DESIGN
ECO INNOVATION: IOT
environmental consciousness presents an unprecedented opportunity to drive eco-innovation. By integrating sensing technologies into everyday infrastructure, such as smart street lighting and utilising advanced communication modules, manufacturers are creating innovative solutions to collect and transmit critical data that can support safer and more sustainable practices. Take Los Angeles, for example, which spans over 30 thousand square miles. While officially classified as a Mediterranean climate, the city experiences significant weather variability, even over short distances. In the summertime, the coastal areas can experience the ocean breeze and mild temperatures of 75-80°, while inland and towards the downtown area can easily exceed 100° on the same day. For such a vast and climate-diverse region, advanced weather detection systems are essential for managing these fluctuations. Cities like these are on the much larger and more extreme end; of course, the same technology and principles can be applied to cities around the world, enabling more efficient responses to climate variability. Similarly, in Tokyo, smart urban planning is addressing the urban heat island effect, where city areas become significantly hotter than their rural surroundings. The city has integrated sensors to monitor urban temperatures and air quality, and also employed strategies like planting more green spaces, using reflective surfaces, and installing cool roofs to reduce heat absorption. This data enables local governments to make informed decisions about cooling interventions that improve public health and reduce energy consumption. By harnessing smart technologies, we can take proactive steps toward a more resilient and sustainable future, mitigating the effects of climate change and creating smarter, greener communities for generations to come.
systems helps drive this forward in enabling more efficient environmental monitoring and response. Intelligent infrastructure: data-driven decision-making Smart networks have been growing across major metropolitan areas as a means of connection for years, and with sensors becoming increasingly more integral to everyday life, the demand for robust IoT networks continues to accelerate. Cellular data has been widely relied upon due to its wide range of coverage, however more and more sensing networks are turning to lower-cost methods, such as Long Range (LoRa) networks. LoRa is built for low-bit data markets, meaning it can only transfer small packets of data per transfer. This can still be a key functionality in systems where only small amounts of data are gathered, such as sensors transmitting basic weather data. Despite its limited data throughput, LoRa can transmit over distances up to 10 miles – offering a significant edge over alternatives like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi – and at a fraction of the cost of cellular networks. This makes it a highly cost-effective choice for many data-driven markets. The path forward: sustainable tech for a resilient future The convergence of electronics, IoT, and
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