As smart cities seek to provide greater amounts of data and convenience applications for their citizens, sensors will be deployed to monitor ever wider swaths of infrastructure (Image: Server Technology)
So far, every software application has to run on a power-consuming hardware device, and most data generating sensors consume power. Until the gene twisters of the world figure out how to embed Wi-Fi or some other low-power networking interface into our DNA, communicating with these devices and sensors will continue to require handheld or other mobile power-consuming electronics of some sort to deliver meaningful, actionable intelligence to the individual. Cell phones take DC power in, and consume DC power as they display email or stream video. Edge and cloud servers take AC or DC power in, and consume DC power at the CPU to serve web pages and play online games. Networking hardware takes in AC or DC power, and consumes DC power in order to route and switch data between ports and the internet.
As smart cities seek to provide greater amounts of data and convenience applications for their citizens, sensors will be deployed to monitor ever wider swaths of infrastructure: water, sewer, electric, lighting, bridges, road conditions and pothole locations, street parking, park occupancy, public restrooms availability, escalator and elevator availability, door access, subway and light rail schedules, bus schedules, delivery drone locations, and active signage status will all be available to everyone, 24 hours a day.
The number and variety of sensors and devices having onboard wired or wireless connectivity supporting IPv4 and IPv6 continues to grow at an accelerating pace.
5G-enabled smartphones will embed dedicated AI chips to improve the quality of spoken interfaces and optimize battery life. New sensors in the smartphone will provide more detailed health and wellness data, while new software applications will deliver heretofore unrivaled experiences through augmented and virtual reality.
Each new application, each piece of information, takes electrical power to be created, transported, stored, analyzed and displayed. At Legrand, we are committed to provide sustainable power, access, and control solutions for the edge, cloud, core, mobile and smart city infrastructure used daily by billions of people around the world.
Marc Cram is Director of Sales for Server Technology.