Will Streetlamps Become Information Hubs for Cities?

North America has more than 1 billion street lights. Known as high-intensity discharge lights, they consume lots of energy, contain mercury vapor and most of them are owned by municipalities. Because of energy and maintenance costs, cities have begun turning to LED technology, which lasts longer than ordinary street lights, consumes less energy and doesn’t contain as many hazardous byproducts. But LEDs can do more than just save costs.

They also can be a platform for a host of technologies that can monitor what is going on in the vicinity of the light pole. Link these so-called intelligent street lights into a network, and you have the makings of a smart city, say experts. “We’re marrying the Internet with advanced Web services and low-cost miniature electronics, and delivering it as a new service to cities,” said Hugh Martin, CEO of Sensity Systems. Intelligent street lamps can monitor weather, pollution, seismic activity, act as security systems and monitor traffic and parking, according to Martin.