We live in an amazing time – the time when the science fiction of the past decades has been put into practice. Today is nothing unusual for us – “smartphone”, “smart vacuum cleaner”, “smart car”, “smart house”: smartphones and robotic vacuum cleaners have already become an integral part of our daily lives, more and more popular are automation systems for residential buildings, Development of unmanned vehicles.
The process of “smartization” of everything and everything around us like a snowball collects and gains speed, increasing in volume. And with a high degree of certainty, it can be stated that the next link in this chain will be a “smart city” because virtually all large agglomerations somehow think about the automation of urban management processes.
Cities are developing, changing, and adapting to surrounding conditions like any living organism. Economic, political, and environmental changes in their habitat make some cities expand and others decrease. Each city reacts to these changes responds to regional, national and global challenges.
Imagine the rush hour in a big city. People hurry up to home after a hard day’s work. Unmanned cars rush past; On specially equipped safety lanes, apart from motorized traffic and the flow of unpredictable pedestrians and cyclists.
As the evening arrives, the sensors installed in the rooms regulate the temperature of the ambient air and turn on the lighting; People control television sets, radio, and even water in the bathroom with gestures, without getting up from their seats.
In the meantime, sensors installed on the street monitor the air composition and are ready to immediately alert residents when dangerous levels of toxic agents reach the atmosphere. Urban garbage collection is planned by a computer that automatically receives data about the filling of garbage cans. Traffic planning systems constantly monitor and correct traffic flows, so traffic jams and accidents remain in the past. All the functions of urban control systems are unnoticeable for the people to be optimized, making life easier and more efficient.
The concept of a “smart city” looks like something very far from reality. But, in fact, it is not so, and this future is already here.
