Emerging Trends and Innovations in Smart City Technologies

Francis Adrian Viernes, Assistant Vice President - Chief Data Scientist Head of Data Analytics, Megaworld Corporation in a recent interaction with Asia Business Outlook shares his views on how smart cities can leverage emerging technologies to achieve their sustainability goals, how smart city initiatives can be designed to be more inclusive, and what strategies can be employed to ensure that all citizens have access to the benefits of these technologies and more.

Sustainable urban development is at the core of smart city initiatives, how can smart cities leverage emerging technologies to achieve their sustainability goals, and what are the potential obstacles in this journey?

Although there are numerous definitions when we are talking about smart cities, we will refer to the ASEAN Smart City Framework as it comprises numerous pillars which include civic and social dimensions, safety & security, infrastructure, the working environment, health and well-being, and industry and innovation. Most of these technologies which support these pillars are not new but they should be applied appropriately, interestingly.

In the safety and security we recently deployed an accident detection project leveraging computer vision technology. While computer vision technology has been around for a few decades, the application in predicting collisions has the potential to revolutionize smart city operations.

Cities should identify their key indicators first in order to leverage these technologies effectively. For instance, a city might aim to enhance the quality of air or even address waste management issues. Since the necessary technologies exist already, it is regarding applying them to meet the particular requirements of the city. The challenges of every city differ because for some of the cities congestion would be the priority while for others the quality of the air or various other long-term issues hindering sustainable growth would be the priority. Hence, addressing these key issues will drive the development of the city at first and with the wide availability of relevant technologies and solutions are within reach.

With the global push towards smart cities, how can smart city initiatives be designed to be more inclusive, and what strategies can be employed to ensure that all citizens have access to the benefits of these technologies?

This question has two aspects. When an LGU decides to implement smart city initiatives the citizens are likely to benefit. This is because the advantages of a smart city extend to all the citizens and not just any particular individuals. And, in this the civic and social framework is one of the core pillars of a smart city that often address issues which include income inequality, either indirectly or directly.

However, one of the crucial factors which is often overlooked in these discussions is education. Although smart cities depend heavily on advanced technology they are operated by people and not by robots. And this means it is essential for raising the general education level specifically in understanding as well as managing smart technologies for ensuring the workforce can operate these systems, effectively.

Also, smart cities attract businesses owing to their favorable conditions which include enhanced air quality, increased greenery and urban parks. As a consequence, the whole population stands to get benefitted from the environmental as well as economic enhancements which come with the establishment of smart cities.

How are smart cities incorporating sustainable energy solutions, and what innovations are driving the transition to greener urban environments?

One example that I have observed specifically in the Philippines is the growing push for Electric Vehicles. Although this is one of the global trends, I will focus on the Philippines region where I am witnessing more such visibility into such kind of developments. Some of the Electric Vehicle designs in the Philippines have started incorporating solar panels, and these help in decreasing costs. Furthermore, laws & regulations are being introduced that require Smart Electric Vehicle or hybrid chargers in some areas such as near the condominiums. And this facilitates in raising public awareness regarding the increasing availability of such kind of initiatives.

In terms of organizations reducing their carbon footprint, while these efforts need not always involve complete sustainable energy solutions they are still contributing to the cause indirectly and unfortunately, most of the people still lean toward petroleum as it is cheaper as well as more familiar despite the excitement around renewable energy and there is some resistance to change. However, since the regulations continue to evolve & incentivize Electric Vehicle purchases for decreasing reliance on traditional fuels and more number of people will likely shift their focus on sustainable energy solutions.