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INTELLIGENT CITIES
in some kind of a database or a data warehouse. Analytics is
applied to these data to derive meaningful insights that define
the future course of action.
3. ese data are used as input for the service delivery platform
(SDP), which runs several applications for city services. ese
services span all domains that are important for a city, such as
transportation, healthcare, water networks, and so on. ese
SDPs will provide open application programming interfaces
(APIs) that will help developers to design new value-added
services for the residents.
4. e user interface will be accessible to all residents through
mobile devices and it will provide a rich set of applications
that will improve their quality of life.
ese points summarize the value proposition offered by mobile devices
to improve the quality of life of residents and visitors in a city, which
in turn would contribute to transforming a city into an intelligent city.
In the next few sections, we focus on the various components of the
mobile ecosystem. Some of these components are the various mobile
generations and standards that are responsible for the various value-
added services provided by the mobile devices and the various plat-
forms and frameworks that are used for building smart phones.
e chapter is organized as shown in the figure.
Mobile device and
platforms
(first section)
Mobile ecosystem
for an intelligent
city
Mobile device
use cases for an
intelligent city
(second section)
Future-directed
mobile technologies
for an intelligent city
(last section)
47
MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS
2.2 Evolution of Mobile Wireless Technologies
e evolution of mobile wireless technology has already reached its
fourth generation (4G) and is quickly leaping forward toward its next
generation (5G). Each generation of mobile wireless technology is
clearly characterized by three distinct features:
• Nature and spectrum of services that are offered
• Transmission technology that is not backward compatible
• New frequency bands for transmission of signals
ere has been an evolution of a new mobile wireless technology gen-
eration once every 10 years starting from the early 1980s. e evo-
lution of first-generation (1G) mobile wireless technologies started
in the United States with the release of the advanced mobile phone
service (AMPS) system in 1983. In the early 1980s, mobile wireless
technologies used an analog mode of transmission. e main draw-
back of these 1G technologies was the inability to scale to growing
needs in a cost-effective manner. is led to the evolution of second-
generation (2G) networks that used a digital mode of transmission.
e main differentiating factor between the 1G and the 2G net-
work was that 2G networks used superior digital multiple-access tech-
nologies such as frequency division multiple access (FDMA) and
code division multiple access (CDMA). ese technologies in turn
contributed to superior spectrum efficiency, better data services, and
advanced roaming facilities which were not offered by 1G networks.
e noted wireless technology advancement in the 2G network was
the evolution of the global system for mobile communication (GSM)
standard. GSM has laid down a framework for mobile communica-
tion by defining the functions and interface requirements of a mobile
wireless network. However, it does not specify anything about the
hardware that needs to be used to build the framework. Some of the
major subscription services offered by GSM are dual-tone multifre-
quency (DTMF), fax services, short message services (SMS), voice
mail, and fax mail. Another key mobile wireless technology standard,
referred to as part of the 2.5G network, is the general packet radio
service (GPRS).
GPRS uses a packet-switching technology for transfer of data
across mobile wireless networks. It provides various advanced features
48
INTELLIGENT CITIES
such as mobile Internet and multimedia messaging service (MMS).
e theoretical speed limit of GPRS is 115 kbps; however, the actual
speed in most networks is around 35 kbps.
3G mobile wireless networks support higher data rates when com-
pared to 2G networks. e shift from 2G to 3G gives mobile users the
capability to use services such as mobile Internet, e-mail, instant mes-
saging, and video conferencing at a much higher speed. 3G also pro-
vides presence and location-based services available to mobile users.
ough some of the features of 3G networks were already available
with 2.5G networks, the competitive edge of the 3G networks will be
the speed at which those services are offered to end-users.
e most recent trend shows that mobile Internet users want instan-
taneous access to video content with a very superior quality of user
experience and the ability to access more convergent mobile ser-
vices than ever before. is is emphasized by the fact that during the
London 2012 Olympic Games, more than 50% of various types of
search requests were delivered from mobile devices. Mobile subscrib-
ers also want the capability to access any type of content anytime,
anywhere. To complicate this situation still further, many content
aggregating applications such as App stores and Amazon are making
all types of content available on a variety of mobile devices. is has
posed a tough challenge for mobile network operators to find new
innovative technologies that would enable them to satisfy their cus-
tomer demand and at the same time ensure that their economies of
scale are being met. is changing landscape in the mobile technol-
ogy arena has led to the evolution of an innovative technology called
long-term evolution (LTE), which is often considered a component of
the 4G wireless mobile network.
