Everything seems to indicate that this technology will continue to develop at a rapid pace. However, it is not free of risks and dangers if it is used in a careless manner. The very future of this technology is still shrouded in mystery and a number of uncertainties. However, there are various predictions as to its ability to improve our lives in the future. The concept itself seems almost limitless. To be successful, it requires the connection of as many devices as possible, which should allow huge data to be collected and processed (see the chapter “Impact of Internet of Things”).

One of the things that is still worth noting is the distinction of the Internet of Everything (IOE). It is a much broader concept and includes many more elements.

Its definition was undertaken, among others, by CISCO, which defined it as:

“The Internet of Everything (IoE) brings together people, process, data, and things

to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before —

turning information into actions that create new capabilities, richer experiences, and

unprecedented economic opportunity for businesses, individuals, and countries.[1]“

The value of an IOE is broader because of its social and economic dimension, as it concerns both processes and people (apart from data and things) mentioned in the definition.

Among the concepts that are probably the most widely discussed, is the Smart City.

It is increasingly being referred to at various conferences and in articles/publications.

So what is Smart City and what is the role of IoT there?

Looking for common points in the various definitions of the smart city, we can come across features like:

• Highly developed technologically;
• high standard of living, and
• smart people[2].

Despite appearances, Smart Cities is not a futuristic concept, but a reality in which more and more cities around the world are becoming increasingly smarter.

Rankings of such cities are carried out, for example, by the Smart City Index or the IESE Cities in Motion Index. They assess structures and technologies in such categories as:

Health & Safety (example: structure -Air pollution / technologies – Online reporting of city maintenance problems provides a speedy solution);

Mobility (example: structure – Traffic congestion / technologies – Apps that direct you to an available parking space have reduced journey time);

Activities (example: structure – Green spaces/ technologies – Online purchasing of tickets to shows and museums);

Opportunities <Work & School> (example: structure – Lifelong learning opportunities are provided by local institutions / technologies – Online services provided by the city has made it easier to start a new business)

Governance (example: structure – Residents provide feedback on local government projects / technologies – An online platform where residents can propose ideas has improved city life)[3].

The set of features presented in the Index may help us to understand what a city should be characterised by, and what we can call smart.

Another proposal of what makes up Smart City is the following model.

Source: Own elaboration based on: http://www.smart-cities.eu/?cid=2&ver=4

In this model, the Smart City consists of

• Smart Economy;
• Smart Mobility;
• Smart Environment;
• Smart People;
• Smart Living;
• Smart Governance.

As we can see here, the Smart concept is much more in-depth and involves a much larger number of different components, such as Economics or Governance (not only devices and data), and we can even talk here about a philosophy of development not only of cities but also of communities (which is actually a requirement then to be able to benefit ethically and efficiently from technological development).

Smart City is the sum of the above concepts and has emerged from the need for sustainable development and the need to optimise resource consumption.

As you can see, the magic word “smart” appears everywhere in Smart City definitions. And that is the connection to the Internet of Things. Because how does IoT fit into Smart City and what role does it play in it?

For the City to be Smart (in a technological context), it is necessary to “combine” its elements with each other.

Source: Designed by macrovector / Freepik

IoT technology supports the city with sensors and the transfer of information between them. The more sensors, the more information can be processed and the more the city’s functioning can be optimised, with great results in terms of both use of resources (also natural resources) and quality of life. But how can wireless contact between devices work in practice?

A good example would be the solutions offered by IoT (together with other industrial 4.0 technologies), for example in public transport.

Traffic monitoring and analysis can contribute to a better understanding of the CO2 emissions generated in a city and will allow for a response to particularly sensitive points. Thanks to sensors at bus stops and traffic analysis, it is also possible to better predict the time needed for buses (or other forms of public transport) to travel from one place to another. This way, while waiting at the bus stop, on the electronic board (but also in your smart device: phone, watch, …) you will always have the correct bus arrival time displayed. The time will be updated and corrected, for example, by the sensors that such a bus will pass on its way. What is more, it is easier to estimate when our public transport will arrive thanks to the distribution of sensors throughout the whole city[4]. Then, thanks to IoT, we can, being aware of the traffic jamming state of the city, determinate when the bus will get to stop Xy, if the bus being currently at stop X₁.

