EDITOR’S COMMENT
Citizens have a role to
play in smart cities
A
major technological breakthrough
is not often recognised instantly.
When considering the major
developments such as mobile phone
technology, GPS, for example, we can
reflect in many cases that the true
significance of these accomplishments
were not fully grasped at the time.
This analogy could apply to smart
cities. We have all heard of smart cities
and the benefits they could bring us, but
until we feel our own lives are improving,
it is difficult, if not impossible, to
understand the accomplishment.
We know they are designed to make
us happier people and our lives easier,
but do we really recognise, at this early
stage, quite what scale of technological
revolution awaits us?
If not, we should make this clear. A new
industrial revolution is under way and it
will revolutionise how we live in our city.
Put simply, machines will collaborate with
each other and will respond and adapt to
our behavior. They will provide feedback
and deliver a solution which is most
convenient to us. To make our lives easier.
In order to use information to improve
lives, we will need effective data use and
information technology infrastructure.
The Internet of Things, cloud technology,
big data and high performance
computing will be integral to the process.
Systems can provide real-time urban
traffic information to the traffic control
centre who can deploy their traffic control
personnel to manage locations strategically.
Many systems are being developed not
only to assess the current conditions of the
present, but also a predictive analysis of
potential future conditions.
Farid Al-Sabbagh is Vice President and
Managing Director of Fujitsu Middle East
A new industrial
revolution is under way
and it will revolutionise
how we live in our city
This process is already under way.
Following through with HH Sheikh
Mohammad Bin Rashid Maktoum,
Vice President and Prime Minister of
Dubai’s vision for becoming a smart
city, several projects are underway to
link the Emirates government services
and the public through the use of smart
devices accessed freely using highspeed wireless internet connections. All
government departments in Dubai are
on board, including the Dubai Police,
Roads and Transport Authority, and
Dubai Municipality.
As Dubai’s road network becomes ever
more congested due to urbanisation,
with the urban proportion of the world
population predicted to rise to 62% by
2030, there will likely be more accidents
on our roads.
Dubai police have an application which
enables users to report a traffic accident,
check the status of an application, make a
fine payment or report a crime.
Dubai with technology infrastructure
built into its very core, is certainly at the
forefront of the smart city movement.
It is large enough to launch ambitious
initiatives, without being too big to be
able to control.
There is more in the pipeline. Remote
sensor devices throughout the city will allow
for the management of education, health
care and security functions. Through the
use of smart meters, Dubai will rationalise
the consumption of water and electricity.
It plans to generate and conserve energy
through renewable solar panels.
Those who reside in Dubai and
all cities involved in the smart city
revolution have a responsibility to make
this work. What is crucial at this stage
is to realise how influential each of us
can be and how even a small input now
can reap huge rewards for all of us as
citizens of Dubai.
As residents we can all claim some
responsibility for improving the six
pillars and 100 initiatives central to
the strategy of making Dubai smarter
including transport, communication,
infrastructure, electricity, economic
services and urban planning. Without
smart citizens, these targets would not
have been achieved.
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