Smart cities across the world are embracing the Internet of Things (IoT) and finding new ways for everyday objects to communicate with their residents as well as other machines. Everyday objects like streetlights, benches, water fountains and trashcans are being adapted to become smarter and make smart city residents’ lives easier. This piece focuses on some smart cities around the world who have incorporated smarter objects to further enhance the development of their smart city.

The IoT revolution is gaining momentum and with that, the number of connected devices are increasing dramatically. A recent report by Gartner estimates that in 2015 there will be an estimated 1.1 billion connected devices. This figure will increase substantially and by 2020, there will be 9.7 billion connected devices. In research released in November, Gartner estimated there would be 25 billion connected ‘things’ by 2020, triple that of the global population. Gartner estimates that IoT will support total services spending of $69.5 billion in 2015 and $263 billion by 2020.

Boston

Smart trashcans

Bigbelly public waste stations consist of a recycling unit and a solar-powered trash compactor to make the most of the space in the trashcan. They are also able to hold approximately five times more than a normal trashcan. The Qualcomm chip inside each trashcan connects it to a central point so it can constantly provide information of locations when the need for more trashcans arises, or whether the bin is getting hot and smelly. When a trashcan is full, it automatically generates a text or email.

The city of Boston embraced the Bigbelly back in 2006 and now have 500 Bigbelly trashcans across the city. Recently Boston University replaced all of its traditional outdoor bins with Bigbelly waste and recycling stations. However, they aren’t the only city to embrace these smart trashcans, with Bigbellys located in every U.S. state as well as 45 countries worldwide.

Smart benches

The city of Boston has also embraced “Soofas”, a smart bench that provides much more than a place to rest. The solar-powered smart benches allow anyone to charge their phones as well as connect to the Internet wirelessly through Verizon’s network. The smart benches were the brainchild of Verizon innovation program Changing Environments. Developed by three female engineers, the Soofas are in various Boston parks.

Moscow

Smart benches that check your weight

Like Boston, a park in Moscow has also embraced the smart bench, but theirs is slightly different. Strolling through Sokolniki Park in Moscow, you should be careful where you decide to sit. At the end of last year, the park installed approximately 20 benches, but these aren’t ordinary benches. Take a seat on one of them and they will tell you how much you weigh. In addition, they will give healthy eating tips as well as advertise nearby fitness clubs and beauty salons.

Singapore

Smart parking system

Finding a parking space in a busy parking lot can be an incredibly frustrating experience. SurePark, a Singapore-based IoT startup, is a smartphone app that provides drivers with a list of car parks in the area; it will then direct them to an available space. All in real-time, it reduces the driver’s waiting time and frustration levels. SurePark does however face competition from Streetline, a US-based smart parking solution provider who has rolled out it’s solution in several U.S. cities and University campuses.

3D laser radar at intersections

Before the end of March 2016, Singapore will also be testing a traffic safety system that connects laser radar sensors to city buses. These sensors would then warn the bus driver of pedestrian movements and imminent accidents at busy intersections.

Barcelona

Barcelona is the top global smart city for 2015, according to Juniper Research. They analysed each city’s ‘smart’ capabilities, particularly focusing on smart grids, smart traffic management and smart street lighting, etc. and Barcelona came out tops.

Interactive bus stop

The interactive bus stop aims to improve the passenger’s user experience. Barcelona’s interactive bus stops provide real-time bus schedules, digital advertising, tourist information, USB charging sockets and acts as a free WiFi base station.

Smart traffic lights for fire engine convoys

In Barcelona a smart system was introduce that will manage the traffic lights when a fire engine convoy is on its way to an emergency. Following the approximate route to the fire or accident, all traffic lights will remain green until the fire engines have passed through.

Rio de Janeiro

Smart soccer pitch powered by player’s steps

In a Rio de Janeiro favela called Morro da Mineira, you will find a soccer field powered by the footsteps of the players. A partnership between Pavegen and Shell, they built a soccer field of 200 high-technology tiles that capture the kinetic energy created by the movement of the players. A combination of the stored energy and power generated by nearby solar panels creates renewable electricity to power the floodlights.

Las Vegas

Watching and listening streetlights

The streetlights in Las Vegas aren’t just ordinary streetlights. Theirs can record video and audio of pedestrians, display adverts and messages and even play music and voice messages. At the end of 2013, the city of Las Vegas installed a lighting system called Intellistreets, which has all these fancy features.

New York City

The Drink Up Fountain

It may look like a regular fountain, but when you bend down to take a sip of water, you realize that it is quite different. The Drink Up Fountain, created by YesYesNo Interactive Studio in collaboration with Partnership for a Healthier America, has entertaining greetings, which are aimed at encouraging people to drink more water. Greetings include “Refreshing, isn’t it” and “You’re feeding one trillion thirsty cells right now.” There are currently only two fountains, which New York City got to enjoy first, but they are now moving around to various events and cities across the U.S.

Photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons; Soofa press; Pavegen image gallery; Creative commons