An issue on the rise, much addressed by many technology and even electronic component companies, such as Mouser Electronics, is what are the so called Smart Cities.
Integrating technology, especially electronics, it is possible to combine three dimensions of a city and its inhabitants, so as to obtain greater comfort, rational use of energy and solutions to problems which are common, especially in large centers.
The basic idea is to use all possible technological resources and to aggregate them to a city in a wide and collective way, attending to all its inhabitants.
Some cities around the world already work directly on these solutions such as the city of Porto (oPorto) in Portugal, where Mouser Electronics follows a project to make all vehicles WiFi servers connected to sensors which constantly monitor everything that happens in its transport network.
Traffic jams, holes, accidents and everything else that can be used to make traffic flow better is monitored, initially with sensors placed on public transportation and in some special vehicles.
The network itself allows vehicles to communicate with traffic lights and other points which host servers thus forming a network of communications and the monitoring of important events.
But much more than simply monitoring the flow of vehicles and people in a city, the idea of a Smart City goes beyond all that.
Using the intelligence, inventiveness and creativity of the inhabitants, according to Richard Florida in 2007, scientists, entrepreneurs, artists and investors must determine how the city space should be used.
In a second dimension it must be taken to the general inhabitants' creativity in a collective way, that is, collective intelligence must be used to determine the way the city is organized.
Finally, the artificial intelligence that will be embedded in the city in the form of infrastructure resources, communication, digital tools and other resources which will determine how common problems can be solved, such as transportion and communication networks in the case of Porto in Portugal.
The very use of internet access on the bus and public places, as it is now in São Paulo, shows that we are already on the way to an intelligent city. Urban Systems is a company which already acts in the sector and analyzes the cities, placing them in a ranking of more developed municipalities. See more at:
http://www.urbansystems.com.br/urban-maps and also at: https://issuu.com/connectedsmartcities/docs/catalogo_csc16_21x28cm_final
