As we look ahead to 2023, EG Electronics suggests you keep an eye on the smart infrastructure trends listed below…

Increased use of Smart Sensors for tracking weather conditions

Keeping a country moving relies in no small part on the transport system, and a big part of that is the roads. Gritting and salting roads can be a costly and time-consuming strand of a local authority budget, and getting it wrong, allowing roads to become icy and unsafe, can be disastrous.

Smart Sensors can be deployed to monitor road temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, air temperature, wind speed, rainfall, and wind direction. These installations allow detailed monitoring of weather conditions and can pre-empt the need for gritting. This information can also be used to predict peaks and troughs in traffic and the likelihood of delays.

Renewed focus on sustainability and longevity

Planned obsolescence of technology and machinery has the potential to hobble development, when replacing old technology is not financially or practically viable. There is a huge amount of publicly owned and operated technology that has arguably outlived its peak performance. This will take the form of the integration of low carbon materials, a planned increase in the use terms of vehicles, focussing particularly on electric vehicles, and a shift towards recycling and remanufacturing components and materials that have already been used.

Rollout of increased 5G coverage

5G is a key enabler for a new standard of wireless connectivity. It is designed to connect almost everyone and everything, including private and public machines, objects, and devices. The improved performance offered by 5G empowers users, and feeds into the smart city vision of a fully connected citizenship. 5G can boost a smart cities credentials in a number of ways including;

• Improving and increasing the connectivity of legacy technology, giving it a new lease of life and the ability to use it in new and more efficient ways.
• Enhancing security and improving operations. Industry 4.0 is seeing government run institutions and outlets updating their processes and defences, 5G can be crucial to achieving these upgrades.
• Levelling the playing field. Putting 5G enabled devices in the hands of citizens allows them to tap into the benefits of a truly smart city. This could include things like remote learning opportunities, working from home with ease, or attending medical appointments remotely.

A fully connected citizenship

At its core a smart city is one that works in the best way possible for its citizens. One of the best ways to ensure that this is the case is by connecting those citizens into the network. Technological advances will continue to foster cooperation and trust between a smart city government and its citizens. This will manifest in things like increased network coverage and connectivity and the rise of apps allowing citizens to report on local issues, such as any public facilities that require maintenance or data gathering for an improvement in services.

To learn more about our solutions for smart cities, click here.