The benefits of being smart As more and more cities look to become ‘smart’, there are opportunities for security providers who are prepared to innovate and to deliver more than just security outcomes, writes Ginger Schlueter in Security Technology.
Dubai is on a mission. It wants to become the world’s smartest city by 2021 and has more than 545 initiatives in the works to fundamentally change the way people experience the city.
The effort is part of Dubai’s Smart City strategy, which launched in 2014, according to Visit Dubai. “Key strategic goals include: transforming more than 100 essential government services into smart services carried out primarily online; introducing autonomous vehicles and smart transportation services; providing free, high-speed Wi-Fi across the emirate; and developing a data-driven economy that authorities estimate will generate an additional AED 10.4 billion (U.S. $2.83 billion) in GDP by 2021,” a press release explained. “The Smart Dubai Platform will be unlike any other smart city platform operating in the world today,” said Her Excellency Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, director general of the Smart Dubai Office, which is rolling out the Smart City strategy. And Dubai is not alone. Cities around the world want to provide residents and visitors with greater access and connections via technology as more people begin to migrate to urban areas. The United Nations projects that 68 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, and that more than 60 percent of the land projected to become urban has yet to be developed. This creates an opportunity for the security industry to provide the safety and security segment smart cities need. Smart Cities 101 There are varying definitions of a smart city, but they share many similarities. Smart cities are sustainable, both environmentally and economically; proactive in detecting
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threats; able to break down big data gathered from devices throughout the city into understandable, usable information; livable for people; and utilize connected components. “The motive right now of smart cities is the ability to manage a city based upon the interconnectivity of traffic control, emergency systems, video infrastructure—in terms of tracking incidents and potential threats—and parking management and controls,” says Pierre Bourgeix, consulting manager at Boon Edam. To make this possible, cities must invest in a robust infrastructure to support the technology they’re installing. “Smart grids, together with fixed broadband infrastructure based on 5G and Fixed Wireless Access— essentially fiber optic performance in a wireless transport medium—are some key elements providing the underlying infrastructure to advance smart cities,” says Steve Surfaro, a physical and cybersecurity solutions expert and member of the ASIS International Security and Applied Sciences Ad Hoc Council. In one of its smart city initiatives, Dubai is using artificial intelligence-driven robots to assist tourists by answering their questions, providing directions, and more. Dubai is also looking into creating an “autonomous police station” controlled by a mobile app to assist its police department. “Some countries and cities—Dubai, Kuwait, India, Singapore, and China—are way ahead of the curve,” explains Jumbi Edulbehram, regional president Americas at Oncam Grandeye. “China especially has a ton of smart city technology, including a whole highway that can power cars as they are driving on top of it.” The United States lags behind many nations when it comes to smart city development. However, this gives the United States a chance to look at successfully functioning smart cities and reproduce similar applications.
April/May 2019
