From Atoms to Bits: the Data Economy is real. Part III

Roberto Saracco June 17, 2017 Blog 723 Views

A continuous loop for the digital transformation of a city, making use of data from the city to understand what is going on and influence its evolution. Credit: Antonio J. Jara, HES-SO

An example of intertwined atom, bits and data economy is a smart city. The city is made of cars, people, roads, … of atoms. Using sensors we convert atoms into bits, we can measure traffic, pollution, we create data… We store those data into a cloud, susch a big volume, variety and rapidly changing that they fit the 3Vs of Big Data. We can use those data to create other data giving us better understanding of the city. Third parties can create new biz out of those data by creating even more data. And these data can be used to understand what is going on at a macro level. A traffic jam may be the outcome of an accident, but if we know that a soccer game just finished in the area we can guess the jam is the result of people streaming out of the stadium. At that point it makes more sense trying to dilute the stampede by slowing down the exit from the stadium and bringing more public transportation to the area.

Songdo, South Korea, is an example of a city aiming to get smarter and smarter through the use of data. Every single car generates location data through active RFID, transponder, and data are analysed to influence the behaviour of citizens, the electrical grid is smart not just in terms of balancing offer (also from private micro generation) and demand but also in terms of understanding the demand and providing the municipality tools to steer it, garbage is collected through underground pipes and analysed for recycle and for creating citizen awareness. As you see closing the loop is what really matters: you get data from the city, you analyse them and then you feed back the information derived to generate awareness and influence the behaviour of the city (and its citizens).

Songdo, a 35 billion$ investment, started in the last decade and to be completed in 2018. The South Korean city leverages on data to get smarter and smarter. Credit: Songdo

Being a continuous feedback loop one can aim at a real time control of the city life. Notice that most of the time this happens through hard actions (like changing the time of red lights to streamline the traffic in an area based on current and predicted evolution) and through soft actions, that is by creating an awareness that steer the behaviour of citizens in a wanted direction. These “soft actions” go beyond technology and require sociologists and psychologists. Notice that they are also a powerfull instrument to reshape, over time, the culture of a city.

Predictive, dynamic planning is becoming possible, also leveraging on AI approaches.