Future smart cities

The future of smart cities

How can architects, engineers and construction professionals help to build smart cities that put the needs of citizens front and centre, ask Rohit Talwar, Steve Wells and Alexandra Whittington of Fast Future?

Across the disciplines of architecture, engineering and construction, three forces are coming together to drive the next waves of opportunity: people, intelligent systems and smart city concepts.

At the core of the opportunity is the notion of creating truly livable environments for humanity, designed using intelligent tools and delivered and managed through a range of technologies that will help us bring smart city visions to fruition.

By ‘livable’, we mean cities that are human, vibrant, forward-looking, functional, smart and sustainable. The core tools underpinning their design will be those that can amplify human intelligence on a massive scale to interpret, predict and create solutions based on immense volumes of information about life in the city, gathered daily.

Holding it all together will be highly interconnected smart environments where people, government and business can live and work together effectively using emerging and exponentially improving technologies. These include big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, hyperconnectivity, artificial intelligence (AI), robots, drones, autonomous green vehicles, 3D/4D printing, smart materials and renewable energy.

Theory and practice While in theory, the potential of smart cities is exciting, in practice it can be very hard to develop a clear, inclusive and universally supported vision and strategy that delivers on everyone’s needs and leaves nobody behind.

Part of the challenge is that stakehold-

ers’ goals are not always aligned. At the same time, every sector is being disrupted and all our assumptions are being challenged.

Hence, few of us can see precisely what the needs of businesses, localities or families might be in the next 12 to 24 months, let alone in the five to 15 years over which a true smart city infrastructure might be rolled out. At the same time, that’s exactly what we must try to do. City governments must create inclusive processes that inform citizens about the forces shaping the future and the possibilities and challenges on the horizon; then engage the population in dialogue about the future we want to create.

This is where architects, engineers and construction specialists have an important role to play. They can help us explore and model what a livable city might mean to its people, and contribute to the articulation of a clear vision. Along the way, they must also offer insights into the ways in which the physical, digital and human elements of a smart city infrastructure might be delivered and managed. New approaches, new tools Increasingly, the tools available to architects, engineers and construction specialists are becoming more sophisticated and intelligent. From visioning to construction planning, increasing use is being made of the analytic and predictive capabilities of AI.

At the same time, the digital drawing board is coming to life through virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), to create immersive experiences throughout design, planning and construction processes.

Hence, the impacts of a development on its surrounding ecosystem can be modeled in more precise detail than ever before.

For example, the implications of a range of events – from emergencies to natural disasters to security incidents – can be simulated, to help ensure the robustness and workability of designs and to provide greater confidence in the rigour of risk assessments.

Furthermore, the capability of the technologies available will continue to amaze. For example, the combination of 3D printed structures and rapid building construction may lead to more agile forms of urban planning than exist today. By embedding sensors and detectors into assets and machines, we could also get vital insights into city life such as waste collection to traffic control, and better understand emerging needs in different areas of a city.

This idea of treating physical infrastructure more like software with builtto-suit homes, offices and public spaces might create cities that respond in almost real time to a range of behavioral fluctuations. Hence, smart cities might evolve to respond to demand fluctuations in much the same way that software applications do: sometimes requiring new functions or the withdrawal of older ones, sometimes relying on extra storage capacity or processing power or communications bandwidth.

This might mean that big events like the Olympic Games could be accommodated rapidly with largely temporary, ‘pop-up’ infrastructure and then disappear in a few weeks, rather than leave a permanent footprint and the costly chal-

lenge of ongoing usage and maintenance. addition to helping monitor road condi-

Another example of technology tools ‘on tions, they could be fitted as high-speed steroids’ can be found in the range of IoT- data connections. Data is a critical elebased home automation and protection ment of the smart city/smart road future. products. For example, US start-up However, because this option will furVayyar is experimenting with the use of ther expand the relationship between 3D imaging to see through walls, meaning internet service providers, surveillance, that no structure would be impenetrable. and private businesses including advertisThis omniscient type of surveillance could ers, there are issues around privacy to be put building designers and architects in considered. Naturally, most would want the curious position of having to decide on the information from smart cities and the aesthetics and purpose of walls that roads to be used to keep citizens moving, are technically invisible. healthy and protected. But should compaSmart cities, smart decisions tion to target users with adverts, when it This emerging class of intelligent cities is was collected for other purposes? typically being designed to enable smart nies then be allowed to use this informamanagement decisions – capturing and Smart road systems interpreting massive amounts of data The smart roads that link up the smart about the population and its patterns. cities of the future, we believe, are where This information gathering via different planners can put into effect many of the forms of surveillance results in what is ultra-efficient mechanisms that best called big data. characterise their vision. In general, the

