McKinsey Research predicts the “smart city” industry will be a $400 billion market by 2020, with 600 smart cities worldwide. The catalyst for this massive growth is the Internet of Things (IoT).

As is the case with emerging concepts, there is a debate over what makes a city smart. But there are three areas that, regardless of the final definition, will play a crucial role in how the components of IoT are used to make cities run more efficiently.

Smart Utilities & Energy

Connected energy principles start at energy plants and distribution facilities, where dramatic change is already happening thanks to the IoT.

From vast networks of sensors and regulators that refine efficiencies in delivery to smart meters on homes and businesses, the modern connected grid has even more in store for us in 2017.

Watch for total city transformations of LED lighting in street lights, traffic lights, and just about everywhere municipal lighting exists.  Solar power panels, business/home smart power consumption, and end-point feedback (through IoT devices) are also ready to become prevalent.

LED lighting will provide brighter, cleaner, more natural light and being digitally connected to the grid, is more efficient.

Broadband-over-the-electrical-grid has been an aspiration for some time. While there have been early trials, challenges have also been identified that will require time and technology to solve – but look for increasing development between now and 2020.

Smart Transportation

In most cities, everything revolves around how people and materials are moved to where they need to be.  Many cities have already invested significantly in smart transportation.  The technologies most commonly deployed include smart parking, traffic monitoring (intelligent traffic management), and smart end-points (traffic lights, buses, trains and subways).

The future of transportation will also depend on how soon self-driving cars (driving automation) become a reality.  While most major transportation technology takes decades to implement, it’s possible that transportation automation may play a major role before 2020 if car manufacturers and infrastructure builders work well together.

This single change could impact everything from pollution levels and traffic congestion to an improvement in national health as transportation accidents are reduced.

Smart Justice

Also known as “digital justice,” this area of technology leverages connected video/audio/data sources in multiple organisations within the city: Police and law enforcement, courts, prisons, emergency services, public health and social services.

CCTV operators witnessing an incident can ‘narrow cast’ live footage to approaching law enforcement, paramedic or emergency services personnel and the footage from wearable cameras can be sent back to control centres where operations are co-ordinated and, crucially, footage is stored as evidence.

Immersive video conferencing systems then play a part where meetings, testimonies or depositions are required.

While many municipal organisations have already adopted limited digital video solutions, large cities and counties have begun more pervasive uses that hold up in court and other hearings.

What about remote video testimony?  Video arraignment?  Video court?  Video attorney-client meetings?  Inmate video visitation?  There are hundreds of applications for incorporating digital video/audio/data integration into today’s smart city.

Time to work smart

Many countries are still living with varying degrees of austerity, with swathing cuts being made to public services. If necessity is the mother of invention, maybe now is the time to work smart and use emerging IoT technologies to ensure citizens receive smoother, cleaner services, can move unhindered from A to B, are safe and, should the worst happen, receive fair and accountable justice.

Adam Petrovsky, GovEd Practice Leader Logicalis US, looks at three key planks that you need to know about in the emerging world of Smart Cities and IoT.

O conteúdo What you need to know about smart cities and IOT? aparece primeiro em Hoplon.

It’s an unfortunate reality that there are no safe places anymore – not our schools, not our churches, not offices, not concert venues. Knowing who is on your property is imperative for better control over what occurs, and large gathering places – from hospitals to stadiums – are increasingly turning to technological tools to protect their campuses. Unfortunately, while these visitor management systems are more important than ever, they could remain flawed with holes that attackers can exploit.

A solid visitor management system ensures due diligence as it pertains to security of the premises and takes human error out of the equation. It begins at the front door but can continue throughout the building so that security teams understand who enters, can track their whereabouts and restrict access as needed.

At the basic level, a visitor management system might include a sign-in or registration process at the entry point. You might need to wear a temporary badge on the premises so people know you are supposed to be there while employees have more permanent access cards. In some buildings and schools, entrants must pass through metal detectors, and security officers monitor the space with surveillance cameras.

For more restricted facilities, a security officer might check your driver’s license and even scan the magnetic strip to ensure it’s valid. Some even go so far as to collect fingerprints and run background checks. Document readers are great for validating ID cards to prevent someone with a fake driver’s license from getting through, but they aren’t mandated. Frequently, it’s still just a case of a human security officer looking at the ID and waving the person past.

As more tragedies happen, demand for more sophisticated tools is also rising. Organizations are adding self-service kiosks that can authenticate ID cards and use facial recognition software to make sure the ID matches the person. Some are implementing technology that can scan for exposed weapons.

