Aspects of cities are beginning to connect with the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, because of its potential to completely change how a city works by enhancing the performance, quality and interactivity of urban services, as well as simplifying a person’s typical day by improving the quality of life.

IoT gives organisations across private, public and non-profit sectors the opportunity to implement connected sensors, lights, and meters to collect and analyse data; which will help service quality, automate processes, and provide feedback to users. This, in the long run, helps create a smart city through smarter decision-making.

Despite this, it depends on national governments and whether or not they want to support certain development processes – not forgetting the financial aspect – £10million should be enough to see good results of a smart city. But, even so, the budget would have to be spent wisely.

Security in an increasingly connected world is a concern for many, bringing in an array of different debates. Interestingly, for a smart city to be as effective as possible, it needs all data points as connected as possible. In other words, data silos need to be avoided. For example, if one system is used to store data about our waste container levels and doesn’t pool that data with footfall, we wouldn’t be able to predict a full bin based on foot traffic (page 6).

Another issue raised is the confidentiality of data. Locational services and sensor analytics could create unexpected risks. The reason breaches occur is because functionality and customer orientation are still the highest priority for vendors, but even in times of increased connectedness, security and data protection is still neglected (hopefully the new GDPR will fix this).

Nevertheless, I believe we should embrace this interesting time of life where we can focus more on broader human needs by helping to design an environment to suit our personal needs and unique ways of thinking.

I personally can’t wait for the day when I get to sit in a car without having to drive it, my windows open when it knows I’m too hot, and the kettle turns itself on because of knowing I’m thirsty and in need of caffeine. Not forgetting, it would be great to have a robot to do my hoovering – or is that just pure laziness?

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ABOUT TEST MAGAZINE

TEST Magazine was specifically created as a voice for the modern-day software testing and quality assurance professional. Launched in 2008 and distributed to an audience over 14,000, the publication provides news, features and practical, as well as professional advice on all facets of software testing. TEST Magazine is widely regarded as the leading journal for software testing and quality assurance in Europe and beyond.

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Written by Leah Alger

The post May issue of TEST Magazine is available online appeared first on DevOps Online North America.

“Data is now easier to access, and being in the cloud, there are many possible integrations with many tools for harvesting, mining, analysing, visualising and understanding the data, visualising the data lineage, and so on,” agreed Thomas Noe, Product Quality Manager at Collibra.

“The next step is to catalogue the data and be able to plug and play the data sets you need for your profiling, scraping, mining, etc. Data sets will receive a trusted certification mark and quality level so that each person shopping for data can be sure it is trusted,” he added.

Computing technologies

Smart cities employ a combination of data collection, processing, and distributing technologies in conjunction with networking and computing technologies and data security and privacy.

“Big data, analytics and cloud computing open new ways to collective action and collaborative problem-solving. Globally, this helps to improve the link between a user and the right service/product,” said Global Head of Testing Practices at Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking, Chekib Ayed.

Big data provides vast amounts of data for digital earth applications including traffic and transportation systems, business, sciences and engineering. At the same time, it presents a real challenge for storing, transporting, processing, mining and the serving of this data.

Intelligent analytics

“Cloud computing provides the answer to this challenge with shared computing resources including computing, storage, networking and analytical software. Intelligent analytics is then required to fully grasp the opportunities this data provides in order to improve and enable research and decision-support applications to build smarter cities,” continued Quality Assurance Manager at Wyndham Vacation Rentals UK, Felicity Lord.

Be sure to register your place for the National Software Testing Conference which will be held on the 22-23 May 2018 at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Kensington, London, for the chance to listen to our speakers talk more in-depth about pressing industry topics such as automation, quality engineering approaches, emerging technologies, manual testing and continuous testing.

Written by Leah Alger

The post Expectations of cloud computing, big data and analytics advancing smart cities appeared first on DevOps Online North America.

This service enables Parateum customers to join the ‘Digital Economy Monetisation Cloud’ and process and accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Airtokens.

According to Coinschedule, there was US$287million of cryptocurrency transactions involved payments in 2017, with the market expanding to US$60billion in mobile payments.

Vic Bozzo, CEO of Pareteum, said: “The demand in the mobile market for digital wallet applications has quickly morphed into a requirement to process and settle all forms of currency and an entire eco-system of applications relying on purely digital settlement has emerged.

‘Mainstream digital currency’

“It’s a natural requirement for any mobile platform provider to support this move as many mobile applications become reliant on mainstream digital currency and other applications begin to create their own.”

