Electronic tickets that can analyze visitor flow, energy-saving cars with "computerized hearts," and flexible solar-powered smart applications - the Shanghai World Expo is like a testing ground for Internet of Things (IoT) technology. From the moment visitors scan their tickets to enter, they may unexpectedly encounter various magical IoT technologies and even catch a glimpse of the future of smart cities.
Recently, Academician Hequan Wu of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, an expert in optical fiber transmission networks and broadband information networks, visited the Public Participation Pavilion's "Hall of Fame" as a guest speaker. He eloquently described how future cities based on IoT technology could be empathetic, intelligent, and highly desirable.
Smart Healthcare: Changing the Way We See Doctors
Cities make life better, and the Internet of Things makes cities smarter. Ten years ago, MIT in the United States first proposed the concept of the Internet of Things, emphasizing that every item could have an "information identity." In 2005, the International Telecommunication Union released its "Internet Report: The Internet of Things." In 2008, IBM proposed the concept of a "Smarter Planet," which China called "Perceiving China." Later, the European Union also proposed an IoT development strategy, aiming to integrate IoT technology into human life to provide smart services.
Academician Wu said that using IoT technology could create a smart city, making the key components and services of urban life more intelligent. This includes education, healthcare, public safety, real estate, transportation, public affairs, smart grids, logistics management, and many other aspects of urban life. For example, when visiting a large hospital, one might come seeking renowned doctors but not necessarily encounter a good one. In the future, a medical IoT-based prescription entry system could help patients by verifying prescriptions, greatly reducing medical errors. More importantly, a smart healthcare system could achieve preventive care: equipping patients with blood pressure sensors that, upon detecting abnormal blood pressure, automatically call the hospital via a mobile phone to promptly consult with a doctor for medication. If an elderly person falls, the wrist sensor could even "dial" 120 for emergency assistance.
Smart Grids: Enhancing Electricity Usage Efficiency
During the scorching summer, electricity demand remains consistently high. With the help of IoT technology, smart meters can be used to timely detect the supply-demand relationship between power generation and consumption in various grid systems, enabling automatic peak shaving and valley filling, thus significantly improving electricity usage efficiency and enhancing the overall utilization of the grid. Surveys indicate that the utilization rate of the U.S. power grid is only 55%, and IoT application has been listed as part of the national grid renovation plan, incorporating all stages from power generation, transmission, to consumption under smart grid management.
Recently, State Grid Corporation of China announced its "three-step" plan for China's smart grid: focusing on ultra-high voltage backbone grids to promote informatization; by 2015, building smart grids in 5-10 cities, achieving an industrial scale of 200 billion yuan; by 2020, accumulating a total investment of 4 trillion yuan in smart grids, ensuring that clean energy accounts for 15% of the grid, and reducing carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 40%-45%.
Smart Transportation: Making Roads Safer
When consumers purchase cars, nearly half of the cost goes toward automotive electronics. Some high-end cars costing over a million yuan are even equipped with radars and various communication means. For instance, a high-end BMW car itself is a computer network, where various components and subsystems form a small-scale IoT.
Of course, integrated automotive electronic technologies are worth the cost and effectively manage collision prevention. Extensive collision tests have shown that braking just 0.01 seconds earlier could prevent over 85% of traffic accidents.
The electronic systems in cars can also interconnect with other vehicles, road information systems, signal recognition systems, forming a smart transportation IoT. This gradually enables features such as non-stop toll collection, road violation alerts, automatic acquisition of real-time road conditions, optimized design of driving routes, and a series of anticipated future urban transportation modes. (Xinmin Evening News)