“Smart Cities”
February 20th, 2014Via: Fast Company:
Tech giant Cisco thinks there’s something to all this talk of ”smart cities”–and that connecting roads or license plate readers to the Internet is going to be big business.
In the latest installment of their ongoing expansion into the Internet of Things, Cisco recently announced an agreement with Swiss security firm AGT International to develop smart traffic systems for cities around the world.
In early February, Cisco and AGT unveiled the details of an upcoming Internet of Things-enabled traffic management system that incorporates sensors embedded in pavements, license plate-reading systems, social media feeds, and video cameras to “identify, respond to, and resolve” traffic incidents in real time. According to a press release, the system is designed to provide long-term analytics on traffic accidents and to allow different agencies to share video feeds.
Some people may find the AGT-Cisco product a bit creepy–after all, it’s a traffic management system that reads license plate numbers and integrates social media. Nevertheless, it’s part of a much larger trend in which city, state, and federal agencies use sensors to monitor the smallest aspects of everyday urban life.
