In this article, Benjamin provides an overview of the transportation sector, a key component in Smart City initiatives. He explores the sustainability edge that smart technology investments, such as IoT and video technology, can bring to monitor the environment and track carbon footprints. He further discusses the roles of security technology changing in response to COVID-19 to meet current safety needs. Benjamin also emphasises the importance of forward-looking investments that will thrust Smart City initiatives in the right direction, making cities greener and more sustainable.
Today’s smart cities are going through another evolution. From the focus on increasing safety post 9/11 and emphasis on increasing efficiencies through automation, officials across the globe are looking to bolster their smart city strategies to respond to a new set of challenges – climate change and endemic-urbanisation. While Smart City initiatives usually encompass different components from safety, optimization of living spaces to smart governance, at the heart of every municipality, is its transportation network – and that is where I believe effective change to tackle the new challenges can stem from.
Greening Singapore’s transportation sector
The most significant greenhouse gas emitted in many cities across the globe is carbon dioxide, primarily produced by the burning of fossil fuels to generate energy. Unfortunately, industry, building, household, and transport sectors are still largely dependent on such fuel sources.
Looking at Singapore as an example, the city-states’ transportation sector alone accounts for 14 percent of its total emissions. Due to the extensiveness and interconnectivity of its systems, transportation could be a key sector for consideration as Singapore looks to achieve its net-zero ambitions. While the search is on for the transition to cleaner and greener energy sources, infrastructural technologies can help circumvent excessive emissions and improve efficiencies to meet increasing travel demands once borders reopen.
A city’s transport sector requires close inspection of logistics such as fuels, supplies and maintenance for seamless everyday commute and to keep their local economies going. This increases the need for intelligent transport systems that rely on data collection, analysis, and real-time observation – something that cannot be gathered and done by manual or legacy methods on such a large scale.
I believe that there is a huge opportunity for infrastructural technologies to greatly improve energy efficiency in the transport sector, on top of ensuring passengers’ safety and maintaining service standards.
By combining IoT sensors and video technology, the detection of elements such as air pollutants, noise level and vibrations allows urban planners to easily monitor the environment. These technologies can be connected to a central database to relay information in real-time on sustainability issues to create early warning systems that can alert authorities to a potential issue before it exceeds limits.
We are already seeing this in Auckland, New Zealand – video technology is combined with IoT and 5G to gather data and insights on the streets to improve public safety, manage traffic better, and reduce overall environmental impact. Through the integration of video, sensors, and smart technologies, aligning sustainability and security efforts in transportation is becoming a reality.
Looking at Singapore as an example, the city-states’ transportation sector alone accounts for 14 percent of its total emissions. Due to the extensiveness and interconnectivity of its systems, transportation could be a key sector for consideration as Singapore looks to achieve its net-zero ambitions. While the search is on for the transition to cleaner and greener energy sources, infrastructural technologies can help circumvent excessive emissions and improve efficiencies to meet increasing travel demands once borders reopen.
A city’s transport sector requires close inspection of logistics such as fuels, supplies and maintenance for seamless everyday commute and to keep their local economies going. This increases the need for intelligent transport systems that rely on data collection, analysis, and real-time observation – something that cannot be gathered and done by manual or legacy methods on such a large scale.
I believe that there is a huge opportunity for infrastructural technologies to greatly improve energy efficiency in the transport sector, on top of ensuring passengers’ safety and maintaining service standards.
By combining IoT sensors and video technology, the detection of elements such as air pollutants, noise level and vibrations allows urban planners to easily monitor the environment. These technologies can be connected to a central database to relay information in real-time on sustainability issues to create early warning systems that can alert authorities to a potential issue before it exceeds limits.
We are already seeing this in Auckland, New Zealand – video technology is combined with IoT and 5G to gather data and insights on the streets to improve public safety, manage traffic better, and reduce overall environmental impact. Through the integration of video, sensors, and smart technologies, aligning sustainability and security efforts in transportation is becoming a reality.