People living in UK cities are reporting a growth in ‘smart’ elements around them, identifying technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), 5G connectivity and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Respondents to a survey were asked to identify elements that they were aware of in their own urban environments, with a smart city defined as a place where “traditional networks and services are made more efficient with the use of digital and telecommunications technologies.”
This allows information sharing with a number of benefits, including improving government services and the welfare of citizens.
More than half (54%) identified 5G as the most widely available smart technology where they lived.
Other smart tech identified by respondents – who live in urban areas with populations of 50,000 or more – included AI, which was identified by 42% of respondents, and IoT, which was identified by 37%.
Biometric technology was identified by 35%, information communication technology by 32%, geospatial technology by 26% and blockchain technology by 23%.
Just under a fifth (17%) identified robotic technology as being a smart element available in their city.
Smart technologies work together to bring benefits to citizens
The study by Capterra noted that 5G networks gave smart cities the ability to quickly and effectively collect and analyse data from different sources, helping to improve safety, security and connectivity.
Connected IoT devices can be used to gather some of this data in a range of different areas, including traffic flow, waste management, air quality and temperature.
AI, meanwhile, could be used to improve processes related to waste and energy management, as well as aiding with predictive road maintenance.
While smart cities brought a number of benefits, they also raised a number of concerns.
A combination of more than two-thirds (69%) of respondents to the survey said that they were concerned about cyber-attacks and ransomware, with 62% citing a lack of data protection in general as a potential issue.
45% said that they believed that a lack of regulation and policies on data protection presented the biggest barrier to the further development of smart cities in the UK.
Just under half (49%) were concerned about the increased surveillance associated with smart cities, while 42% were concerned about the loss of a human touch in increasingly tech-assisted cities.
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