IoT in Smart Cities

IoT in Smart Cities
Problem Statement
IoT refers to a set of technologies for accessing data collected using various devices through wireless and wired internet networks. While different sources define the technologies differently, the common explanation is its potential to provide valuable information using different user devices that utilize wireless and internet networks (González-Zamar, Abad-Segura, Vázquez-Cano, & López-Meneses, 2020). The adoption of IoT began a long time ago in smart cities, and as of 2017, its adoption increased by about 39% compared to 2015 (Park, Pobil, & Kwon, 2018). Its adoption is mainly associated with improving the quality of life in the cities (Cvar, Trilar, Kos, Volk, & Duh, 2020). A survey on smart city use of IoT has to indicate various uses of the technology in improving the quality of life.
There is a need to understand the list of metrics used to characterize the quality of life in terms of availability of communal resources to most people and environmental hygiene. The communal resources will be assessed through measurement of water quantity in cubic meters (M3), whereas environmental hygiene will be measured by determining the amount of power consumed in kilowatts (kW). The IoT benefits for the city, in this case, will be power and water conservation by allowing the users to monitor their power and water consumption, as well as reporting any instances of leakages or unfair power usage. In monitoring water usage, the device will allow users to monitor their water usage on a daily basis with a goal of the users being to use less water than the previous day and generally see how much water they will have saved after a month compared to the previous one. Similarly, in power usage, the device will also record power consumption on a daily basis and allow the users to know the amount saved for each day. Thus the overall benefit will be computed by determining the amount of each resource saved. To encourage more savings, people who will manage to spend less on each resource will receive a discount on their bills. In waste management, the device will also help monitor the quantity of waste for each month to allow the users to assess their disposition rates. A user who finds out that they will have excessive wastes for a particular month should be able to account for the increase in baggage.
The IoT application time-series will be used as the most appropriate measurement of the impact of IoT’s performance. The application’s performance will be measured using a time series by measuring the error rates and the average response time after reporting such anomalies. The error rates of water leakages and inappropriate use of power (failures per month), and the response time ((time taken to rectify), will help assess how effective the application is in rectifying such incidents. Therefore, the study targets four different units of value: water usage (M3), power consumption (kW), error rates (failures per month), and response time (time taken to rectify).
On the other hand, the IoT added good quality products for the automotive industry by creating smart applications as manufactured goods excellence is the core driver of consumer fulfillment concerning automotive purchasing. A vehicle is the single most prominent purchase individuals make. Therefore, when a car is unsatisfactory, consumers tend to be dissatisfied. Subsequently, surveys on car-brand understanding show that seven significant aspects are vital to consumers in purchasing a new vehicle: excellence, performance, fuel, frugality, protection, proposal/elegance, as well as innovation/novelty (Armstrong et al., 2018). Automotive manufacturers, as well as dealers, have a mutual reliance on every other for attraction, amenity, and retainer ship of consumers. Increased integration amidst the automotive makers and dealers elevates consumer fulfillment.
According to the Smart City Use Cases and Technology Adoption Report 2020, smart city use connected to public transport is the most preferred use of IoT around the world. For example, Skanetrafiken, the public transport body in Malmo, Sweden, installed the system to connect the public bus transport system (IoT Analytics, 2020). Another smart city use for IoT is in traffic monitoring and management, in which 72% of the cities use the technology to monitor traffic and ensure that it flows efficiently (IoT Analytics, 2020). For example, the city of Copenhagen, Denmark, constructed 380 intelligent traffic lights that helped reduce congestion in the streets by prioritizing bikes and buses. In Geneva, IoT helps develop a high-speed network and smart grid to aid in energy management (Talari, Shafie-khah, Siano, Loia, Tommasetti, & Catalão, 2017). The graph below shows the top 10 smart city use cases of IoT.
