The term “Smart Cities” applies to improving efficiency by managing city-wide connectivity, resources, and assets using the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). From energy management and gas leak detection, to water quality and air pollution monitoring, to traffic information and parking systems, to weather tracking and flood modelling, and many more applications, the global market for Smart City solutions and services is expected to grow to US $2.57 trillion by 2025, according to Grand View Research.
Smart Cities rely on governments and municipalities to define implementation requirements, adopt new technologies, and catalyze industries to facilitate projects that help improve and streamline their citizens’ day-to-day lives.
Examples of innovative Smart Cities programs include FixMyStreet, which helps residents report issues such as potholes and broken street lamps that need repair; Smart Parking, which allows drivers to easily find private and public parking spaces; and Urban Air, which provides real-time air quality and pollution analysis throughout a city. McKinsey estimates that 600 Smart Cities around the globe are expected to generate 60% of the world’s GDP by 2025.
An exciting Smart Cities project called Illumina SP is being launched in the State of São Paulo. The project involves intelligent lighting, energy control, and power consumption management for the State’s 587 square miles, 645 municipalities, and 45 million inhabitants. The Ilumina SP project is an initiative that will serve as a model for future Smart Cities initiatives in Brazil.
Intelligent Lighting saves energy and costs through detection systems that contain sensors and controllers in light fixtures that react to movement, ambient light, and other factors, and illuminate, dim, or shut off lighting systems, depending on the need detected.
GovTech, a US publication on government technology, reports that IIoT and Smart City projects will force more computing to the networks “edge”, where sensors and devices communicate and process streaming data to accomplish tasks. By moving processing power to the edge, systems are able to work autonomously and collect, analyze, deliver, and act on information more quickly and efficiently.
The State of São Paulo signed a Memorandum of Understanding with OptDyn to help accelerate IIoT innovation opportunities for the Ilumina SP Intelligent Lighting program using OptDyn’s Subutai Peer-to-Peer Edge Cloud Computing and IoT Platform.
Subutai’s software and hardware provides crucial information exchange and security infrastructure for mission-critical IIoT applications. Subutai’s adaptability means that peers, nodes, or edge devices are able to meet a number of stringent requirements such as unfailing control, security, reliability in extreme environments, and the ability to operate with little or no human intervention.
As IIoT and Smart Cities programs proliferate, the increase in number of devices raises the risk of cyber attacks, such as the Mirai botnet that compromised more than 300,000 hijacked devices.
Highly adaptive, the Subutai Blockchain Router dynamically changes its configuration and implements mechanisms in response to intrusion detection, usage behavior, and any potential security threats encountered. OptDyn’s technical white paper, “Open Hardware Security Framework – A MUST for Mission Critical IoT Applications” directly addresses cybersecurity concerns for the billions of future connected devices. Authored by OptDyn CEO and co-Founder, Alex Karasulu, the white paper includes contributions by Professor Miguel Diogenes Matrakas, Manager of Celtab/PTI of Brazil’s Itaipu Technological Park, the foundation responsible for promoting scientific, technological, and innovation development linked to Itaipu Binacional, the largest clean energy generator in the world.
According to Professor Matrakas, “the Subutai Blockchain Router’s industrial configuration provides the crucial hardware security infrastructure needed for IoT applications in the utility sector.”
The Subutai Blockchain Router’s hardware-based IoT security subsystem has brought it to the forefront of Brazil’s national IoT standards as its high-end IoT gateway. Drawing less than 100 watts, the Subutai Blockchain Router is eco-friendly, cost-effective, and extremely efficient.
With IIoT programs such as Ilumina SP, the future of Smart Cities is quickly evolving from a futuristic idea into a reality.
To learn how Subutai can help your city, contact us at sk(at)optdyn(dot)com.
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