Hal Turner, principal executive officer at Pareteum, added: “We have sold solutions that take us, through our cloud services, into smart cities and cryptocurrency payment capabilities.

“It’s not hard to imagine that we can live in an entire digital universe where all of our transactions may be managed through your own personal mobile phone, with secure identity management and digital payments.”

The new feature also allows consumers’ to not only accept cryptocurrencies, but also perform payment processing and settlements with their partners in any currency.

Written from press release by Leah Alger

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Whilst smart city visions differ, at their heart is the notion that in the coming decades, the planet’s most heavily concentrated populations will occupy city environments where a digital blanket of sensors, devices and cloud connected data are being brought together to enhance the city living experience for all. Smart concepts encompass all of the key elements that enable city ecosystems to function effectively – from traffic control and environmental protection to the management of energy, sanitation, healthcare, security, and buildings. 

Defining a purpose and vision

The evidence to date from smart city initiatives around the world is that the best results come when we have a clear sense of what the end goal is.

In a fast-changing world, it can be hard to develop a clear future vision and strategy – when every sector is being disrupted and all our assumptions are being challenged. However, that’s exactly what we have to do. City governments must create inclusive processes that inform citizens about the forces shaping the future and the possibilities and challenges on the horizon and then engage the population in dialogue about the kind of future we want to create. We have to explore what a livable city means to its people and be clear on how we will attract and support a constant flow of industries of the future.

Alongside this we need to articulate a clear vision and direction around education, environment, public services, access to justice, city administration, and civic engagement. These pillars then provide the guiding requirements which will in turn influence the design of the physical, digital and human elements of a smart city infrastructure.

Understanding the balance between surveillance and privacy

Smart cities are designed to inform decisions by capturing massive amounts of data about the population and its patterns, such as water use and traffic flows. This information gathering results in what is called big data, and it is essentially gathered via surveillance. There can also be voluntary efforts to collect information, but the ease and affordability of sensors, AI and advanced analytics in the future will mean this function can be completely automated. The data can be collated from a constantly evolving and expanding IoT – encompassing traffic lights and cameras, pollution sensors, building control systems, and personal devices – all literally feeding giant data stores held in the cloud. The ability to crunch all this data is becoming easier due to rampant growth in the use of devices algorithms, AI, and predictive software – all running on networks of high performance computing and storage devices.

Singapore is a leading example of a smart city, and is constantly evolving its “city brain,” a backbone of technologies used to help control pollution, monitor traffic, allocate parking, communicate with citizens, and even issue traffic fines. The behavioral aspect is not to be overlooked. Singapore’s “brain” is attempting to modify human behavior; for example, one system rewards drivers for using recommended mapped routes, and punishes those who do not. Ultimately, Singapore’s planners hope to discourage driving, and guide most commuters to making greater use of public transportation. The city is planning for 100 million “smart objects” including smart traffic lights, lamp posts, sensors, and cameras on its roadways, which will be used to monitor and enforce laws. 

We are all data beacons

Smart cities rest on advanced technology to make sense of massive collections of information. Indeed, the amount of information on the internet is expected to grow exponentially as a result of the Internet of Things (IoT). Essentially IoT means that everything (“things”) – and potentially everyone – will become beacons and data collection devices, gathering data on ambient and behavioral patterns from its surroundings and from the information it is fed—and networking all this data via the cloud. Hence, after data, the IoT is the second driving force behind the rise of smart infrastructure; for everything from air conditioning to parking meters to function in a smart city, the use of microphones, sensors, voice recognition, and all sorts of other high-tech gadgetry must be hooked up to the IoT.

Companies and planners are already beginning to explore the possibilities. For example, a case study from India suggests that light poles along the highways can offer both smart city and connectivity solutions. In addition to helping monitor road conditions, the light poles could be fitted as high-speed data connections. Data is a critical element of the smart city/smart road future. However, because this option will further expand the relationship between internet service providers, surveillance, and private business including advertisers, there are several issues around privacy to be considered.

Roads – the biggest opportunity

Within and between the smart cities of the future, smart roads are where planners can put into effect the ultra-efficient mechanisms that will characterize the modern smart city. In general, the concepts around smart cities, smart roads, and smart infrastructure are becoming less visionary and more strategic and sustainable by the day. As a smart infrastructure future unfolds, three important new technologies—big data, the IoT and renewable energy—are working in tandem to transform the day-to-day.

