Lydie Polfer: Luxembourg 
POPULATION: APPROX. 115,000
LAND AREA: APPROX. 52 km2

Dieter Reiter: Munich, Germany
POPULATION: APPROX. 1.45 Mill.
LAND AREA: APPROX. 310 km2

Yoo Jeong-bok: Songdo City, Incheon, South Korea
POPULATION: APPROX. 3 Mill.
LAND AREA: APPROX. 1,029 km2

1. In what way does your city qualify as a “smart” city?
Lydia Polfer: The City of Luxembourg is “smart” because of its international and multicultural population: it has indeed over 69 per cent of non-Luxembourgish residents and people from over 160 different nationalities living together harmoniously and respecting one another.
Dieter Reiter: In our Smart City project “Smarter Together”, we are essentially combining the new with what has already been planned. Above all, it is a cooperative project. Munich and the other cities, science and technology partners involved can all learn from each other. They can also develop the project blocks together with the public. It is precisely this interdisciplinary yet locally effective exchange that is the “smart” element.
Yoo Jeong-bok: Currently, for the purpose of creating an IT-based Smart City, Incheon has endeavoured to secure the city‘s competitiveness and integrated all possible cutting-edge IT technology such as broadband self-organizing networks, intelligent building system, geographical information system and intelligent traffic system. Based on this, the city is qualified to realise an environment which is more convenient and economical.

2. What is the role of sustainability in this context? Is it possible for a city to grow without endangering the needs of future generations?
Lydia Polfer: Sustainability plays a very important role. We have to ensure that future generations benefit from the same quality of life that we know today. Growing and fulfilling the future generations’ needs and expectations – that are constantly developing and changing – is a big challenge that the City of Luxembourg is prepared to accept in order to guarantee smooth and smart growth.
Dieter Reiter: We want to remove over 20 per cent of CO2 emissions, bring renewable energies up to 20 per cent of our energy mix, and increase energy efficiency by over 20 per cent. To do this, we are working on building low-energy districts, renovating residential buildings and developing innovative methods of mobility.
Yoo Jeong-bok: We have diverse challenges in going ahead with the Smart City project, such as the digital gap between new parts of town and the old town. However, based on the world class IT infrastructures we have built, a city-wide Smart City for both old town and Incheon Free Economic Zone has been implemented. It will ensure sustainable city growth and offer citizens safe and convenient services.

3. What does your smart city project focus on?
Lydia Polfer: The Smart City projects cover many subjects, but focus particularly on telecommunication and access to information, mobility, accessibility for people with special needs and the environment. All the projects aim to simplify people’s lives. The needs of citizens are always at the centre of the city’s considerations and efforts.
Dieter Reiter: The “Smarter Together” project focuses on energy-efficient districts, sustainable mobility and digitally connected infrastructure and services such as open Wi-Fi or “intelligent street lamps”. Mobility stations will make a big difference to flexible and individual transport in the district, whether through cargo bikes, e-bikes or integrated car sharing services. Central information columns and a special app for the district will give people all the information they need here.
Yoo Jeong-bok: We had finished the construction of the ICT (Incheon Container Terminal) infrastructure by 2014. Now the second stage of the project is under way. With this project, we aim to create an IT-based Smart City where we can exchange information on things like infrastructure and residential facilities from all parts of the city.

4. How do your citizens benefit from the project?
Lydia Polfer: The City of Luxembourg constantly improves its applications and adapts them to the users’ needs, e.g. in order to provide real time information about public transportation or free parking spaces, to order forms or documents, to report issues to the municipal administration…
Dieter Reiter: The central aim is to significantly increase quality of life for people in the district. Residents in Neuaubing-Westkreuz will develop solutions together with businesses and local users in future. Experts call this co-creation. This happens in our “District Laboratory”.
Yoo Jeong-bok: Our smart technologies will be expanded in accordance with the concept of “eco city” to preserve nature and offer citizens pleasant city infrastructure. To cope with problems caused in the process of city development, such as pollution or waste, we will introduce eco, construction and IT technologies, which will help citizens to live in an eco-friendly environment.

