The smart city facing the challenge of interoperability for a connected city

If information and communication technologies are at the very heart of smart city governance, it is because of their prowess in innovation and constant evolution. These infrastructures contribute to improving the quality of life of individuals in communities, thanks to their interoperability capabilities. In smart cities, this means managing urban services in a way that respects the needs of current and future generations, in all areas of daily life, whether economic, social, environmental or cultural.

To know what a smart city really is and what its characteristics are, it is necessary to become familiar with the concept of interoperability and to understand the importance of the issues it raises. Before seeking to connect the multiple sensors of the IoT network together, all stakeholders in the smart city design process must pool their data, open the dialogue and nurture it over time.

Interoperability is generally understood to mean a form of mixing technologies so that it can be cross-referenced prior to a centralized analysis. This treatment, which is carried out with the confidence of the inhabitants and local elected officials, is the first step towards a significant reduction in deployment and sustainability costs.

Concrete examples are legion:

mobility of citizens, with cleanliness and speed;

preservation of water and air quality;

customized waste collection

ease of management of intramural deliveries

public lighting, to the rhythm of the frequentation of the streets and avenues.

Only by launching smart city or sustainable city initiatives will we succeed in concentrating populations in a limited territory, in the most optimal living conditions and without impacting the planet. If interoperability is inseparable from the smart city and artificial intelligence, how does it work in practice?

• Transport users register on their smartphones and receive notifications about their journey in real time.
• Electrical distribution networks track changes in residents’ habits to optimize household energy consumption.
• Artificial intelligence prevents wear and tear and equipment failure before they occur.
• The IoT system creates an interaction between the surveillance gateway and the intrusion detector.