t a time when cities in India are competing to earn the distinction of being smart, the concept of a ‘smart city’ has to cover more than smart mobility and governance; in fact, other factors of wellness have to be factored in while drawing up plans for smart cities, says D. Ramakrishna, managing director of Vijayawada-based Efftronics Systems Private Limited, which is currently working on microchip-based smart solutions.
Mr. Ramakrishna started his venture as a manufacturer of microprocessor-based LED display systems with visual effects three decades ago. Today, the company’s data loggers monitor signals at over 6,000 railway stations in India. In an interview with The Hindu, Mr Ramakrishna says India has the scientific knowhow to roll out an ambitious smart cities project but it has to look beyond the technological part of it. It must not entirely rely on concepts like Internet-of-Things (IoT) if people are to feel satisfied with the overall standard of living.
The Internet of Things definitely makes lives easy but smart cities can be compliant with global standards only when there is ‘collaborative intelligence’ that solves problems proactively, not in a reactionary mode.
As far as governance is concerned, Mr. Ramakrishna says, mobile phones could be used to great effect considering the unparalleled reach of smart phones these days. A lot of citizen services could be rendered through those devices.
Transportation can be made intelligent and many other things can be done but the crux of the issue is striking the right balance between men and machines.
A few cities in the world became smart on different counts. Barcelona, for instance, scored high on environment and smart parking while New York won acclaim for its smart street lighting and traffic management. London is smart on the open data front. But there are no all-encompassing smart cities as their very definition is open for wide interpretation.
India can basically look at smart traffic management which vastly reduces time lost in commuting and steps may be taken for making public utilities smart to enhance public satisfaction in delivery of services.
Many such things can be worked out but policy-makers have to remember that technology alone cannot make cities smart as these are the days of human-machine interface, not just artificial intelligence which had reached a plateau stage a few years ago.
India has the scientific knowhow to roll out an ambitious smart cities project. It must not entirely rely on concepts like Internet-of-Things
D. Ramakrishna,
Managing director,
Efftronics Systems Pvt. Ltd.
