Experts tout 'small' data that gets results in smart cities

Nowadays, we are always hearing the term “big data” and how it is becoming a large part of today’s technology, leaving many companies trying to figure out how.  After reading this article by Matt Hamblen, it has to be the first time I have heard the term “smart-city”.  The article talks about how Kansas City has begun implementing the internet of things, modules on highways, and sensors to capture tons of data in their city.  Their goal is to be able to use the data collected in almost real-time allowing them to make quicker decisions, rather than having to comb through large amounts of data.  Even though, they are still collecting massive amounts of data, they are referring to this data as ‘small-data’ because it will be processed quicker than traditional big data.  

The first point I would like to talk about is how this can benefit a city like Kansas City.  From a geographic standpoint, they are right in the middle of the United States; a truck can reach nearly the entire US population in 48 hours [2].  For the city to take information for sensors on highways, railroads, and other places where there is transportation, the city can really take advantage of becoming a shipping hub for the country.  In almost real time, decisions could be made as to whether which route would be the best for a truck to take or if it would be more beneficial to send packages through railroad.

Another point I’d like to talk about mentioned in the article is about how ‘smart’ they envision a city like this be.  Their vision includes having self driving cars, connected vehicles and smart sensors.  Even though we have heard of Google and other companies testing out their self driving cars, expect that in 2020 those will then become the new norm and possibly a new source of untapped data [1].

The third point I would like to bring the attention to is a report from the Department of Transportation, released in 2015, that showed the nation’s aging infrastructure is not ready to deal with fast population growth [2].   

There a couple things I felt were overlooked in this article.  The first was the term smart-city, which I haven’t heard of before today.  I find it interesting I have not heard about this before considering it has been happening around the world; such as in cities like Barcelona, Singapore, and Masdar City in the U.A.E. [3].  Other points I felt were also overlooked was how and where the data is stored, and how this type of idea could translate to a bigger city, such as New York.  

[1]Adams, Tim. "Self-driving Cars: From 2020 You Will Become a Permanent Backseat Driver." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 13 Sept. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.

[2] Hamblen, Matt. "Experts Tout 'small' Data That Gets Results in Smart Cities." Computerworld.  ComputerWorld, 11 Apr. 201. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.

[3] High, Peter. "The Top Five Smart Cities In The World." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 9 Mar. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.