5. In your opinion, which technology plays the most important role in creating a smart city?
Lydia Polfer: A technological infrastructure allowing the development of high-performance applications, fast data traffic and processing of large quantities of data combined with an efficient and secure network are essential in order to create a Smart City. The city has its own fibre-optic network and a Wi-Fi network that covers almost every urban quarter. The city attaches great importance to making the municipal administration’s public data available to its citizens. The city keeps up its effort in the field of open data and is working continuously to provide citizens with information that’s relevant to them.
Dieter Reiter: The term “integrated infrastructure” could be used to combine many systems that already exist. We are developing a smart data management platform for this, where important information can be collected. That makes our work in planning easier and helps people who can use the district app to view everything.
Yoo Jeong-bok: In a Smart City, information collected from diverse terminals, CCTV cameras and sensors is processed, analysed and distributed. The most important thing is to integrate these diverse services using a platform solution based on the IoT. For this the IFEZ (Incheon Free Economic Zone) launched a Public Private Partnership in 2012 and developed an integrated IFEZ platform. Each network is a broadband, self-organising network to deal with large volumes of traffic. It produces high-value-added information by processing all the data gathered in Smart City Operation Center.

6. What will the role of smart cities be in the future?
Lydia Polfer: People are more and more interested in innovation and call for transparency, access to information and participation in projects and decision-making. So, the cities that would like to position themselves as “Smart Cities” will have to develop projects that accommodate this need in order to stay attractive and competitive not only for their own citizens, but also for employers, investors and tourists.
Dieter Reiter: Smart Cities are certainly a significant building block of future urban development. Nevertheless, this concept needs to tested for both its practicality and the real benefits it brings for residents. Not everything that is technically feasible is also sensible from a planning or social viewpoint.
Yoo Jeong-bok: With the Smart City project, we will create an IT-based Smart City where information gathered from all parts of the city, including infrastructure and residential facilities, can be exchanged. It will contribute to realising a human-centred environment.

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On one wheel

The Onewheel from Future Motion is an electric-powered skateboard which provides a new ride sensation either on or off the road. The system features the latest wheel hub motor technology allied to an advanced self-balancing control. The result is a board which combines the attributes of a fun machine and a practical means of transport. An app enables the rider to keep a check on the battery charge and set various ride modes.
www.onewheel.com

Saving fuel and moving up

Drust has developed the driver assist system Akolyt. It consists of a key which links to the vehicle’s on-board diagnostics (OBD) system and an app which communicates with the key by Bluetooth. The solution provides the user with personalised advice on how to cut fuel consumption. The fuel savings made can then be shared with others, moving the user up level by level as points are collected.
www.drust.io

Smarter parking

The Smart Parking service from Parkbob is a free app which signals available parking spaces to its users. The app also collects anonymised data indicating the users’ locations, enabling it to detect via sensors on their smartphones whether they are manoeuvring into or leaving a space. It works out the likelihood of a parking space still being free. Other features include warnings indicating no-parking zones, navigation to identified free spaces and issuing of electronic parking tickets.
www.parkbob.com

Smart City sofa

Soofa is a bench which is fitted with a 30 W solar panel, a power store and two USB ports. The smart street furniture enables users to sit down and charge their mobile devices any time, day or night. The bench also features environmental sensors which upload data including air quality or noise pollution levels to an Internet platform. The bench is connected to the Internet via LTE.
www.soofa.co

The fastest route from A to B

The free mobility app Ally from Door2Door shows users how to reach their destination by the fastest and cheapest route using the bus or train, on foot, or by car-sharing. The app collects and aggregates anonymised traffic data, which it sells to local public transport operators, for example, enabling them to adapt their routes to forecast user behaviour.
www.door2door.io

Protection against intruders

Magos Systems develops radar systems for perimeter monitoring which can be easily integrated into existing security systems. The radar systems are a low-cost solution, consuming little energy but delivering high performance. As they have no moving parts, they are easy to maintain and robust. They can also operate in bad weather and in any light conditions.
www.magossystems.com

A green lawn with half the water consumption

The lawn-sprinkler controller from Rachio enables the entire watering process to be managed on a mobile device. It links via Wi Fi to a cloud-based software program which analyses past and future weather and humidity levels. Together with information on the soil type and condition of the lawn, the system uses this data to calculate the optimum amount of watering required, so saving as much as 50 per cent on water consumption.
www.rachio.com

Connected urban greenery

The City Tree from Green City Solutions is a free-standing vertical island of green which removes pollutants from the ambient air. The plant filter combines special moss cultures with a custom-developed IoT technology to ensure their optimum growth. The technology also records climatic data, and can be expanded to include a wireless hotspot or an e-bike charging station.
www.greencitysolutions.de

(picture credits: Door2Door; Drust; Future Motion; Green City Solutions; Magos Systems; Parkbob; Rachio; Soofa)

The post Smart city start-ups appeared first on Future Markets Magazine.

