The entire tech world is hooked on Saudi Arabia’s Neom city. First of its kind, this smart city is a huge deal because of its futuristic innovation in areas like IoT (Internet of Things), Artificial Intelligence, and robotics. I am talking about improved public transportation, public health, and smart urban development that is sustainable and dependent on renewable energy.
A key technology that can power the interconnectivity of smart cities is 5G internet. With its wireless capacity that can work over vast distances, 5G has the potential to enable countless smart cities, like Neom, that will improve the quality of our lives.
No wonder the smart city market is predicted to be worth $1445 billion by 2030.
This is the reason 5G has been considered a huge deal ever since its inception. It can bring us technologies that only existed in sci-fi. With features like real-time data collection, real-time analytics, and large-scale IoT interconnectivity, the 5G technology can achieve what was previously considered impossible.
Let us explore in detail how 5G can transform smart cities with the help of urban analytics:
Urban Analytics: Massive Data Collection and Processing
Data is the most important aspect of smart cities, or anything smart essentially. The purpose of interconnectivity is the sharing of data. If this data goes unprocessed, then there is no benefit of having devices that can record data. If the data generated by smart elements is properly processed and analyzed, then urban processes like city planning, natural resource management, public health, and overall development can be improved.
This is where urban analytics comes in. It uses data science to analyze data generated from urban environments and smart cities, like big data, GIS (Geographic Information Systems), and remote sensing.
Now, urban analytics requires a massive network infrastructure to share and collect data. This is where 5G internet comes in. By providing large-scale wireless internet connectivity in the US and the world, this technology can enable the IoT infrastructure to transmit, collect, and share urban data.
- Real-Time Data Processing
Since 5G has ultra-low latency, therefore, it can aid in real-time sharing and processing of large-scale diver data from video, audio, sensors, and images. It can support near-instantaneous data flow, which enables urban analytics to process it in real-time. This can result in efficient decision-making and planning regarding our urban environment.
- Artificial Intelligence Integration
5G has a huge bandwidth, which can aid in developing and deploying AI and ML (machine learning) solutions. These are the basis of urban analytics and aid in processing big data at impressive speeds. Moreover, AI models can also deal with massive unstructured data and prepare it for data processing.
Smart Cities: Improved Urban Life
5G can enable a new generation of platforms and software to make smart cities a reality for us. There are many ways in which 5G can transform the concept and application of smart cities, some of which are:
- Improved Commute
Commute is one of the major problems of our urban city life. Road blockages, accidents, and traffic jams can make commuting a hassle and increase commute times. However, commuting in smart cities can be powered by 5G. This means that by collecting and analyzing traffic data in real-time, routes can be optimized and commutes can become more efficient.
- Urban Planning
5G can enable urban planning of smart cities, just like the Line in Neom. Such smart urban planning can ensure the average commute time is under 15 minutes. Similarly, 5G can empower the widespread network of things (IoT). This way, better data processing can empower real-time monitoring of urban infrastructure to further improve it.
- Better Safety
5G’s ability to transmit data in real-time can be used to make smart cities safer. Data from the intracity network of CCTVs can be processed and analyzed to introduce safety features and lower crime rates. This data can also be used to track wanted individuals or missing children.
- Enhanced Public Health
By providing the network infrastructure for telemedicine through better communication, quick emergency response, and remote patient monitoring, 5G can significantly improve public health in smart cities. Its high bandwidth and low latency can empower AI’s usage for diagnostics and personalized care as well. Ultimately, 5G can improve access to better healthcare for everyone, even for people living in remote areas.
This is not it, though. The 5G technology can further transform smart cities by providing the resources and infrastructure for improved urban infrastructure maintenance, environmental monitoring, public safety, etc. In doing so, it promotes smarter use of physical and energy resources, leading to sustainability.