About the service
Today, social and economic developments start from cities that are home to an ever-increasing population, for which reason they experience a wide range of problems and challenges. Such challenges are observed in various aspects such as traffic management, crisis management, urban service management, optimal consumption of resources and energy, and environmental fields. On the other hand, the advancements of the technology of IoT and the increasing competition among companies to have a share in this market are indicative of the considerable capacity for businesses in this fields.
As the market expands, more uses for the IoT will emerge, which cannot be handled by mobile radio networks like GSM. Thus, the NB-IoT is known to be a proper platform for the implementation of IoT solutions. But why NB-IoT?
Factors like the network coverage, battery life, and lower costs are the main reasons for the choice. The existing radio networks feature good regional coverage, but it is limited to urban areas or the outskirts of the city. Many of the “connected things” must be placed in far-off locations, too far from the radio stations of the radio network. Even if the coverage reaches these areas, it is so weak that causes IoT sensors to use more battery power to maintain connection to the network. As NB-IoT has a lower bandwidth, it has a much higher range, which increases the battery life and the life time of the sensors. Moreover, existing networks are not optimized to transmit small data. Older networks cannot be used to connect cheaper equipment with perennial batteries, as such networks do not support the battery saving mechanisms. Devices equipped with GSM/GPRS-based modules are designed to serve a variety of purposes such as transmitting sound, message, and data at high speeds. However, some functions of the IoT do not require high bandwidth or speed, and all they need is stability. Many functions of NB-IoT can simply run on inexpensive devices, not only because of high performance, but also for more practical aspects such as easy installation or risk of theft.
1. Devices and sensors related to the smart city
Such devices are mostly equipped with SIM cards, and save data on the internal memory after measuring various parameters. In addition, they can send out warning messages to the smart city (control center) when the numbers reach a certain threshold.
Some of the measurable data are as follows:
- Water content of soil
- Water quality parameters: Identifying water pollutants and their amount
- Air quality control: Measuring the type and amount of particulates
- Data about precipitation: Rate and intensity of the rainfall and quality of the rain
- Urban waste: Detecting whether trash bins are full; temperature of bins
- Data about water flow: Temperature, volume, flow
- Smart parking areas: Detecting vacant spaces in public parking lots and along the street sides
2. Data transmission platform
What is required for the implementation of IoT and M2M connection, as a part of the greater concept of IoT, is a platform capable of reception and processing of data from multiple devices, and issue the required commands based on the defined protocols. Irancell NB-IoT is a very long-range network capable of transferring small amounts of data such as numbers and figures to software systems or data transmission centers without disruption. The unique features of this network increase the life of batteries and sensors.
3. Smart city system
An efficient, reliable management and control system is the staple component of a smart city. Such a system can aggregate all the data from sensors and help managers to make timely, effective decisions by providing information about the urban conditions. This system is web-based and makes it possible to display all data collected from machines and sensors in a variety of adjustable manners. Besides, it provides users with analysis of data and reports so they can base their decisions on reliable information. In addition, a threshold can be determined for each of the parameters and the system can send warning messages in case needed.
Features and benefits
Benefits and services of Irancell smart city
Implementation of smart city entails clarity of performance, smart management of infrastructures, social and economic growth, creation of new jobs and thriving of business, improved quality of life in cities, timely diagnosis of problems and actions to solve them, and decreased air pollution and traffic.
Irancell smart city solution provides a combination of smart urban services. They facilitate the realization of the goals of smart city in transportation management, energy management, urban lighting management, water consumption smart management, waste management, etc. The services include:
- Smart watering service
- Waste management service
- Smart parking service
- Water quality inspection service
- Water consumption management service
- Irancell smart city services
- Urban lighting management service
- Noise measurement service
- Air quality control, speed and direction of winds, temperature, humidity, and air pressure
- Measurement of participation parameters to analyze the rate and intensity of rainfall and weather changes in a region