Technology for Smart Cities: Building Blocks for Better Urban Environments
Targeted use of technology and networking on a small scale generate progress on a large scale
The city of the future is to become “smart”. Enrichment by intelligent technology will enable the infrastructure, transport, traffic and areas of activity which are important to residents and businesses to be automated and holistically controlled. Traffic flow management, interactive displays and terminals of all kinds for information and transactions, as well as automatic dispensing machines and automated systems are important examples. This does not require massive projects that require more and more technology and high investment costs. The focus has to be on people, and with intelligent technological measures in the right places, the smart city will become a reality.
The challenges: many stand-alone solutions
Cities and urban functions are generally organised in small units in line with their purposes. Means of transport, traffic light controls, display systems or digital signage as well as all kinds of automatic machines and automated terminals offer a range of possibilities for monitoring and/or control. For security reasons infrastructure elements such as energy supply operate in isolation or without end-to-end networking. Their options, interfaces and also interoperability are therefore often limited. This means that monitoring and control are implemented in different ways, using a wide variety of control paths. As a result, the technical elements of a city can’t “talk to each other”. However, intelligent urban functions are a prerequisite for smart cities, for example to enable city-wide traffic flow management in the future.
The solutions: networking concepts from small to large
The digital systems that will enrich a city in the medium term or make everyday life easier for people all need to become Internet-capable, which is achieved via routers or gateways. From this point onwards the exchange of data with systems becomes possible for higher-order purposes, e.g. traffic flow management for an entire district instead of traffic light management for a street corner. In addition, local functionalities and intelligence are added, together with remote monitoring, maintenance and control. IT protocols as a standard pave the way for comprehensive management models. An important factor here is that the router technology used has to be mature and manageable without additional input and cost.
It is highly important to monitor existing and future traffic light systems, as well as fixed and mobile traffic light systems, and to design the control system in a targeted and flexible way. Monitoring can apply to both the traffic light systems and the traffic flow. Exhaust pollution can also be reduced in this way. Thinking even further, digitalised control systems mean that vehicles could influence the switching systems in the future. New systems are often directly Internet-capable via fibre optic connections. Existing systems usually operate via modem protocols and copper wire, so that the routers used have to bridge the gap between the old protocols and the world of IT protocols via suitable interfaces. The Internet connection is optionally provided via mobile radio communications, which will offer the necessary bandwidths for the control of driverless vehicles.
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E-mobility will shape the cityscape of the future. For purpose of availability management, customer identification, charging approval, network load management and billing processes, charging stations will have to be connected to a number of digital systems at the same time. The plannable local availability of high charging currents and a reliable Internet connection for the charging station must be ensured. The routers used will not only exchange data, but will also need to support interfaces, sensors, intelligence and various Internet access routes, including 4G/5G, for the charging applications that are running locally.
This refers to information displays in road traffic, at railway stations, airports and bus stops, as well as to display systems in offices or in the hamburger restaurant around the corner. Depending on the purpose, the forms of use vary but can include text information, pictures and even moving images. The frequency of the relevant updates ranges from “occasional” to real-time streaming. These requirements determine the quality of the Internet connection. Digital signage is often based on compact PC technology as a basic system (so-called “barebones”). Of equal importance is router technology with a mobile radio communications option, ideally with a SIM card solution, for the most efficient Internet connection possible with minimal rollout and maintenance costs.
What applies to digital signage applies to a similar extent to automatic dispensing machines. Existing systems have to be made fit for monitoring, remote maintenance (predictive maintenance) and efficient refill management at various locations and using different Internet access routes. In addition to reliability, low costs for rollout and maintenance as well as the use of mobile radio communications for the greatest possible flexibility of location are essential.
The solution: flexible routers, simple device management and maximum availability
INSYS icom offers solutions for almost every scenario and device type. While the examples mentioned are frequently used and represented via tried-and-tested standard routers and software packages, new application scenarios can also be implemented with little effort.
Internet router selection
Various router models with different interfaces and performance ranges are available for highly diverse areas of application and requirements. They include the following options:
icom Router Management (iRM)
All INSYS icom routers with icom OS can be set up in minutes via the iRM router management function. Your entire installation can be managed conveniently and easily without additional IT knowledge.
Optional SIM service
INSYS icom’s SIM service ensures that rolled-out devices can establish an Internet connection via a wide range of mobile networks in all European countries without any effort.
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