But despite advances in technology, there are still gaps when it comes to keeping buildings safe, not the least of which is awareness tools exist and how they can help. In schools, parents are demanding administrators take every action possible to prevent future shootings like the ones in Parkland, Florida, and Santa Fe, Texas. For school districts and government agencies, budget constraints often prohibit them from using the most effective tools, and it can be hard to decide between textbooks and security technology.

Meanwhile, even the best technology isn’t perfect. Weapons detection systems are limited to identifying certain shapes and could miss other weapons or explosives that the systems aren’t programmed to spot. And they are still being perfected to catch weapons hidden in bags or under clothing. Facial recognition technology, which is increasingly being used at airports and other high-traffic locations, has seen proven success. In August 2018, facial recognition technology caught a traveler going through customs at Washington Dulles International Airport with a fake French passport. However, some systems can’t immediately match faces to a watch list, so by the time a dangerous person is flagged, he might be out of the area.

That time lag is as big a reason for concern as anything. Whether a weapons scanner spots a gun, a driver’s license fails authentication, or facial recognition software notices a threatening person, it still takes time for intervention. Security personnel might only take a couple minutes to arrive at the scene, but that could be all the time needed for tragedy to strike.

It’s ultimately up to organizations to weigh benefits against costs and complexity of implementing a system that will vet visitors and keep students, workers and the general public as safe as possible. While the technology is still evolving and can’t stop every attack, visitor management systems are working toward doing just that by minimizing the impacts of having someone on the premises who shouldn’t be there or who is identified as a threat. Ideally every attack would be prevented ahead of time, but even identifying threats earlier and enabling police or security to intervene sooner can save lives. If there’s one thing that we’ve learned from all these terrible tragedies, it’s that every second matters.

Security managers need to evaluate their current visitor management systems, look for loopholes and close the gaps. Here are some key questions for security managers to ask themselves to determine how secure their facilities really are:

• Do I check a driver’s license or valid ID when I have a visitor on the premises?
• How do I know that the driver’s license is authentic and not fraudulent?
• Do I have a method to authenticate that driver’s license?
• Do I need to track the visitor as they move through the premises?
• Do I need to limit where the visitor can/cannot go while on the premises?
• Do I have a detailed report of the visitors if there is an incident?
• What if I have a visitor that should not enter the premises? And how do I know that they shouldn’t be allowed entrance?
• Do I have a process or operating procedure to follow if I need to refuse entry to an unauthorized visitor?
• If I need the assistance of law enforcement, how are they notified?

We are all concerned about security these days, whether we are a visitor to a site or whether we are the company being visited. Having a robust, automated visitor management system – put away the pen and paper, folks – with security elements and reporting built in will help security managers mitigate risk as much as possible.

O conteúdo 10 Essential Questions to Evaluate Visitor Management aparece primeiro em Hoplon.

Technology is critical to enhancing security. Without cameras, detectors and alarms, businesses would be unable to identify threats and respond appropriately. For today’s organisations that face a number of threats on a daily basis, it is essential to have a complete view of their operations and the local area at all times. They need to programme their systems, so that it can detect unusual activity or behaviour and notify the relevant operator. For instance, setting specific algorithms for CCTV cameras such as signalling an alarm if an individual is hanging around a certain area for too long or being able to analyse and identify unusual or unexpected car registration plates in car parks will all help detect threatening incidents before they even happen.

Another important application is using technology to enhance health and safety for employees. For example, fire drills and tests can be simulated through the system on a regular basis. By using 3D mapping technology it is possible to match problems to designated areas and sound the relevant alarm. This might mean evacuating several floors of a building or the entire area depending on the scale and location of the problem. Learning how to clear a building quickly is critical and it needs to be practiced regularly to ensure best practice is adhered to.

It’s also about making sure that day-to-day activities don’t obstruct incidents as they occur. For example, retailers might use cameras and analytics to check that fire exits aren’t blocked for overly long periods of time during deliveries of goods. This safety measure can also be applied to more corporate environments, but many haven’t even begun to think about this level of detail.

It’s impossible for security professionals to monitor all parts of the building at all times. Having a unified system which includes cameras, alarms, detectors and analytics tools means that these individuals can be immediately notified if an incident occurs that requires their attention.

O conteúdo What role does technology play in tackling security risks and improving business operations? aparece primeiro em Hoplon.