Our cities in 2017 technologies that matter

Connectivity

By 2016, connectivity has made great strides in the world with multiple drones, satellites, and balloon offerings to ensure Internet access in the most remote places in the world. This can result in better bandwidth (in the Lot-et-Garonne, for example) and/or the cities of WIFI access points installed by municipalities (as in Bombay). However, Google announced on January 11 that it had abandoned the development of its solar drones, relays of Internet connections supposed to allow geographically isolated areas to be covered by a high-speed signal.

Internet of objects

An acceleration of Internet penetration of objects (IDO, and IOT according to its initials in English) is inevitable. The first is the multiplication of sensors capable of collecting and transmitting data on pollution as well as on traffic or water level. Some offer specific services like ShotSpotter, capable of detecting a shot. It is popular in US cities where everyone can walk armed. BigBelly, for its part, makes it possible to compact the garbage thanks to the solar energy and to reduce the number of bins in the streets.

     Artificial intelligence

Advances in artificial intelligence and deep learning have an impact on the game of go or machine translation but also make better use of the data captured. Copenhagen, for example, has fires that give priority to cyclists and buses. Coupled with cameras capable of recognizing individuals, these technologies provide greater security and, at the same time, a prime target for virtual attacks.

     Platforms

These advances are pushing for a growing effort towards data management at the city-wide level, as Singapore does for example, or as proposed to do so CityOS. Some companies offer this holistic approach like the Quebec PG Solutions. Montreal was designated as the "smartest city" by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) because it had shown "the impressive use of information and communication technologies for the sake of prosperity Social problems and the improvement of the quality of life ". French cities are more and more willing to resort to "platforms". This is the case, especially in Lyon, Bordeaux or Nice. Efforts often seen with a critical eye: they require "a data policy debated collectively [to open] the way to a shared intelligence, with which one could work in other directions than those, dominant, 'control technologies' ".

     Intelligent houses

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the largest technology innovation show, showed inflation in the supply of smart and connected homes, to which Google and Amazon are working hard: These two giants are looking for more access to data on our potential consumption. Meanwhile, new forms of housing are multiplying, as Lisa Burek has shown in Le Monde.

    Smart Mobility

The smart mobility advances (hydrogen, electric cars, open data on the state of transit traffic, for example), together with the reduced need to move. But if computer-assisted driving makes everyday progress, the truly autonomous car should not become commonplace in our cities for several years for technical reasons but mainly due to legal and cultural blockages.

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