The global city population is continuously on the rise as more than 4.8B people now live in urban areas, that is nearly 55% of the global population. Cities are getting densely populated and the need to create more well planned smart cities is imminent. Technology can be a big enabler in this movement.
Various IoT solutions can be implemented to felicitate easy movement of people and goods by creating smart transportation and by ensuring that transport infrastructure is robust, which can be achieved by using various short range as well as wide area network for continuous monitoring of the same.
Apart from that, RFID and other AIDC technologies can be used to create a safe, secure access control and monitoring system across city and connecting it with LPWAN (low powered wide area network) to ensure proper functioning of the same.
A smart city not only needs smart transportation but smart healthcare, smart education, smart public service, smart tourism, smart industries and smart shopping complexes as well. It also includes smart metering and accurate billing of various utilities like gas, electricity and water.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) can help in this regard.
Let’s see how:
What is RFID and how an RFID system works?
In simple terms RFID is an IoT enabler that is capable of identifying and tracking objects and individuals, wirelessly, using radio frequency signals.
In technical terms, RFID is an AIDC technology that is used for auto identification and remote data capturing using RFID tags, RFID readers and antennas.
Whenever an asset is tagged with an RFID tag, it can be tracked using an RFID reader. The RFID tag sends an encoded data through RF signals for RFID reader in range to decode it for the end user and that is how RFID identifying and tracking is done.
RFID system can be an active RFID or a passive or semi-active one, depending on the power source of the RFID or the lack of it.
It is fair to say that the RFID system is very efficient with its high read- rate and good wireless range for data transmission, though it is a short range technology. It can also work in tandem with various long range, wide area network standards like LoRaWAN, Narrowband-IoT etc. as well.
The Role of RFID in Smart City Development
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has created a niche for itself in identification and tracking solutions. A smart city project can use RFID, which is a short range IoT, in tandem with a long range wide area network like LPWAN to create an over-arching tracking and monitoring solution for various needs.
Let’s see how RFID can play an active role in smart city development initiatives:
1. RFID in Smart Transport
Smart transportation is a basic need for any smart city development project and RFID can help in this regard.
RFID can be used for monitoring city wide road and transportation infrastructure and its development through wide area network technologies like LoRaWAN and NB-IoT etc. It can also provide detailed health reports of such infrastructure via monitoring traffic pain points and compiling various records like repair and maintenance.
Smart transportation also means convenience for people while they are on road. Using RFID, traffic monitoring at various bottlenecks can be done and actions can be taken to eliminate such pain points.
2. RFID in Smart healthcare
One of the most important features of smart healthcare is the availability and visibility of healthcare facility and healthcare professionals at a site. RFID can felicitate that very easily.
Using RFID, individual tracking, secure access control, and tool tracking, patient tracking and tracking of oxygen cylinders and ICU beds can also be carried out.
For patients, RFID health cards can be provided to make their healthcare access seamless.
3. RFID in Public Administration Services
In any smart city, what matters most is how good the public administration is. Various public administration services can be streamlined by use of RFID to felicitate easy access of these services. RFID can be used to improve upon various public services like public toilets, street lights, tourist places, events, sports and music concerts provide residents and tourists a seamless experience.
4. RFID in Smart Utilities in a smart city
Smart utilities means flawless utility services, be it water supply, electricity or gas supply in a smart city. Using RFID, accurate monitoring, metering and billing of these services can be done which will eliminate unwarranted service outages and inconvenience.
5. RFID in Smart Education
Education is a basic need for any smart city projects and use of RFID can create a smart education model. RFID can streamline day to day operations at various schools, colleges and libraries. Students and staffs can be provided with RFID ID cards and parking tickets to ensure smooth access. RFID enabled attendance system can be introduced to ensure better results.
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