For example, South Korea is planning an entire network of smart roads by 2020, including battery-charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) as well as infrastructure to handle autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles will require roads to transform into information superhighways; the vehicles will need to communicate not only with each other, but also with the city infrastructure. The need for ubiquitous data is a critical step in the evolution toward self-driving cars. Mapping, traffic signals, and safety regulations, for instance, are all parts of the physical and digital infrastructure that will have to become highly coordinated for autonomous vehicles to function.

A sustainable future

All this data and awareness will enable decisions that make the best possible use of space, fuel, energy, water, electricity, and all resources, with an emphasis on sustainability. For example, a clear priority is being able to anticipate big traffic jams and provide alternate routes to save time, fuel, and reduce impact on the city infrastructure itself. Limiting waste is a very logical outcome and benefit of the merging of big data, AI and IoT which feeds into the rise of smart infrastructure.

Electric vehicles are growing their market foothold, hence the charging concerns related to EVs are gaining urgency in the eyes of many policy-makers and planners. One of the biggest hurdles to electric vehicle adoption is keeping a charge across long distances. To help address this challenge, UK researchers are testing out smart road technology that charges electric cars while they are being driven. The achievement of smart infrastructures could drive the required policy and behavioral tweaks to enable wide adoption of today’s renewable resources.

Another smart technology involves pavement surfaces prepared with panels that capture solar energy allowing streets to power themselves, which has been tested in the U.S. and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, a special powder that gathers sunlight and glows at night has shown promise, but not in the wet climates of northern Europe—it washes off with excessive rain.

A futuristic concept that would not require sunshine is the capture of renewable energy with piezoelectric crystals installed beneath asphalt on busy highways. Theoretically, the crystals could capture the energy released by vehicles driving over the asphalt, which could then be stored or used for powering highway infrastructure. Piezoelectric crystal pilot programs, though so far unsuccessful, provide a fresh perspective on renewable options for gathering energy to power our infrastructure and roads.

A human future

The smart city movement now afoot has the potential to transform the organization of people and physical objects in a way that transcends urban development as we know it. The shift to smart infrastructure is not simply fashionable or aspirational; in many ways, it appears to be a critical enabler of the future sustainability of cities. It can be argued that the future of human life on the planet rests on a smooth transition to cities that are more efficient, less wasteful, and more conscious of the impacts of the individual upon the greater good. This may include a range of new negotiations along the boundaries of freedom and privacy; for example, allowing self-driving cars to replace human drivers in the hope of preventing death and injury in auto accidents, increasing traffic efficiency and removing environmental impacts. Similarly, we might have to agree to invasive monitoring of waste generation, energy and water use in the home to reach municipal conservation goals. These are the kinds of tensions that future planners will need to wrestle with on a continuous basis.

A well thought through vision, enabled by a robust and well-executed smart city model could provide a foundation stone for the next stage of our development, where science and technology are genuinely harnessed in service of creating a very human future.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Rohit Talwar, Steve Wells and Alexandra Whittington are from Fast Future which publishes books from future thinkers around the world exploring how developments such as AI, robotics and disruptive thinking  could impact individuals, society and business and create new trillion-dollar sectors. Fast Future has a particular focus on ensuring these advances are harnessed to unleash individual potential and ensure a very human future.

The post The city of the future is… smart appeared first on DevOps Online North America.

The project will provide a blueprint for smart city projects, throughout Africa, and will be a connectivity platform for a range of IoT applications. For discussion plans on building a smarter Africa, a forum will be created to bring together African Presidents, leading technology innovators and other public figures.

Solutions will cover citywide coverage, and enable a range of organisations to allow easy connection to Iot devices and to develop IoT applications, in a bid to address urban needs such as education, health, transport and utilities.

The power of IoT tech platforms

Inmarsat will be working in conjunction with IoT tech platform Actility and Jersey Telecom, to demonstrate a positive IoT transformation, with the aim to equip a smart bus with satellite internet, deploy sensors in buildings to monitor air quality, use global connectivity for remote communities and to better water resources and increase crop yield.

“We believe passionately in the power of the IoT to transform cities, industries, and agriculture,” says Actility Chief Executive Officer, Mike Mulica.

“But more importantly, we think IoT can change people’s lives for the better, and nowhere more so than here in Africa. We’ve come here to learn, and are proud to support this initial network rollout as the foundation on which smart cities across Africa will be able to build better futures for their citizens.”

Edited from press release by Leah Alger

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