Until 2010, Dr Lutz Heuser was Head of Research with SAP, specialising in the Internet of Things. He came to recognise the Smart City as a market offering lots of opportunities for new service providers and software companies. So, in 2012, he founded his own business aimed at developing software solutions for the Smart City. Today, the Urban Institute group is not just a software company, but also a strategic consultant to municipal authorities. The group comprises four companies in Germany, Hungary, Australia and the USA. Dr Heuser is also one of the core advisors and leading experts in the “Smart Cities and Communities” European Innovation Partnership, within which he is responsible for the entire field of sustainable urban mobility.

What arguments can best be brought to bear to persuade city managers of the benefits of Smart City applications?
Lutz Heuser: You have to focus on the pain-points; the biggest problems the city faces. Ignoring the refugee issue for a moment, those pain-points are in areas such as sustainability, energy efficiency, and traffic congestion. The aim of the “Smart Cities and Communities” European Innovation Partnership, of which we were a founding member, is to support the EU’s climate protection goals. For cities, that translates into more free-flowing traffic, smart energy management concepts and the digitisation of urban infrastructure.

Environmental protection is perhaps not quite the most pressing issue for local authorities – so what is incentivising cities to become “smart”?
L. H.: Don’t underestimate their commitment in that respect. Since the Deutsche Umwelthilfe environmental lobby began suing municipal authorities because of their continual exceeding of nitrogen oxide emission limits, environmental protection is no longer just a nice-to-have add-on. It’ll only be a matter of time before the first fines are imposed. It’s better to invest the money that would otherwise be paid out on fines beforehand in measures aimed at meeting environmental targets.

What is the situation across Europe, and worldwide? Are there similar organisations to Deutsche Umwelthilfe who are keeping a watch on developments?
L. H.: Yes, there are now similar bodies everywhere, and they are gaining steadily in political influence. It’s easy to underestimate how much pressure is already being exerted on cities today. Cologne, for example, faces the threat of a multi-million-euro fine. Every municipality will be hit sooner or later. It’s just a matter of time – we’re not talking about decades, but maybe a time-frame of five years.

So it’s mainly about saving money?
L. H.: It’s also about saving money. But it’s mainly about how the Internet of Things and Smart City methods can be used to stimulate new services. That will attract new economic power into the city, and might possibly also directly generate revenues for it.

And will the city’s people have to pay for it?
L. H.: Individual citizens probably will not. Companies most likely will, because they will benefit. Here’s an example: the city of Darmstadt is taking measures to make traffic flow more freely, and to provide all businesses with real-time traffic information. That can be of substantial benefit to delivery services, enabling routes to be adapted dynamically to the traffic situation. So the same vehicle will be able to make more deliveries, for example. It is an improvement in efficiency which can be calculated in monetary terms. And so businesses would pay the city to get hold of that data. That is just one example of how new revenue streams can be generated for local municipalities.

Who is the driving force behind initiating such a Smart City project?
L. H.: It depends on the size of the municipality concerned. Often it’s the city’s business development agency. They consider how Smart City applications can be implemented beneficially in conjunction with local businesses. In other places, it’s climate protection bodies who launch the projects. And thirdly, more and more businesses and research institutions are approaching cities themselves, because the issue has recently become very “fashionable”. In small communities, the initiative also often starts with the local mayor.

How are Smart City projects normally financed at present? Is there such a thing as a return on investment for cities?
L. H.: That is of course the core task of our institute. We specialise in developing business models which enable municipalities to generate a return on their investment.

Are there typical hurdles or difficulties which cause Smart City projects to fail?
L. H.: There have been a number of major stumbling blocks, and it frequently boils down to the same thing: if the local mayor or the senior city officials do not personally back a scheme, it very quickly collapses. Smart City and digitisation are top management issues.

There are now lots of start-up businesses in the Smart City sector. Can you give any tips as to how they can succeed in the marketplace?
L. H.: Networking is important – you either have to create your own network, or integrate into existing ones. Back in 2012, when we founded the institute, I myself established a network – the Smart City Forum – in conjunction with the management consultants McKinsey. We currently have over 130 members. We have created a community which has acquired some 100 million euros in grants for its members from the EU and from national development programmes in the last two-and-a-half years.

Do small businesses have any chance at all up against the big corporations, who are increasingly discovering the Smart City for themselves?
L. H.: So now you want to know the secrets of my success …? Well, generally speaking: agility, focus, and the third key factor, delivery! The big corporations can only achieve those three elements to a limited extent.

