5 Applications and Study Cases
5.1 Smart cities

Up to day, we can find different definitions of a smart city but there is still no a unique accepted definition. The idea of a smart city varies from country to country and even from city to city. It means different things to different people depending on their own needs to make a better city with a high quality of life.

In the near future, it is expected a rapid expansion of city borders due to an increase in population and infrastructure development. Big cities will absorb the surrounding small ones to form mega cities with a population of more than 10 million people. This fact will cause the mega cities to evolve towards smart cities. It is expected about 40 smart cities in the world by 2025 [13].

Cities will be improved in many levels, they will be more secure, more productive, and more sustainable, all thanks to the IoT technology. Smart cities demand requires support of agreement from governments. In fact, the role of the cities governments will be crucial for IoT deployment. The next table shows some examples of smart city applications.

Table 4 - Smart city applications

Application

Description

Smart parking

Monitoring of parking spaces availability in the city

Structural health

Monitoring of vibrations and material conditions in buildings, bridges and historical monuments.

Noise urban maps

Sound monitoring in bar areas and centric zones in real time.

Smart Roads

Intelligent Highways with warning messages and diversions according to climate conditions and unexpected events like accidents or traffic jams.

Traffic Congestion

Monitoring of vehicles and pedestrian levels to optimize driving and walking routes

Smart Lighting

Intelligent and weather adaptive lighting in street lights.

Waste Management

Detection of rubbish levels in containers to optimize the trash collection routes

Potable Water Monitoring

Monitor the quality of tap water in cities