Within five years, the deployment of concepts around smart cities, smart ever-smarter AI and advanced analytics roads and smart infrastructure are will mean that analysis could be com- becoming less visionary and more stratepletely automated. The data might be collated from a constantly evolving and expand‘‘ The smart gic and sustainable by the day. As cities grow in size and ing IoT – from traffic lights, city shouldn’t importance to the global surveillance cameras, pollution sensors, building control systems, and personal devicbe an apocalyptic economy, it will be increasingly important that they adopt the most innovative es – feeding giant data stores future where and forward-thinking design held in the cloud. A leading example of a smart city in operation is citizens are stripped of and sustainability ideas, particularly around road infrastructure. As a smart future Singapore, with its rapidly their free will unfolds, three important new evolving ‘city brain’. With a backbone of technologies, this brain helps control pollution, monitechnologies – big data, the IoT and renewable energy – are being used in parallel to transform ’’ tor traffic, allocate parking, communicate the day-to-day. with citizens, and even issue traffic fines. South Korea, for example, is planning Singapore’s brain is also attempting to an entire network of smart roads by modify human behavior; for example, 2020. This will include battery-charging one system rewards drivers for using rec- stations for electric vehicles (EVs), as well ommended mapped routes, and punishes as infrastructure to handle autonomous those who do not. vehicles. The introduction of driverless

Ultimately, Singapore’s planners hope vehicles requires roads to be transformed to discourage driving, and steer commut- into information superhighways, as vehiers towards greater use of public trans- cles will need to communicate with each portation. In total, the city is planning for other and the city infrastructure. 100 million ‘smart objects’, including Mapping, traffic signals and safety regusmart traffic lights, lamp posts, sensors, lations, for instance, are all parts of the and cameras on its roadways, which will physical and digital infrastructure that be used to monitor and enforce laws. will need to become highly coordinated

Vendors and planners are already for autonomous vehicles to function safebeginning to explore and model the pos- ly and effectively. sibilities presented by this trend towards All this data will enable decisions that total data capture. For example, a case make efficient use of space, fuel, water, study from India suggests that street- electricity and waste products, with an lights along the highways can offer both emphasis on sustainability. For example, smart city and connectivity solutions. In anticipating major traffic jams to provide alternate routes could reduce journey times, cut fuel consumption and ease congestion.

Urban development evolves The smart city movement has the potential to transform the organisation of people and physical objects, transcending urban development as we know it. The shift to smart infrastructure is not simply fashionable or aspirational; in many ways, it appears to be a critical enabler of the future sustainability of cities.

It can be argued that the future of human life on the planet relies on a smooth transition to cities that are more efficient, less wasteful and more conscious of the impacts of the individual on the greater good. This may involve a range of new negotiations along the boundaries of individual freedom and privacy; for example, replacing human drivers with self-driving cars in the hope of preventing death and injury in auto accidents, increasing traffic efficiency and removing environmental impacts.

Similarly, to reach municipal conservation goals, we might have to agree to invasive monitoring of waste generation, energy and water use in the home. These are the kinds of tensions with which future planners will need to wrestle.

The challenge and opportunity for architects, engineers and construction specialists is clear. The smart city shouldn’t be an apocalyptic future where citizens are stripped of their free will, and we cannot be seduced by the technoprogressive view that the pursuit of smart roads will lead to utopia.

However, it is now possible to create and deliver a city vision with citizens at its heart – one that is enabled by forwardthinking infrastructure planning, coupled with judicious use of enabling technologies. A well thought-out vision, enabled by a robust and well-executed smart city model, could provide a foundation stone for the next stage of our development, where science and technology are genuinely harnessed in service of creating a very human future.

