the lack of interest may come from lack of E-illiteracy.

What makes smart cities successful?

1. Ubiquitous wireless connectivity: The quality and reliability of connectivity become imperative to the smart city. High-bandwidth, low-latency, future-proof networks are essential to support the unprecedented degree of interconnectivity and convergence. The fiber-optic cable also is an ideal option to accommodate today’s smart city applications as well as future technologies.
2. Open data: Whether you’re talking on the phone, driving your car, or simply tracking your workouts with wearable technology, data is generated. But have you wondered what happens with that information? Much of it is used to advance products or develop new algorithms. But how smart city can gain from open data? It helps in gaining insights into the lives of residents, fix their issues, and help build more equitable, and inclusive services.
3. Trustable Security: The cost of security failure is huge. Unsecure devices, gateways, and networks are fertile ground for hackers interested in causing city-wide disruption and possible system control. A collaborative undertaking involving partners like sensor and actuator manufacturers, gateway providers, standards boards & even operating system developers will ensure authenticated, authorized, and encrypted communication
4. Flexible monetization schemes: Smart cities should possess the capability to offer flexible pricing models—and ultimately generate profitable revenues. So where can this be applied? Bridge and highway tolls, recycling and waste loyalty points, subscription for parking for consumers and commercial fleets, subscription to city-based wifi access, and Elearning materials can be some of the options.

Smart City Trends

• IoT– Cities that recognize the importance of infrastructure being connected with IoT and put the same in place middleware and cloud systems can capture and use it to see significant advantages over time.
• 5G is known for its speed and connectivity, smart cities can reap its benefits.
• Data Analytics is another trend that allows smart system initiatives to identify potential problems, zero in the opportunities, and get
• Blockchain is beyond cryptocurrency and can be utilized by smart cities in ensuring safety and security in its different initiatives.
• Automation: The low-hanging fruit in the AI segment too can increase the value of the workforce and make companies smarter.

Final Thoughts

One report by McKinsey Global Institute found smart city technology can improve key quality of life indicators – such as the daily commute, health issues, or crime incidents – by 10 to 30 percent.

Creating a network of objects that are capable of smart interactions can open the doors to a wide range of innovations. IoT has some of the answers while the majority of them rests on the people factor.

Deciphering how each building block is intertwined with the other and its sensitivity in planning and implementation stages along with embracing technology can realize the dreams of a smart city and contribute towards a smart economy.

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