Are there other bodies, alongside your forum, which a company should definitely join in order to succeed on the Smart City market?
L. H.: Another major network to which we have close links is the Fraunhofer Morgenstadt Initiative. But is does cost money to be a member. Cities from other countries around Europe are also part of it. And it is also possible to join the European Innovation Partnership. It’s an open network.

Is that something which would also be useful for electronic component suppliers?
L. H.: Certainly! Lots of electronics manufacturers are engaging strongly with the field of “Smart Manufacturing” (or “Industry 4.0” as it’s known in Germany). The components developed for that sector can in some cases also be used in Smart City applications. But – to cite just one example – there are currently no low-cost, fully functional environmental sensors on the market. The current ones are either cheap or good – so if you know someone who can make better ones cost-effectively, tell them to get on with it!

How do you assess the Smart City market in general?
L. H.: It’s advancing rapidly, that’s for sure. I am currently chairing a DIN standards committee concerned with multi-­functional, integrated street lighting. We will be standardising the so-called “Humble Lamppost” by the end of the year. So next year, municipalities looking to move along the Smart City route of digitisation will be able to issue tender requests for those “Humble Lampposts” rather than just for basic street lights. That is an important step for the electronics industry too, of course. It is a sector that offers lots of potential, because the new multi-functional integrated infrastructure demands high levels of hardware integration.
(picture credits: Istockphotos: Veronika Surovtseva)

The post Smart City is a top management issue appeared first on Future Markets Magazine.

All the participants in the expert discussion are agreed: the future of the city will be digital. “Electronics will be everywhere in the city, and the equipment used will be multifunctional,” asserts Ramin Lavae Mokhtari, founder and CEO of ICE Gateway, a manufacturer of smart, multifunctional street lamps. Yet when it comes to defining what a Smart City actually is, there are differing opinions. Mokhtari, for example, sees a Smart City first and foremost as a purely digital infrastructure which, after being installed, can be expanded at any time for sectors such as energy, security, transport and marketing. “It will be available day and night, collecting localised data for the city. Various applications can be gradually introduced as and when needed.” Anne-Caroline Erbstößer, a scientist with the Technologiestiftung Berlin technology foundation, interprets the concept much more broadly: “The Smart City is a concept for the city of the future. It covers a wide variety of areas, focusing primarily on mobility, energy, and the digital layer, overarching everything and interconnecting all the areas.” For Karl Lehn­hoff, Head of Smart Grid at EBV Elektronik, the primary aim is to enhance the quality of life of the people living in the city, or at least to maintain it at a consistent level, despite the predictions of many more people moving into cities in future.

Safeguarding quality of life in the surrounding areas too

The opposite trend to urbanisation is that rural populations will decrease. Consequently, Axel Schüßler, Deputy Chairman of the German Federal Association “Bundesverband Smart City” expands the concept also to small towns and rural areas, and uses the term “smart communities”: “Quality of life also has to be maintained in those areas, and that means providing people with the kind of services that are already an established part of city life.” That view is affirmed by Professor Jochen Kreusel, Head of Market Innovation in the Power Grids division of ABB: “Many of the things we are discussing under the umbrella term ‘Smart City’ can certainly be applied to help people continue living in the country. So it is really not just about what we do in the city itself, but also about maintaining the quality of life of the surrounding areas.”

Differing approaches

Views differ as to how a Smart City or smart community can be created, however: “There are two basic approaches,” explains Prof. Jochen Kreusel. “One initially provides for the installation of sensors and establishment of a communications infrastructure. That provides more data, which can then be utilised by third parties, such as service providers.” They don’t necessarily even yet have any idea what they can do with the data, but a database has been created as a first step. “This creates a market for new, data-based services,” Kreusel states. “The other approach is that the city utilises the data infrastructure itself, and is also the network owner. The focus in this approach is on the city looking to optimise its own services.”

