AT&T's Smart Cities Organization aims to use the Internet of Things (IoT) to help communities save energy and money.
The platform will connect utility meters, street lights, water systems and similar infrastructure elements, the company said. One use of the platform, the company says, is conserving energy by using motion sensors in parking garages to turn lights out when nobody is there. Smart systems can manage a city’s street lighting system, save fuel by directing repair crews directly to blown bulbs and myriad similar tasks that incrementally add up to big savings. Cloud-based real time energy usage and management also will be part of the offering.
Energy is a big part of smart cities, a category that is growing in value. BCC Research found that the worldwide information and communications technology (ICT) value of smart cities was $293.2 billion last year and will reach $668 billion in 2019. North America is the most valuable region. It was worth $103.5 billion last year and will reach $218 billion in 2019.