Besides the common applications, IoT can also help save lives during natural disasters. For example, they can help in the search and rescue operations by locating people trapped during floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural calamities. Similarly, the smart traffic management system, which relies on IoT, can help clear traffic and avoid rescue delays. According to Beltramo et al. (2018), the technology can also help notify people about the impending disaster. It can be used to monitor the seismic wave frequencies that are associated with earthquakes and allow people to take appropriate protective measures. Therefore, smart technology has a variety of uses, both domestic and natural.
In the study, IoT can help help monitor short circuits that may result in disasters in the house as well as outside. According to Jeong and Kim (2019), electrical facilities installed outdoors are prone to impact by the natural disasaters. Consequently, accidents from electrical equipment have been increasing. Therefore, this study will also focus on incorporating IoT in averting such disasters. Experts will be consulted on how to identify short circuits and areas that experience frequent blackouts or accidents because of the short circuits will be identified for experimental purposes.
While IoT has been effective at improving city efficiency, there still exist several challenges that city dwellers face. Water is a scarce commodity in most cities around the world, and, therefore, besides metering it, IoT can also be used to monitor its distribution and ensure that the water reaches most users. Water scarcity is also attributed to undetectable leakages and illegal connections in most cities. IoT can be used in monitoring such water flows to ensure that everybody gets sufficient water. Other than water leakages and theft culminating in its unequal distribution, cities also face hygiene challenges. These areas are prone to pollution from industrial wastes and gas emissions from motor vehicles. The technology can be used to monitor these emissions and ensure that only treated wastes are allowed into the environment.
This study aims at assessing the viability of using IoT for these reasons.
Research Objectives
* To determine how IoT can be used to improve the quality of life in smart cities at a household level through the availability of basic community resources to most people and environmental hygiene.
* To explore other potential uses of IoT for businesses towards improving the quality of life in smart cities besides the already identified uses.
The tables below will be used to determine electricity and water consumption for a period of six months. The electricity metrics will be guided by Aanonsen’s energy monitoring charts.
Electricity Consumption
Several studies have been conducted to assess electricity consumption. One of these is the study by Chen (2017), who sought to assess Taiwan’s electricity consumption from 1987 to 2015. The units of measurement for the study was GWh and the range was 50,000 to 300,000. The consumption graph is shown in the figure below:
Source: (Chen, 2017)
In addition, Chen (2017) also provides an analysis of electricity consumption for selected household appliances in the table below.
Source: (Chen, 2017)
These figures will guide this study in preparing similar metrics for analysis of consumption before and after IoT installation.
Water Consumption
One of the studies on water consumption is by Grafton, Ward, To, and Kompas (2011), who assessed water consumption in 10 countries. The consumption was measured in kL per year, with the highest consumer being Canada, which recorded a mean consumption of 535 kL per year and the lowest consumer being France with 129 kL per year. The table of metrics presented in the study is shown below.
Source: (Grafton et al., 2011).
Garbage Mass per Month
One of the examples of studies on gabbage production per month is by Addis Continental Institution of Health, who provided a summary of the selected towns and cities solid waste generation rate from households (“Study Session 7  Solid Waste”). The rate was recorded as kg/person/day with a range of 0.85 to 0.23kg/person/day.
Source of data
The data on electricity and water consumption will be obtained from six houses identified, where data sensors will be installed to help monitor and alert the users of their consumption rates. On the other hand, the garbage mass will be measured from the monthly collection based on the six houses. The metrics will be converted into dollars by obtaining the value of one unit in dollars and then using the value to calculate the entire amount. For example, to convert the electricity metrics (kW) into dollars ($), the study will obtained the amount of dollars charged for 1kW, and then determine the $ value for the total and average kW by multiplying by the dollar value for 1kW. The table below elaborates how the information will be recorded for two houses in a span of six months.
Benefits of IoT
Hse No.

Month

Resource

Min. Amount Consumed/Produced

Max. Amount Consumed/Produced

Avrg. Amount Consumed/Produced

Value of 1 Unit in Dollars

Total value of the units in dollars

1

January 2022

Electricity

800kW

900kW

850kW

1kW = $0.138

$177.3


February 2022

Electricity

_kW

_kW

_kW

1kW = $0.138

$_


March 2022

Electricity

_kW

_kW

_kW

1kW = $0.138

$_


April 2022

Electricity

_kW