Practical experience

There are already examples of both approaches being put into practice today. Ramin Mokhtari cites the installation of 160 smart lights in the Adlershof technology park in Berlin, implemented by ICE Gateway and based on Deutsche Telekom M2M networks. The data from this installation belongs to the operating company Wista Management. It will then be provided to various applications in the role of a “Smart City factory”, and will be gradually expanded. The complete installation will be amortised in around five years thanks to the energy savings. Telefónica expert Koltermann also gives an example: In Santander, the first step was to install 20,000  sensors recording a wide variety of different data throughout the city area which was made available via a portal. Valencia took the other approach, as Koltermann points out. There, the existing data resources in the city were made available to the local populace on an open data portal. “In my experience, most cities already hold a lot of data,” reports Karl Lehnhoff. “If it is made available on a portal, a business model will develop around it, and companies will write apps to make use of it.” That does work, as Koltermann reports: “As one example, we built a portal in conjunction with a city – also in Spain – to which the city then merely uploaded weather and water temperature data. They didn’t have the money to develop apps to run on it. So the data was made freely accessible on the portal. That enabled developers at the local university, for example, to design an app providing tourist information.” The portal is based on the Fiware platform. Fiware – described by some as the “European cloud” – provides an open cloud computing infrastructure together with a collection of tools and services for the development of Internet applications. The solution thus offers an alternative to manufacturer-specific Internet platforms such as Google or Amazon. “The advantage of Fiware for cities is that there are no licence costs involved, the data is stored securely, and the typical departmental thinking that is common in cities at present can be overcome,” says Sven Koltermann. Axel Schüßler also believes it’s essential to get away from that kind of silo mentality: “On many projects today, individual services are implemented with no thought for what’s happening around them. But we need solutions based on a layered approach.” That demands data or Internet of Things platforms, whereby all access to devices and data use is controlled by roles and rights – such as Schüßler offers with his start-up IoT Connctd, for the smart building and home sector. “When such a platform is in place, devices and data can be re-used once set up and created – creating a kind of digital recycling.”

Internet versus Intranet

There is, however, always a degree of public concern about data: who is recording it, who has access to it, and exactly what data is in fact being collected? “If a city merely uses the Internet to create a Smart City infrastructure, I think that’s very dangerous. Because then the data will not be collected by the city, but by different players altogether,” warns Ramin Mokhtari. So his view is that cities have to build their own communications infrastructures. “City administrators just need more local information at their fingertips; they need to have a better understanding of what’s happening in the city. And it should be the city that then decides who gets what information. That requires B2B structures, which have to be established in parallel with the Internet itself – though the Internet can act as the communications network for B2C services.”

Who is the better data provider?

Anne-Caroline Erbstößer also sees benefits if the city controls its own data: “The city is an experienced data provider, and also enjoys a degree of public acceptance when it comes to handling personal data. It would be a good idea for cities to focus on maintaining and enhancing that acceptance. To do so, it should play an active role in advancing digitisation, and be open to new technologies. But above all, cities should not give other players ‘carte blanche’ in the handling of sensitive data.” Sven Koltermann – whose employer Telefónica is just such an “external” player, as a provider of services – sees the matter somewhat differently: “I don’t think it’s a good idea for cities to isolate themselves. And the Internet already exists today, as do mobile communications networks. The data provided by both ought to be utilised.” And Telefónica is doing just that – though mobile customers’ data is anonymised so as not to be traceable. “Even then, there’s still a lot that can be done with the data: anonymised and aggregated location data, for example, can be used for traffic management systems, or roaming data can serve as the basis for providing tailored services to tourists.” Koltermann’s view is backed by Axel Schüßler: “For reasons of sustainability, apart from anything else, it’s a good thing not having to build a third or fourth parallel infrastructure. However, the data should then be made available within a structured process, so as to assure data protection.” Mokhtari stresses that he sees a city solution not as an isolating barrier, but as an essential tool for the city to make its own decisions as and when necessary. Schüßler points out, however, that different functions entail different requirements in terms of communications technology, such as with regard to bandwidth or latency: “The various infrastructure technologies therefore differ in their suitability to provide the wide-ranging functions required in a Smart City.”

Tough task implementing innovations

Whatever the Smart City infrastructure will be like, it will certainly demand capital investment: in sensors, in communications systems and in cloud platforms. The technical solutions already exist, including actual products. But many cities have not yet joined the smart world in terms of their investment approach. “There are still too many cities who award tenders to the cheapest bidder,” observes Karl Lehn­hoff. He cites street lighting as an example: “Smart street lamps are more expensive, but their investment cost will be amortised in three or four years. And they will likely operate for as long as 25 years. So cities need to not just look at the acquisition cost, but opt for solutions that are also future-proof, such as featuring integrated charging stations.” On the other hand, there are also cities who are interested, and are looking to the future, but as Kreusel points out: “For many cities, talking to industry providers and gathering know-how prior to making an investment poses a major challenge.” Technologiestiftung Berlin has observed similar situations, as Anne-Caroline Erbstößer recounts: “It’s tough getting the idea of innovation into the heads of city managers.” It’s not just about stubbornness, she concedes, but often also reflects worries about becoming dependent on specific technologies. After all, who can say whether new, innovative products will still be supported, and interoperable, in 10 or 20 years’ time? “Many cities are not yet investing because they are seeing how rapidly technology is advancing and prices are falling,” Ramin Lavae Mokhtari comments. “If they hold back on investing, they will get a more mature product at a fraction of the initial cost.” It’s not enough just to gather know-how and buy-in technology, however, as Professor Kreusel stresses: “To overcome the much-cited silo mentality in municipal organisations, the organisations themselves will have to be updated.”

