The concept of smart city should find a great ally in artificial intelligence, a technology that requires large volumes of data from an investment in monitoring public space with devices and sensors that allow the constant collection of that information. Technology can serve in this case to manage the city's resources and services in an increasingly efficient way. Furthermore, as the models accumulate experience, the trend will always be towards detailed improvement of the city's functioning in many aspects.
In traffic and transportation management, AI is capable of analyzing vehicle flows in real time in a way that optimizes traffic lights and reduces traffic jams. With all this data and the data that the system accumulates over time, it is possible to predict traffic peaks, plan and suggest alternative routes to drivers and manage public transport in a way adapted to these needs, with an optimization of the schedules and routes of different means (train, bus, metro, tram), which may include future fleets of autonomous vehicles. At a different level, artificial intelligence can also serve for long-term planning, both of infrastructure and the operation of the public transport system itself.
The use of AI for public services and urban maintenance can predict when maintenance work on urban infrastructure will be necessary with a prioritization of these tasks based not only on urgency, but also on the impact they may have, for example , in the transport. For predictive analysis of the problems that may arise in different facilities, robots and drones can be used to carry out these jobs, from cleaning sewers to repairing lighting points.
One of the most important areas in which AI has the potential to make a quality leap in smart cities is public health and the environment, two concepts that have many connection points. Monitoring and analysis will help detect disease outbreaks more quickly as algorithms can track and even predict their spread.
All of this will allow better management of healthcare resources, to which artificial intelligence can also be applied to optimally distribute available resources and personnel. Environmental quality control, in addition to monitoring pollution, can predict pollution levels and warn of those that affect health to suggest the most pertinent preventive measures to the authorities.
AI-based simulation tools can be used to better understand the impacts of any urban planning action, which can be designed based on an analysis of large data sets that allow us to understand how urban spaces are used. The conclusions provided by artificial intelligence will allow the different residential, commercial, leisure and industrial areas to be optimally distributed. Linked to this, the analysis of market trends at all times will offer advice for making economic decisions and supporting local businesses.
The possibilities for using artificial intelligence in smart cities are endless. Any aspect that is managed in a city, from supply services to emergencies or educational planning, always based on a large amount of data, can be analyzed and optimized using AI. The application of this technology that will shape the future also has important challenges to resolve, such as sustainability – the use of large computing capacity consumes resources – or the privacy of data collected in public spaces.
