Towards future Smart Cities: Internet of Things (IoT) –based intelligent asset management

Over the recent past, the urban landscape has been shifting towards a new paradigm called ‘smart cities’. The smart city concept operates in a complex urban environment, incorporating several systems of infrastructure, human behaviour, technology, social and political structures and the economy. Practice gaps exist in achieving this model. Current management decisions about local government assets are mostly based on historical data and cost-based metrics. Community feedback and real time data are rarely available for decision making, which reduces the effectiveness and quality of service provision. A project funded by the Australian federal government, in partnership with a leader in building compliance solutions, local governments, and communities, aims to fill the research and practice gaps through Internet of Things-enabled live advanced data analytics to improve sustainable asset management. This paper presents the initial phases of this ongoing project. Three smart precincts with diverse demographics were selected from local government areas representing multiple elements of smart cities. Smart sensors and a novel network infrastructure will be deployed to improve quality of life and public safety, and to optimize efficient deployment and use of limited and costly resources in managing community assets. An interactive platform with data analytics and intelligent decision making will be developed to capture live community/stakeholder feedback on the facilities to increase accessibility and improve services. The architecture and middleware developed for smart asset management is extendible to other components of the smart city, including utilities, transport and mobility, health services, design and construction, and the environment. It is expected that this project will make a contribution to the delivery of innovative smart city projects in towns and cities across Australia, helping to improve their liveability, productivity and sustainability.