Getting the public engaged

There is another key question that has to be considered in relation to a Smart City project, according to Sven Koltermann: “How do we get the public engaged in it? The added value that the new services will bring needs to be made clear to them.” In that context, it is important for the city itself to think about what its role actually is, and what it should be doing for its inhabitants. Erbstößer outlines this role as including the provision and maintenance of essential public services – light, power, water, fast Internet and administration of certain basic functions. “A city should simply ask its inhabitants what their most pressing problems are. It can then explain how Smart City solutions can remedy those problems, and why money is being spent on them.” If the change process focuses on the specific concerns of the public at large and the businesses operating in the community, every Smart City will be different, as Axel Schüßler explains. “It will be very different in Berlin to a small town in the Black Forest or a newly designed city in China.”

Long-term policy-making essential

But cities will need to adopt a long-term strategy, setting broad objectives, as Anne-Caroline Erbstößer emphasises. “It will doubtless take decades to transform a community into a Smart City,” Karl Lehnhoff adds. “But the objectives have to be defined now,” asserts Anne-Caroline Erbstößer. As Berlin has done: The statute on the transition to renewables (known as the “Energiewendegesetz” in German) passed by the Berlin Senate in April 2016 stipulated that the state of Berlin should become climate-neutral by the year 2050. “As a result, the necessary technologies can now be procured and the funding required to achieve the target can be calculated.” The long time horizons involved in creating a Smart City do, however, demand lasting commitment on the part of political leaders over many years. The Smart City is thus ultimately a project that has to be managed at the top-most level of city government. Anne-Caroline Erbstößer issues a warning: “If the political leadership changes every few years, and the new city government has completely different ideas, then it will be extremely difficult to implement a Smart City.”

(picture credits: IndustryAgents: Dominik Gierke)

The post Only Smart Cities will win appeared first on Future Markets Magazine.

How do you define a smart city?
Karl Lehnhoff: For me, the focus is on developing an intelligent, connected and sustainable urban concept. We aim to reduce costs and energy consumption, whilst also improving quality of life in the city. People should always come first.

When does a city become “smart”?
K. L.: One essential condition is that the city collects a wide range of information about what goes on within it, and provides this information for all kinds of applications. What I find really interesting here is that there is already a great deal of information collected in cities, such as by municipal utilities or traffic systems. All that’s missing is a public portal, through which the information is provided. That means that currently, pieces of information cannot be linked with each other and made useful. This combining of information from different areas: that is where the intelligence of a Smart City really begins.

What makes the smart city so exciting for you as an electronics distributor?
K. L.: We already have customers who develop electronic solutions for cities, such as environmental sensors or traffic light controllers. So the market is not new for us. But the Smart City is bringing lots of new applications with it. These will surely require additional sensor technology. The most important thing is communications technology, so that this Internet of Things can arise in the city.

This brings us to the issue of data protection …
K. L.: Exactly. Cybersecurity is an important issue for EBV, both in our product range and when speaking to customers. We offer special security chips, for example, like those used on a debit card. These technologies are now also used in IoT applications.

The issue of data protection causes many people to treat the idea of the smart city with suspicion. They fear the transparent citizen. How can this fear be countered?
K. L.: Fear is natural when new innovations are introduced into everyday life. But if we cease innovating, we stagnate at a certain level. Also, think about how readily many people hand over their data on social media. This means that people’s fear can’t really be that big … But back to the Smart City – the data exchanged here is generally not personal data. Personal data, like that from healthcare applications, should obviously be nowhere near a public portal. But we certainly need definitions and standards for data protection and data security. Our customers need this too, by the way, so that they can develop their products accordingly.

What components does EBV provide for smart cities? Are there special electronics components here?
K. L.: Not in that sense, no, there are no special components for Smart Cities. But our product range already includes all the semiconductors required for the applications – from sensor modules and microcontrollers to communication modules and power electronics. Alongside this, our EBVChips range also allows semiconductor manufacturers to close gaps in their own portfolios.

