Smart cities – “Appealing, connected, sustainable”

January 21, 2019 | 13:17

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Cities are facing myriad challenges – and as cities are essentially social and political entities, social issues are always high on the agenda for the people and authorities that manage them. VIR's Thanh Van had a talk with Guru Mallikarjuna, managing director of Bosch Vietnam, to dig deeper into the smart city landscape.

smart cities appealing connected sustainable

Guru Mallikarjuna, managing director of Bosch Vietnam, shares his vision of smart city development in Vietnam

What are the challenges in front of creating the city of the future?

The world is changing. Things will change faster in the future. There are megatrends with direct implication on cities, including urbanisation, population growth, and climate change. Therefore, it is about establishing the right conditions for a prosperous economy, one that creates and protects jobs and promotes social equality in the era of digital transformation.

What technologies make a city smart and innovative in the local context?

As Vietnam is one of the strongest and fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia, the country is facing a number of environmental concerns. Environmental protection should be a high priority for smart city development in the country.

The first step towards improving air quality is the provision and management of data. Bosch engineers have developed ‘Climo’ – a system for monitoring the climate and counteracting pollution. Climo collects and analyses data relating to pollutant content, humidity, and pollen concentration. Cities can make use of the data to introduce measures to improve air quality, for instance by altering traffic flows. Officials can use these insights to power a variety of applications like city planning and future policy, which might result in big environmental changes for the cities of the future. As a result, the quality of air in fast-growing cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi can be improved significantly.

In mobility, Bosch is developing a wide variety of solutions for the transportation of people and goods. Our vision is to create an urban environment that is free of emissions, stress, and accidents. This is tied to three technological developments: automation, electrification, and connectivity. In Vietnam, Bosch’s eScooter Integrated System has been used by a Vietnamese automaker. The eScooter Integrated System which can connect to the Bosch IoT Cloud Server for monitoring, tracking, and controlling. The electromobility solutions will not only offer a smart and eco-friendly alternative to commuting for end-users, but also help build up the smart cities of the future.

We also believe that in order to unlock the full potential of smart cities, the homes and buildings inside them will need to be intelligent as well. At Bosch, we also have a full portfolio of solutions designed to keep individuals and communities safe. For example, our connected surveillance cameras can be used to fight crime and they can also identify where help is needed in the event of a catastrophe.

In what ways will city dwellers enjoy a better quality of life and what benefits will a smart city offer them?

Smart cities offer better use of space, less traffic, cleaner air, and more efficient civic services, all of which increases the quality of life. What is more, smart cities provide more career and economic opportunities as well as stronger links with the community.

How can city authorities take a more personal and customer-friendly approach to the services they offer?

City authorities must be active at many different levels – both through face-to-face interactions with the public in the form of participation processes or in community offices, and more indirectly through their digital presence. This involves improving their processes, networking their infrastructure, and going digital for all municipal services.