Etisalat's smart pole can help nab speedsters
Etisalat is showcasing a new smart pole that acts as a streetlamp, security camera, speed camera and WiFi hotspot. The all-in-one futuristic, connected pole can be installed anywhere along the street and is the latest Internet of Things (IOT) technology that is being showcased at the IOT World Forum being organised by Cisco in co-ordination with the Dubai Government Media Office.
One of the main functionalities of the smart pole is that it can be controlled as it has M2M connectivity and comes with a router and a SIM card installed. All units can be connected to the control centre, from where it can be used to monitor pedestrians, jay walkers, detect speeding vehicles, as a public broadcast system and even save energy. "It is a smart solution using a single asset," says an Etisalat staff in-charge of explaining the smart device to visitors.
The idea behind the smart lamp, he says, is to reduce electricity consumption by almost 30 per cent. "The intensity of the street lights can be reduced by about 25 per cent after 10pm. You can further reduce it by an additional 25 per cent after 2am. The smart system automatically detects a sudden increase in people movement or vehicular traffic and increases the intensity of the lamp," he says.
Currently 11.6 hours is the average operational hours of a lamp in the UAE. The effort is to bring it down further. "Between 2020 and 2030, the government wants the departments to save cost by almost 30 per cent and increase productivity by 30 per cent. So we need to diversify the mix by having solar panels, nuclear energy etc., and not depend only on fuel," he adds.
The smart pole, he says, has a speaker system attached to it whereby public broadcasts or emergency announcements can be made. The camera has a facial and gender recognition software and it can even count people within a particular range. "If someone is found jumping the fence or jay walking it can be set to send alerts to the command centre," he adds.
He also notes that the smart pole can be customised to fit in a speed camera. Officials are already in discussions with Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai and the smart pole is ready for deployment.
Car app
Etisalat is also showcasing its connected car app, which it developed for automaker Nissan for its 2016 models of Maxima and Patrol. All new models to be rolled out in 2016 will be equipped with the new app that enables drivers to control their vehicles from anywhere in the world - be it remote start, geo tag and restricting its movements to a particular area, switching on the air conditioning etc.,
"We tested the models extensively during the past few months. The vehicles are fitted with multiple sensors and is connected to an on-board-diagnostics device that links it to the command centre," says Ankur Varma, another Etislaat staff responsible for the connected car.
Owners of vehicles can receive alerts if the car has a mechanical fault, meets with an accident, exceeds speed limit or leaves a preset designated area. The engine can be remotely switched on or off. "Even the driver will not be able to restart the car and he can be denied access," he says.