Can you explain that?
K. L.: When we see an application for which none of our manufacturers offer a suitable semiconductor solution, we can develop our own, customer-specific chips. In communication in particular, we have already designed a whole family for wireless data transfer. These chips can of course also be used in Smart City applications. What’s special is the way we combine hardware and software here.

What does EBV offer beyond components in order to support its customers in developing smart cities?
K. L.: We have been organised in vertical market segments for many years. These are, on the one hand, market segments like Automotive, Smart Consumer & Buildings, Healthcare & Wearables or Smart Grid. These are complemented by technology segments like RF & Microwave, Analog & Power or Security & Identification. This lets us advise our customers on the demands of the various market segments. We have specialists capable of identifying what technology is best suited to solving a specific problem. For several years, we have even been going a step further with the Design Solutions, our own evaluation boards. This is where the Maren sensor hub was developed, for example. Various sensor modules are integrated into the board, such as light and proximity sensors, a digital microphone, or a temperature sensor, to name just a few. Using the right interfaces, it is possible to connect all kinds of communication modules. It is an all-round solution that makes it easier for our customers to get started. If they need a sensor solution for their product, this gives them a suitable system very quickly that is easy to integrate. We also have similar solutions for other sectors.

What technology trends in smart cities are you currently seeing among your suppliers, the electronics manufacturers?
K. L.: There is not one single development that is only targeted at Smart Cities. You have to look at it globally. A lot depends on communication, however. For this reason, virtually everything that can apply to IoT also applies to Smart City applications. A lot of this is not really new. But one clear trend is that systems are opening up, and more public spaces are being used for communication. When it comes to technological developments, these are above all modifications of existing solutions, with particular attention given to cost reduction. Sigfox is a good example of this. The aim here is not to increase bandwidth, but to reduce the costs in the application.

You just addressed the issue of standardisation in connection with cybersecurity. How do you see this in terms of the compatibility of the various components needed for a smart city?
K. L.: In my view, there is still too little happening here. The problem is that the various interests of the manufacturers play a role. Established players obviously want to make their systems the standard. But we need way more open, independent standards, especially when it comes to communications technologies.

Where is the best place to begin for a city that wants to become smart?
K. L.: First of all, you have to define applications that will bring tangible benefits for citizens, such as by saving time or money, or by increasing quality of life. For me, the first step is therefore to make the existing data in a city available to the public. At the same time, of course, you have to create a consistent and capable communications network to which you can connect sensors and applications, with access made available to both administrators and citizens.

Does this mean you enjoy every contact with a city that wants to implement a smart city project?
K. L.: We enjoy every enquiry. It helps us expand our horizon. The better the flow of information from all sides, the better the product will be and the quicker we will achieve the goal of increasing quality of life in the city while reducing costs.

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With the rise of the megacity, it is easy to imagine cities as being the biggest threat to the environment. Yet Ana Toni, Chair of the Board of Greenpeace, believes that cities can drive positive environmental change throughout the World.

You are living in Rio de Janeiro – it is not really an example for sustainability or environmentalism, is it?
Ana Toni: If we look at sustainability in the broad sense, Rio has great potential to lead on sustainability. We have the mountains, a big forest and a huge bay. Our energy source is already quite green. As with every city, we have challenges and also great opportunities. Nature has been very kind, but we havn’t done a very good job of preserving nature.

Can Rio be seen as an example for the problems that big cities will face in the future?
A. T.: The challenges we have are ones that any major city in a developing country has. We have better opportunities to tackle them because nature has been so generous to us. We have issues with traffic, urban mobility and urban planning, but Rio has a real opportunity to deal with them.

Why are cities still so attractive for people? Why are more and more people moving there?
A. T.: In Brazil, we have around 86 per cent of the people living in cities. This is due to social and economic opportunities and the lifestyle is perceived to be better than in the countryside. I think if it weren’t for the economic and social opportunities, people would prefer the countryside. The flow to the cities has stopped and there is a slight move back to the countryside.

As an environmentalist, do you see cities with more scepticism? Is living in the countryside environmentally better?
A. T.: I think that the closer we live to nature and the better we understand how essential nature is to us, the better environmentalists we will be – but we don’t all have to move to the countryside for that. We tend not to know where our food or our energy comes from. We tend to use nature without truly being conscious of it. However, many solutions can help change this reality: urban and peri-­urban agriculture, distributed solar energy generation with photovoltaic panels, urban planning that favours non-motorised transportation, or policies for the re-use of water.

