Smart City Tech Focuses on Efficiency, Safety, Privacy

Cities are looking to leverage streetlights and even electric transformers to give them deeper insights into what’s happening on the ground. These technology developments come as public leaders also work to ensure individual privacy is not trampled on the road to a smart city. Many of the questions from city leaders involve how data is transported and stored, said Mike Grigsby, director of business development at Ubicquia, a smart city technology company. “The data is owned by the city,” Grigsby said. “We don’t hold that data." UbiHub, a smart city technology produced by Ubicquia, connects to basic infrastructure like streetlights, making it easy to deploy technology like Wi-Fi, cameras, sensors, license plate readers and other data-collecting technologies. That data informs city officials about what’s happening on a given block or section of town. But it’s not just a deeper understanding of what’s happening on city streets that has officials turning to urban tech. Utilities — whether operated by private companies or municipalities — are looking to smart city technologies for a deeper understanding of power needs and the condition of the equipment that provides that power. “You’re creating a better response, a more intelligent response,” said Grigsby.