Abstract
This chapter introduces a new framework called “I3: Instrument, interconnect, and cultivate intelligence framework.” This framework can be used to drive the transformation of today’s not so smart cities into the smart cities of tomorrow. In i3, instrumentation is used to collect data, which is important, because data provides measurability, and measurement can lead to improvement. Interconnection in i3 is used to discover associations and relationships between seemingly independent subsystems in a city. In i3, controlled experiments are easily setup and run to test each individual policy. The intelligence bit in i3 comes from being able to test specific policy hypotheses and conduct rigorous analysis and synthesis of the integrated data. The i3 framework helps city officials and researchers discover valuable knowledge, make informed decisions based on the results of various policies that are put in place, and facilitates the culture of experimentation at every policy decision level. The overarching goal in i3 is to discover routine and well-structured patterns in city management operations, turn them into best practices, and finally automate the execution of such practices so that the framework itself can take a major responsibility over city management. In this chapter, a roadmap is provided as a guideline for policymakers to successfully deploy i3 in their jurisdiction. By using i3 continually, a regular city can be transformed into a smart city faster.
TopMotivation
In order to concretize the ideas in the ensuing development, consider a prototype application design based on the i3 methodology. The application is an integrated surveillance framework for smart cities and their law enforcement units to monitor crime, and to counteract and prevent terrorist activities.
Millions of input channels at the edges of this intelligent network are used to gather real time state information and environment heartbeat. Interconnection through i3 is useful to identify organized crime involving more than one geographical region and that spans a time frame over a couple of days or weeks or months. On-demand reporting and registration of suspicious activity using wireless devices increase the continued use of the information channels at the outset. Resulting streams of audio, text and video data are cross-correlated and analyzed associatively to drive complex relationships that identify anomalous activities promptly. The framework is used to automatically monitor city “health” continuously, and can be generalized into a homeland security infrastructure within a county, or a state, or within a whole country.