LTE, also referred to as 4G LTE, is a standard for wireless mobile
networks and provides high-speed data transfer rates for wireless net-
works. It will provide 50 times performance improvement for exist-
ing wireless networks. LTE broadcast is a single-frequency network
(SFN) that operates in a broadcast mode. It is part of the series of
standards known as evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service
(eMBMS). Some of the key use cases of LTE from an intelligent city
perspective are summarized in Table 2.1.
GM plans to start outfitting cars with 4G LTE, introducing in-
vehicle hot spots, streaming entertainment, and applications designed
49
MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS
for its proprietary browser. It’s the first mass-market automaker to do
so (Audi was the first to introduce 4G LTE, in its A3 model). 4G
LTE will be included in most of the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and
Cadillac vehicles in North America starting in 2014 (via a partner-
ship with AT&T), and GM said it will subsequently expand to brands
including Opel and Vauxhall in Europe. GM also demonstrated a
prototype vehicle with embedded cameras that enable owners to
monitor their car remotely [2].
2.3 Mobile Application Development Platforms
Mobile application development is the process of developing applica-
tion software for mobile devices. ese are mostly installed on phones
during manufacturing or can be downloaded by consumers from vari-
ous mobile software distribution centers. Mobile application software
developers have various design considerations such as the screen size
of the mobile devices, hardware and software requirement specifica-
tions, and so on, as a vast variety of mobile platforms are available.
Many mobile application development platforms are available in the
market. Each of them has an integrated development environment
(IDE) that provides all tools required for a mobile application devel-
oper to write, test, and deploy applications into the target platform
environment. Some of the key mobile platforms are iOS, Android,
Blackberry OS, Windows, etc.
Table 2.1 Key Use Cases of Long-Term Evolution from an Intelligent City Perspective
LTE SERVICE OFFERING USAGE FOR INTELLIGENT CITIES
Live event streaming Live coverage of key events happening in a city
such as sports, concerts, award ceremonies,
elections, and so on.
Real-time TV streaming Real-time delivery of important sports events,
news channels, and other popular TV shows.
This will enable entertainment amidst work
which will in turn go a long way in boosting
productivity. This could prevent employees
taking time off from work to watch a key TV
event. (The facility to watch TV shows amidst
work should be used judiciously.)
News, stock market reports, weather, and
sports updates
Provides news, stock market reports, weather, and
sports updates several times during the course
of a day with on device caching features.
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INTELLIGENT CITIES
As many mobile platforms are available, the target mobile platforms
for which each mobile application should be built have always been a
matter of concern for mobile application developers. is has led to
the evolution of cross-OS platforms for mobile application develop-
ment. ese platforms offer an excellent alternative to ignoring one
mobile OS in favor of another and provide support for developing
mobile applications that work across multiple mobile application
development platforms. e following are some of the key cross-OS
platforms available in the market.
1. RhoMobile provides Rhodes, which is an open source, Ruby-
based framework. It helps development of many native
mobile applications for a wide range of smart phone devices
and operating systems. e operating systems that are sup-
ported include iOS, Android, Windows Mobile OS, RIM,
and Symbian.
is framework has capabilities that allow users to
develop their source code once and use it to quickly build
applications for all major mobile platforms. Native appli-
cations that are developed using this framework have the
capability to use the mobile device’s hardware, includ-
ing GPS, camera, as well as location data to enhance the
application capabilities further. In addition to Rhodes,
RhoMobile also provides RhoHub, which is a hosted
development environment, and RhoSync, which is a stand-
alone server that keeps application data current up to date
on end-users’ mobile devices.
2. Appcelerator belongs to the free or open-source software
(FOSS) framework. e Titanium development platform
offered by the company allows the development of native
mobile, tablet, and desktop applications through typical Web
development languages such as JavaScript, HyperText
Markup Language (HTML), and so on. Titanium users will
also have access to more than 300 social and other APIs and
their associated location information. e native applications
that are developed using this platform can be stored either
in a cloud or in the mobile device. ey are designed to take
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