Sensors in car parking areas sending information to the mobile application will allow you to easily find an empty parking space and  even highlight it for you. Street lights can respond to your city’s current needs by adjusting the lighting level[5]. All this will make it possible to optimise energy consumption by keeping it as even as possible without unnecessary increases/decreases in use.

Among the advantages that IoT can bring to the energy sector, we can also mention intelligent sensors that can control the energy consumption of a building based on its operation. This means, for example, that knowing that only 2 floors of a 6-storey building are occupied by people, the system can reduce energy consumption on the other 4 floors, and so on. These sustainable ways of using energy in a balanced way reduce our impact on the climate.

IoT sensors will also help to increase safety at work and in the city. Examples of sensors used there are those for fingerprint or face recognition. This will help to protect housing estates from uninvited guests.

An important role of smart cities is also waste management. This affects the quality of life in the city and, very importantly, supports sustainable city development and the environment. What role do sensors and connected devices play here? For example, they make it possible to monitor the full capacity of the waste bins and effectively send vehicles for them. This way, companies responsible for keeping the city clean will be able to respond to the information they receive. This will make the solution more efficient. Trucks will not be forced to circulate around the city, but will be able to prioritise those places where the full capacity limit has been (or will be shortly) reached[6].

As far as the dangers are concerned, it is impossible not to notice them. So many different interconnected devices are the gateway to attacks for hackers. It is difficult to ensure the security for all devices and the fact that they are interconnected makes it easier to find “holes” in systems (as was the case, for example, in 2016, when hackers attacked popular websites such as Netflix, Twitter, Spotify and many more[7]). In any case, this is one of the major security weaknesses of IoT (attacking the least secure devices). In its 2014 study, HP indicated that almost every device (the study indicated 70% of devices connected to IoT) is susceptible to attack due to its security limitations (cryptography or, for example, bad access control management)[8].

Among the hot issues are also those relating to the security of users’ data and where and how this data is stored. The speed of technology development does not always go hand in hand with its security, the components of which may not be properly prepared due to the rush to implement.

The safety of users should be a priority. There are, of course, companies that provide solutions (mostly in the manufacturing sector) to secure the systems. Among them we can mention Bayshore. It has developed SCADA systems that provide system security in the context of IoT[9].

The safety of using the technologies offered by Industry 4.0 – including the Internet of Things – is very important. In addition to data security, we should also consider security on the scale of ethical use of the technology and its long-term impact on the environment or people.

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[1] Cisco. (2013). The Internet of Everything Global Private Sector Economic Analysis. Retrieved from: https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/about/ac79/docs/innov/IoE_Economy_FAQ.pdf

[2] Stryjewska A. (Nov 4, 2020) Smart City 2020 – najinteligentniejsze miasta w Polsce i na świecie. Retrieved from: https://nafalinauki.pl/smart-city-2020-najinteligentniejsze-miasta-w-polsce-i-na-swiecie/

[3] IMD World Competitiveness Center.(September, 2020) 2^nd IMD-SUTD Smart City Index Report. Retrieved from: https://www.imd.org/smart-city-observatory/smart-city-index/#:~:text=Singapore%2C%20Helsinki%20and%20Zurich%20have,%E2%80%9Csmart%E2%80%9D%20their%20cities%20are.

[4] By speaking of the whole city, this is, of course, about the sensors on the bus route.

[5] T-mobile. (n.d.). Rozwiązania smart cities. Retrieved from: https://biznes.t-mobile.pl/pl/blogit/iot-smart-city-i-big-data/rozwiazania-smart-cities

[6] Mao Y. M. (Sep 26, 2019) What is the role of IoT in Smart Cities? Retrieved from: https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/17931/what-is-the-role-of-iot-in-smart-cities

[7] Kochetkova K. (Oct 26, 2016) How to not break the Internet. Retrieved from: https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/attack-on-dyn-explained/13325/

[8] HP. (2014). HP Study Reveals 70 Percent of Internet of Things Devices Vulnerable to Attack. Retrieved from: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-news/press-release.html?id=1744676.

[9] Rot A. Blaicke B. (2017). Bezpieczeństwo Internetu Rzeczy. Wybrane zagrożenia i sposoby zabezpieczeń na przykładzie systemów produkcyjnych. Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wrocławiu. Wydział Zarządzania, Informatyki i Finansów.