As the East Coast of the United States digs out from a record-setting blizzard, I think of ways that the Internet of Things can play an integral role in improving our communities. What is the Internet of Things? Aside from being one of the hottest buzzwords in the technology industry right now is, the Internet of Things, or IoT, promises to turn every device into a smart device. We’ve already seen the disruptive power of wide smart phone adoption, but what can smart devices do that smart phones can’t?
Costs Go Down. Deployment Goes Up
For one, smart devices are cheaper than smart phones. A Raspberry Pi Model 2 costs around $40 and provides all the basic capabilities of a personal computer and can run lightweight version of Windows 10 called IoT Core. A Raspberry Pi Model 2 can also be easily connected to sensors. Various types of sensors exist: from moisture sensors to weight sensors; from light sensors to motion detectors.
Sensors Everywhere
During a snow emergency, cities shift their attention immediately to public safety. The news media and general public focus largely on clearing the roadways. However, what about building safety? Roofs under increased load can collapse, often without warning. Currently, cities assess the risk of a roof collapse by sending out engineers. These engineers then sample and manually weigh the snow of the roof. They then calculate the estimated weight load on the roof and make an assessment as to the safety of the structure. This process is labor intensive, time consuming, and puts engineers at risk in the immediate aftermath of a major snowfall.
Now imagine what placing weight sensors and smart devices on roofs would accomplish. Engineers would no longer need to travel to structures to determine the pressures being put on top of structures. From a safe (and warm!) location engineers can make determinations about the safety of public buildings in real time.
That’s exactly the goal of the “Frosty the Snowbot” project. During a major snow event, many structures are put at risk due to increased weight on the roof. With recent winter blasts hitting cities that historically not gotten significant snowfall, this is becoming a larger problem even as municipal budgets are shrinking.
Data to the Rescue
Exposing the pressures placed on roofs in real time is useful, but can it also be insightful?
The long term plan is to archive data from the weight sensors. Engineers can use archived data from these sensors over time to mine data about building safety and anticipate a collapse before it happens. This would be of critical importance in cities like Boston with older, historic structures, where there may not be a precedent to guide engineers on structural integrity.
A Smarter Future
This approach doesn’t have to stop at the structural integrity of public buildings. As a myriad of different sensors exist, the possibilities are endless. Cloud-connected temperature sensors can be placed inside housing units to make certain that landlords are keeping the heat on. Violations could be detected automatically in real time. Air and water quality sensors would be able to report pollution data in real time, making for a healthier community.
It is now up to us to build the smarter city.
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Frank La Vigne is a Technology Evangelist on Microsoft’s Technology and Civic Engagement team, where he helps citizens leverage technology in order to create a better community. He blogs regularly at www.FranksWorld.com and has a YouTube channel called Frank’s World TV.
