Street Smarts

By Maciej Kocięcki, Director of M2M and Partnership Development at Orange Polska What is a Smart City? It is a city that simplifies its inhabitants’ lives thanks to its technology investments. Congestion on roads is reduced thanks to the monitoring of street traffic and the utilization of data in adjusting traffic light patterns. Street lamps light up when the need for them arises, information regarding high water levels in rivers is sent to the right authorities, and dangerous neighborhoods become safer thanks to the use of intelligent cameras, which recognize criminals or license plates on suspicious vehicles. How is all of this possible? What are the technologies enabling these benefits based on? M2M – the basis of a smart city The lynchpin of such technology is M2M communication, also known as Machine to Machine communication. Its functioning principle is quite simple – measuring devices such as movement sensors, cameras, load cell sensors (built into the road surface), or water and electric meters collect and send data to a “managing computer.” Machines that receive the data can process, compare and analyze large amounts of information independently (without human intervention). The information is analyzed with regard to the established standards such as the maximum allowable amount of cars on a given street or the water level in a river. This in turn will set certain procedures in motion where the receptor machines will send information to other devices – for example traffic lights or emergency response systems of the proper authorities. In such a scenario, streets will be less jammed with traffic, because the computers “know” that the traffic volume on a given street is too big. As a solution, traffic will be dispersed by longer green lights or through informational displays showing possible alternative thoroughfares. A city based on M2M Like corporations or private enterprises that collect information in order to maximize profits and further own interests, cities can benefit from the above-mentioned solutions to improve their inhabitants’ standard of living, limit city budget expenses and increase the efficiency of existing systems. Besides traffic management systems, another example of utilization of M2M can be found in public transportation. Geolocating devices can send information to the system regarding the delay of vehicles. Commuters can then be notified of the delay or given information about an alternative tram or train connection. Data regarding the number of passengers can be easily collected and consequently used by public transportation planners – to increase route frequency or initiate a new line. Other benefits? Parking space sensors, with which some shopping mall visitors are already familiar, may soon become commonplace across entire cities. The sensors are designed to send information to the management system, which in turn informs drivers of the nearest free parking space. Such improvements constitute an attractive solution for cities with existing systems created years ago. Meanwhile, totally new directions of development are being opened to architects designing cities from the ground up in Asia or Africa, where fast urbanization is the trend. In such places, modern technologies (including M2M communication) can be weaved into the city fabric at the planning stage. What about suburban and rural areas? Communication and the exchange of information, ever-present in cities, are not the only places where M2M technology and Big Data can play an important role. Collecting information through measurement devices and its subsequent computer analysis can be applied in less-populated areas as well – for example in farming. Moisture as well as soil contamination sensors are the ideal solution for the farming industry due to their ability to monitor and intervene in endangered areas in real time. Similar systems can be used to service private households. Applications include water and electricity usage as well as monitoring of other utilities, which will enable better management of the use of utilities by the customer and the issuing of invoices for actual usage (instead of forecast usage) by the providers. The future for M2M solutions Many Polish cities are already becoming “smart,” as they implement some of the systems described above. This includes “intelligent” traffic lights and public transportation management solutions. It’s probable that subsequent systems like these will be developed in the next few years, making city inhabitants’ lives more comfortable, safer and more predictable.