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Future Readiness in the Context of Smart City Systems – Part 1 of 3
The unstoppable evolution of technologies in every field is hard to deny. When thinking about using an all-in-one smart city system, it is imperative to consider future readiness as a key criterion.
But what does this actually mean and what is a city official or a utility lighting manager supposed to look for in order to meet this key criterion. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Basically, future-readiness means the many ways with which the system adapts to future needs. Since an all-in-one is composed of multiple layers, it is essential to think about those layers and analyze how they can adapt to the different types of technologies it will have to support in the future.
Our trip inside future-readiness, and what it really means for smart city systems will be composed of 3 parts:
- Part 1 of 3 – Future readiness in hardware (devices, sensors and controls)
- Part 2 of 3 – Future readiness in network connectivity
- Part 3 of 3 – Future readiness in software
Future Readiness in Hardware (Gateways, Sensors and Controls)
Future-Proof Technology Standard
For endpoint devices, future readiness is highly industry specific. In street lighting, an obvious example is LED. Only LED streetlights, equipped with a standard ANSI C136.41 7-pin twist lock connector, can be considered future-proof, and many analysts only include LED lights in their definitions of smart city systems (even though legacy lights can be connected to smart city systems, albeit with limited functionality).
Sensor Readiness
Most predictions of what smart cities will look like include a multitude of sensors collecting various types of information. This means that any hardware bought today needs to be sensor ready. The implementation is different in different verticals, but it is something to ask your hardware supplier:
- How easy will it be to install sensors?
- Are any sensors already included?
Some vendors, including Dimonoff, include various sensors into their hardware right away, even if a client is not (yet) buying an application enabled by the sensor, in addition to software configurable inputs/outputs that can be used to connect various low-voltage sensors.
Overall, the smart city system should offer generic sensor connectivity to allow third-party sensors to be easily added. It should also be possible to dynamically define those sensor parameters and protocols, directly in the Smart-City software platform, without having to write custom code each time.
Upgradability
These days, hardware can get new capabilities through upgrades. It is crucial that upgrades can be uploaded easily. Some devices’ firmware can be upgraded over the air, while other types would require manual upgrades for each device. It is strongly recommended that the firmware stack includes a real bootloader (and preferably a real-time operating system – RTOS), in order to ensure secure update and firmware backup processes, and even look for the capability to upgrade the bootloader itself, over-the-air.
Intelligent Firmware
According to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), there is a trend for so-called “edge-cloud computing,” which means “extending data processing to the edge of a network in addition to computing in a cloud or a central data centre.”
This means that devices at “the edge” of a network, such as endpoint devices, sensors or controls in a smart city system, will increasingly do complex computing and even machine learning, rather than just sending and receiving commands.
For example, an edge device equipped with a sound recognition sensor could hear the sound, analyze it using its built-in firmware, decide whether or not it is a gunshot or a car crash, and take action accordingly (e.g., notify the police in case it judges the sound likely to be a gunshot or car crash).
This contrasts to most current systems where the sensor would just record the sound and send the file to the police to evaluate.
The “edge intelligence” option is faster and cheaper to operate (since no large sound file is sent over the network – just the alert is sent). Distributing this kind of intelligence to the edge removes the need for costly fibre optic or cellular routers everywhere around the city.
Not all devices will be or would need to be equipped with this edge intelligence, but it is worth considering the hardware architecture of your vendor.
If it does not have the intelligence built in, you should consider different aspects:
- Does the company plan to incorporate it later?
- How easy will it be to update the firmware?
- Does it have the right interface to connect sensors of various types?
Learn how to choose an open and future-proof smart city system and understand the market in order to choose the best smart city vendor.