What role do cities play in the worldwide struggle against climate change?
A. T.: Perhaps the most important role of all. Cities are the places where important action against climate change needs to be taken. We have been targeting climate change at an international and national level, but it’s really at city level where we will be able to translate climate change for people. Cities are the main consumers of energy – as well as of agricultural products and of goods that lead to the destruction of forests, two other issues at the heart of the climate challenge. So I believe that we will win or lose this battle at city level.

Has the significance of cities reached the mind of the people responsible yet?
A. T.: No, not yet. The UN system doesn’t yet have a prominent place for cities. Cities don’t have a strong say on climate change laws in countries. Even at governmental level, we haven’t been able to incorporate cities, let alone the people.

For the cities, where do you see the most significant starting point to reduce emissions?
A. T.: I would start with urban mobility, then urban planning, distributed solar energy generation and parks. Spending less time in traffic and in polluted air and more time walking or cycling, generating your own energy.

Many people treat environmentalism as equivalent to hostility against progress: in your opinion, which role does technology play when the aim is to create more sustainability?
A. T.: Technology plays an important role but not by itself. Many groups think that technology can be a solution to changing people’s mindset, to changing patterns of consumption: this is not true. Technology is just complementary to all those changes. Naturally technology is a vital component but not by itself, it really needs to come together with political, social and consumption changes.

How do you assess the idea of Smart Cities and are they only possible in rich, highly industrialised countries?
A. T.: Smart Cities are made for people rather than cars or technologies. Cities that have active and public mobility; and cities that put people and their well being at the centre of their planning. All cities can become Smart Cities, not just the wealthy ones. Rio just needs to do a few things to become a Smart City. More investment in public transportation is key because it will change the way people relate to the city.

Is Greenpeace part of a Smart City project?
A. T.: Yes, we are starting to look at mega­cities like Mexico City, Beijing and São Paulo in more detail. By changing these cities, which concentrate a lot of economic and political power, we can help lead to broader change across the world. We are starting some interesting work on reclaiming the city for the people by addressing crucial issues such as mobility, water, solar energy, green spaces, and food production and distribution, working with other NGOs, social movements, academics and members of governments. By doing campaigns like this we can bring real immediate benefits. Traditionally, we have been good at campaigning for the Arctic or the Amazon or against specific products or transnationals. Cities are much more complex and you need different campaigning tools. We are now developing these new tools. We are open and excited to engage in this area.

You are not only active in environmentalism but also for human rights and against poverty as well as being a social and economical scientist. Can Smart Cities contribute to these areas as well as fight for more democracy, equal rights or against poverty?
A. T.: Yes. In my opinion, the divisions between development and the environment or between human rights and the environment are false, they don’t exist in real life. When we talk about urban mobility, are we talking about the right to mobility or about climate change or health issues? Clearly we are talking about all these issues at once. So I do see myself not only as an environmentalist but also as a human rights activist and as a women’s rights activist: They are all connected. We need to focus on areas where you can leverage the most changes. Cities are a wonderful place to do that because of the needs for sanitation, sewage, pollution, urban mobility and housing. You can tackle all these issues at once.

Do you fear that the volume of data that is collected in Smart Cities can be used against people’s interest?
A. T.: The problem isn’t necessarily the collection of data, but making sure that everyone clearly understands who collects it, how is it collected and how is it used. When data is collected and used in a transparent way and for the public, that’s great.

Is there already a city that represents your ideas of a sustainable, environmentally friendly city?
A. T.: I really like Hamburg, the mix of modernity and nature. Of course there are cities with a stronger environmental track record, and air quality is an issue, but it’s one of the greenest cities in Europe. It is great for mobility with walking and cycle lanes. While Hamburg has its share of challenges, it is the closest to a Smart City for me. Rio could be a Smart City with some better planning. It’s a nice challenge to make Rio a Smart City. We should aim for it.

Can you imagine moving to Hamburg soon?
A. T.: Absolutely, I lived in Hamburg for three years, loved it and I would go back immediately.

Talking in about 50 years’ time: What is your perfect picture of a city?
A. T.: It’s a city where all inhabitants can fulfil their rights and live comfortably without harming nature. Fortunately, my family has full access to what the city offers, and I wish that everybody could enjoy the same thing – all in a sustainable way.
(picture credits: Fotolia: marchello74; Unsplash: Nick Scheerbart, Vanessa Bumbeers, Victor Abrantes)

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