When Henry Fitz-Ailwin de Londonestone was appointed the Lord Mayor of London in 1189, his duties were not all that different from today’s city managers. A thousand years may have come and gone, but running cities is still about making sure that residents’ needs are met, money is wisely spent and local business are thriving. Advances in technology, however, enable cities to do more for the people who live in them. With the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud and data analytics applied to municipal government, we are entering the era of the “Smart City.”

What is a Smart City?

The management of cities revolves around the analysis of information. How many cars travel on a particular street? How many tons of trash get collected on a given day? How many children go to school in a neighbourhood? Policies and budget decisions depend on accurate, real-time data for electrical grids, traffic and transportation systems, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement, information systems, schools, libraries, hospitals, and various community services. Urban design is also (or should be) based on careful analysis of data.

Municipal use of data for the purpose of governing has evolved over the years. Mayor Londonestone had the Domesday Book of 1199. Paper records gave way to mainframes in the 1960s. Data collection improved, but it was not well integrated for dynamic urban management. Real time analytics was extremely rare. Now, it can be the norm.

The Smart City concept integrates meaningful data and communication technology (ICT) and various physical devices connected to the IoT and other networks through the cloud. IoT sensors, coupled with robust infrastructure and analytics capabilities, help municipal governments optimize the efficiency of city operations and services. Powered by data, they can manage urban flows and better and improve connections between citizens and the community.

Smart Cities function through a knowledge infrastructure that has seen a metamorphosis and acceptance as an applied technology culture. The infrastructure spans smart grids, smart meters, electricity infrastructure, transportation, water supply, waste, and other municipal/city necessities. Yet, these are not the only ways that Smart Cities help their citizens with services. Citizens help as well by having their smart phones interact with municipalities to aid monitoring.

Predictive Analytics

Sensors that “speak to each other” are analyzing critical data behind-the-scenes to give citizens a seamless life experience in an otherwise chaotic world. As waste or over/under usage is detected and tracked, and patterns are established and monitored, funds can then be redesignated to areas of a city where there may be a deficit. Credits may be given to those that use less, and stored electricity can be allocated gratis if there is an abundance saved by certain communities using wind or solar, where power is stored in batteries for later use. Predictive analytics can also help urban managers perform preventative maintenance before systems fail.

A IoT-Driven Smart City Comes to Life in Thailand

Dell EMC, Intel and the IoT City Innovation Center (ICIC) came together to show the potential of the Smart City through an innovative project in the Saensuk Municipality in Thailand. With Smart City technology from Dell EMC and Intel, Saensuk has transformed eldercare patient monitoring.

Many of Saensuk’s older citizens live at home by themselves with minimal supervision or in care facilities. In the Saensuk Digital City Initiative, data is collected from Saensuk’s older citizens using IoT tracking and monitoring devices. The data is then processed and analyzed to continuously monitor and manage optimal quality of life, safety and medical services. IoT applications include environmental sensing, home monitoring, health monitoring and emergency notification. The city can track eldercare safety, enhancing quality, performance and interactivity among various responsible parties.

By knowing whether someone needs help, emergency medical and nursing personnel have better knowledge and can care for, or treat an elderly person. The Smart City IoT benefits those that care for the aging population because having prior knowledge of medical histories and patient location buys valuable time in saving and treating an older citizen in need of immediate attention. GPS organically integrates with emergency services such as ambulance, police and fire departments and supports coordination and traffic information.

The Saensuk Digital City Initiative is the first stage of a much broader and ambitious vision. The aggregation of tracked data for Saensuk’s elderly can be extended to other innovative, reliable smart applications. The ultimate goal is to transform Thailand into a “Smart Nation.”

Dell Technologies and Intel for Smart Cities

Dell EMC and Intel provide the technologies that enable the realization of smart cities. They work closely with strategically aligned partners to deliver end-to-end expertise in all aspects of the Smart City. Dell EMC, Pivotal, RSA, Secureworks, Virtustream and VMware join to offer IoT infrastructure, compute, network, data centers, data analytics, storage and security. The teamthen combines Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IoT into a single, interdependent ecosystem from the Edge to the Core to the Cloud.

Deploying distributed analytics multiplies IoT data value in a Smart City environment. Data can now carry more intelligence as it travels from the edge to the core to the cloud. As intelligence adds up in the core and gets sent back to the edge, the IoT can drive better municipal management.

This is just the beginning of the Smart City revolution. Subsequent iterations may feature drones, flying cars, flying ambulances, robotic maintenance and intelligent emergency services. Getting there will involve building a solid infrastructure to support ever-expanding cloud and IoT capabilities. Dell EMC and Intel have the solutions and expertise to put today’s cities on the path to becoming smarter places to live.