Smart City
Nowadays, technology has become an inseparable part of our lives, it seems we can’t live without new technologies.
IoT, as a leading technology in recent years, has had a tremendous impact on optimizing people’s living conditions.
Smart cities are one of the best cases that have started a movement by using IoT and connectivity in order to improve services to citizens, manage energy and reduce costs in various fields of citizen services.
A smart city is basically a modern city that uses technologies extensively in order to manage the city and optimize the living conditions of citizens. All kinds of sensors are installed in different parts of the city to collect specific information. The information obtained from the sensors is used for appropriate decisions and actions at the same time. It is also used with the information obtained from that data for efficient management of assets, resources and services.
Smart City and Applications
There are many applications in cities that can be managed intelligently, for this purpose, governments should provide the conditions for the establishment of IoT in urban infrastructure.
Utility monitoring and management
Utilities play a unique role in urban infrastructure. The use of smart networks, smart meters and new ways of energy production and transmission is done in smart cities. Smart water and electricity monitoring can help save money by giving people more control over their home utility usage.
Waste
By using Internet of Things solutions and receiving information about the status of trash cans, it is possible to plan more accurately the time needed to empty the bins. This intelligence prevents the overflow of garbage from the bins and reduces unnecessary visits for collecting garbage, which will eventually reduce fuel consumption and help preserve the environment.
Smart Parking
Smart parkings help the traffic flow with real-time data and provide step-by-step guidance to drivers to find a parking space. They also reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions.
Traffic Monitoring
The problem of traffic control is increasing day by day due to the increase in the number of vehicles.
This problem can be controlled by using IoT solutions and receiving real-time information about the urban traffic situation. It contributes to timely management of traffic lights and other factors affecting traffic
Analyzing the data can help in making proper decisions for the future.
Air Pollution Monitoring & Control
Air pollution is one of the main problems in many big cities. IoT solutions can be used to reduce air pollution. In smart cities, appropriate sensors are installed in different parts of the city, in order to collect the data related to city pollution such as vehicle emissions, pollen levels, air flow direction, weather, traffic levels, etc.
Studying and analyzing this information, helps predictions and finding appropriate solutions to control pollution. In an emergency situation, the government can make proper decisions and take actions in real time, for example informing sensitive groups like elderly and children to avoid travel in the city during the day.
Tracking System
Tracking vehicles, postal packages, goods or food we order, as well as tracking pets to protect them and many other things should be considered in the definition of a smart city. All this is only possible if IoT technology is deployed and used.
There are various wireless technologies for deploying IoT in smart cities but one of the most appropriate ones is LoRa wireless!
Why LoRa?
LoRa is a long-range wireless technology that enables data transferring with low power and high security. These specifications make LoRa desirable for most wireless sensor applications compared to others.
Which advantages of LoRa make it the most effective solution in Smart Cities?
Long range
Despite the extent of cities and considering LoRa’s long range, this technology will be a suitable choice. In urban areas LoRa covers up to 3 miles and in rural areas up to 10 miles.
In Smart Cities, we need LoRa Mesh, which means the city governors should install numbers of hubs and gateways in different areas of cities to provide complete coverage.
Low Power
Compared to other wireless technologies, LoRa has lower energy consumption and therefore its battery life will be longer. Low power consumption helps with longer batter life with wearables and sensors are running on battery and it significantly increases their operating life time and avoid wiring in some situations.
Low transmission rate
In smart cities, there is usually no need to send bulk information, so LoRa can be a good solution for this purpose sending small packet of data which is only ready of a location or value of a sensor or a command to turn a water pump ON or OFF in wastewater management plant. Therefore, low payload for LoRa communication is ideal for this smart city applications.
High Security
One of the most important advantages of LoRa is the high security of this technology. All data is encrypted, which is one of the main parameters in choosing this protocol as a wireless communication platform in smart cities and it assures the integrity and security of the city infrastructure.