Rohit Talwar, Steve Wells and Alexandra Whittington are from Fast Future, publisher of books from future thinkers around the world exploring how developments such as AI, robotics and disruptive thinking could impact individuals, society and businesses and create new, trillion-dollar sectors. Fast Future has a particular focus on ensuring these advances are harnessed to unleash individual human potential.

The Future of Making Things Comes into Focus at AU 2017 in Las Vegas

Autodesk University 2017 in Las Vegas proved again to be a powerful and transformative learning event for those in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. With nearly 6,500 professionals from AEC, including more than 1,500 architects and 1,600 attendees from construction, the event provided a chance to for the community to gather, build skills, share knowledge, and exchange perspectives on how best to adapt to the field’s rapid evolution.

Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost kicked things off in the Opening Keynote with his thoughts on thriving in a world of increasing— and increasingly intelligent—automation. From sensors that make buildings responsive to generative design systems that provide thousands of floor plans based on goals and constraints set by architects, Anagnost explored a vision for the future in which automation enables us to do more, do it better, and do it with less impact on budgets and resources.

Throughout the conference, Autodesk executives and industry leaders showed how AEC professionals can improve efficiency, visibility, collaboration, and safety by keeping data at the centre of their projects and processes. And they outlined the ways that formerly disparate industries are converging, as construction firms borrow techniques and technologies from the world of both manufacturing and media.

AUTODESK AND ESRI PARTNER TO SEAMLESSLY CONNECT BIM AND GIS DATA

An important new partnership was unveiled at the conference between Autodesk and Esri, the leading maker of geographic information system (GIS) software, once again highlighting the move toward keeping data at the centre of planning, design, and construction.

The two companies will work together to build a bridge between BIM and GIS mapping technologies to enable seamless data sharing. By bringing together data visualisation for the man-made world and the surrounding environment, the partnership will help those in AEC reduce waste and risk, boost sustainability, and improve insight.

“It will enable teams to connect the data of what—the models you create—with the data of where,” Anagnost said. Esri President Jack Dangermond said that he saw this partnership as “more than a linking of two technologies, it’s the start of the process to create a future that’s sustainable.”

LEARNING FROM EXPERTS AND PEERS

At its core, Autodesk University (AU) is a unique opportunity to learn from industry experts and Autodesk developers, as well as peers and colleagues, and to engage in conversation about what’s next for the industry.

In the Technology Keynote, Sweden-based construction and development company Skanska shared how its use of virtual reality (VR) technology enabled it to win five out of the six projects they pitched following adoption. With a workflow that went from Autodesk Revit to Revit Live to 3ds Max Interactive (formerly Stingray), they were able to show customers options for design, materials, and costs in real time using immersive VR. This approach empowered customers to choose the features and functions that would best serve their needs—all before breaking ground on the project.

In an interactive gallery in the Exhibit Hall, a team from leading consultancy firm Norconsult showed how they expanded the Vamma hydropower plant, the largest in Norway. The project was the first of its kind created using a 3D BIM model only, with no drawings at all. The result: a 90% reduction in change orders during execution.

NEW PRODUCTS, NEW FEATURES, AND NEW WAYS FORWARD

Autodesk executives also unveiled changes that are either already available or forthcoming in the digital tools AEC practitioners use. Leading these was the next generation of BIM 360, a cloud service connecting the entire construction project lifecycle. Built on the Autodesk Forge platform, it supports informed decision-making by centralising all project data in a single place. From design to construction to operations, executives explained how BIM 360 removes uncertainty in the construction process, enables closer collaboration among teams, increases transparency and safety, and improves data continuity.

LEARN ANYTIME AT AU ONLINE

The fields of architecture, engineering, and construction continue to transform. AU is your partner in navigating the changes that lie ahead, helping you find a place for yourself and a path forward for your company. Learning is a part of the job now for anyone in these fields, and the community and content available at AU are important resources to gain understanding and insight, whether you’re looking for tips and tricks to increase efficiency, new workflows, or broader perspectives on the changes affecting your field.

AU Las Vegas happens once a year, but the learning from the event continues yearround. You can watch keynotes and more than 500 classes from the 2017 event, as well as thousands of other classes from years past, at AU online anytime. Go to au.autodesk.com to get started.