Thanks Toms for jogging my memory about the Dubai project. I remember reading about the developments-in-progress when I visited the city some time ago. Would be interesting to hear about how those projects are progressing in light of Dubai's financial crash in 2009 (?).
Interestingly, I received an RSS feed today that had this in one of the headlines:
The Smart World takes centre stage at the BDigital Global Congress 2011
The Smart World, the range of smart technologies applied to improving cities, health and social media, is set to headline the 13th edition of the BDigital Global Congress. Over a four-day period from 30 May to 2 June, national and international experts will showcase the latest trends in technology applied to the fields of the Smart City, Smart Health and Smart Social Media at Barcelona's CaixaForum.
How smart can cities get? I think the possibility is endless, but one thing that will really create a notable land mark is communication. When appliances, homes, organizations, institutions, government can communicate with each other in a secure and flexible way, then greater options start to open up.
Reading this article makes me wonder how many cities are going to overlook current more important issues in order to integrate more technology. Many companies that are making things "smart" for their employees or customers are doing so to generate more money. If a person can get free WI-FI access at a coffee shop, they might stay around longer and possibly by something else.
Some cities are trying to boast about great technology they are implementing in order to bring attention and possibly get more people to move there or to stay put. While in the mean time these same cities have infrastructure problems and other areas that need attention. I'm just hoping everybody isn't jumping on the "smart" technology bandwagon and overlooking more important issues other than can I get WI-FI at a bus stop.
Now a day “Smart” is a very common word prefixing with all devices or technology. One thing I would like to know is; is smart appliances or homes or cities are really SMART. Recently, TECOM of Dubai holdings announced about smart city projects in different parts of world. According to them SmartCity means build a large network of knowledge-based industry townships with state-of-the-art IT and media city on the models of Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City. Am not sure about the smart facilities they are going to provide.
Smart technology means, where system may use its intelligence and logics to act as smart on different situations. Many people are considering that smart city is one to be well networked and some others feel that, it is a city with all modern amenities with in a hand distance. But strictly speaking a smart city consists of the combination of all these features and many more.
DennisQ - Thanks for citing the project below. Sounds fascinating, almost like science fiction. I'll check it out.
You raise a couple other points worth thinking about: Will it be easier for some places to create 'new' cities or pockets of cities as they roll-out technology? Will cities be upgrading forever since technology is always racing ahead? Where's the point when cities will be "smart enough"?
Personally, I go back and forth on this. Some days, I'm psyched to hear about these improvements, the convenience that comes with them, and the way it empowers people worldwide when everywhere access is possible. Other times, I really would like to grab the phone out of hands of the chatty person on the bus, fling it out a window, and shout woo-hoo! when it gets flattened by truck. For me, I'd like to make sure there's some balance and careful thought going into urban planning.
This is a subject that I personally am very interested in and I've been following the developments in smarter city building very closely.
One interesting project I'll mention is the Babcock Ranch project, which is essentially an attempt to create a sustainable city from scratch. I think they're doing all sorts of interesting and unique things: building their own 75-megawatt photovoltaic power-generating facility, putting somewhere like 90% of the land in the development into preservation, perhaps utilizing autonomous electrically powered vehicles, etc.
Anyhow, it is clear that our existing cities must evolve to keep up with the latest technological developments and future cities and developments should require much more thought given to their technology infrastructure and long-term environmental impact.
As you mention, a lot of money will be spent by governments to upgrade their infrastructure in the coming years. Unfortunately, sad to say, a lot more of that money will likely be flowing into countries such as China rather than the US, at least in the short-term.
Regardless, this is an exciting time to be working in this space and I'm looking forward to seeing these smarter cities of the future develop.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
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Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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