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Anna Posyniak‑Dutka Barcelona of Things

Spain was one of the countries hardest hit by the 2008 recessionrecessionrecession. Unemployment took plenty of time to overcome. In these adverse circumstancesadverse circumstances [adverse circumstance]adverse circumstances Barcelona performed an unthinkable featunthinkable featunthinkable feat: it transformed itself into a model smart city of the future and became a paradigm ofparadigm ofparadigm of what the Internet of ThingsInternet of thingsInternet of Things is.

The project named Smart City Barcelona, a brainchildbrainchildbrainchild of mayor Xavier Trias, was meant to automate and coordinate services offered by the city to the inhabitants. A team of specialists researched and solved issues in the areas where technological innovation could provide better services and allow the city to make some savings. It was an ambitious task whose completion exceeded expectationsexceeded expectations [exceed expectations]exceeded expectations. All thanks to the Internet of Things.

The process of technological transformation began with installing 20k smart metressmart metres [smart metre]smart metres whose purpose is to optimise the use of energyoptimise the use of energyoptimise the use of energy in the whole urban system. How? First of all, litter bins were equipped with sensors monitoring how full they are. Thanks to that the route of the dustcartroute of the dustcartroute of the dustcart is mapped daily to empty only the bins which are nearing the overflowing thresholdnearing the overflowing threshold [near the overflowing threshold]nearing the overflowing threshold. Secondly, each parking spotparking spotparking spot in the city has its sensor connected with an interactive map so motorists don’t have to look for a free space. It helps the city earn more from parking fees and it limits traffic jams and air pollution. Then, street lamps are fitted withfitted withfitted with smart light bulbs with motion sensorsmotion sensors [motion sensor]motion sensors. If there’s nobody in close proximityin close proximity in close proximity for a while, the lamps dim the lightdim the lightdim the light slightly, which saves energy. It’s estimated that as a result of introducing those systems Barcelona saves 33 million euros a year and earns 45 million euros more on the parking system. With such a return on investmentreturn on investmentreturn on investment, it’s inevitableinevitableinevitable that more and more cities will introduce similar solutions.

So what is the Internet of Things in general terms? This concept assumes that all devices we use will be connected to one system by means of a network of sensors and detectors. The purpose of this ventureventureventure is to allow machines to communicate with one another without human participation. People will have more freedom to indulge in things they enjoy instead of going about daily errandsgoing about daily errands [go about daily errands]going about daily errands. And so, smart fridges will place ordersplace orders [place an order]place orders to restock our suppliesrestock our supplies [restock supplies]restock our supplies the moment we start running low onrunning low on [run low on]running low on our favourite products. Smart houses will know our daily routines and will adjust to our needs. Our coffee machine will start brewingbrewing [brew]brewing our coffee 5 minutes before we wake up so the first sensation we get in the morning is the smell of this energising beverage. More and more of these technological innovations will be accessible in the upcoming years.

One of the challenges the Internet of Things will have to face is the amount of dataamount of dataamount of data it will have to collect and process. The fact of having a database full of information may turn out not to be useful at all if we don’t find efficient ways of analysing and using it. Many people are also concerned about privacy, however, we seem to become increasingly willing to trade our biometrics for conveniencetrade our biometrics for conveniencetrade our biometrics for convenience and comfort.

1 Źródło: Anna Posyniak‑Dutka, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.