According to a new report from Omdia, the advent of 4G and 5G IoT-based connectivity is helping to drive the online migration of smart city applications and will help generate a more than sevenfold increase in smart city artificial intelligence (AI) software revenue over the next five years.
In fact, the research firm predicts that the global smart city AI software market will grow to $4.9 billion in 2025, up from $673.9 million in 2019.
“From video surveillance, to traffic control, to street lighting, smart-city use cases of all types are defined by the collection, management and usage of data,” said Keith Kirkpatrick, principal analyst for AI at Omdia. “However, until recently, connecting disparate components and systems together to work in concert has been challenging due to the lack of connectivity solutions that are fast, cost effective, low latency and ubiquitous in coverage. These challenges now are being overcome by leveraging advances in AI and connectivity.”
According to Kirkpatrick, the arrival of 4G and 5G wireless data technologies is making it easier to collect and manage data, promoting the migration of smart-city AI software to the online realm. Using the power of AI, smart city systems can create municipal systems and services that not only operate more efficiently, but also provide significant benefits to workers and visitors.
Additionally, many smart cities are also leveraging AI for video surveillance applications. AI algorithms can be leveraged to scan video and look for behavioral or situational anomalies that could indicate that a terrorist act or other outbreaks of violence may be about to occur.
Cities are also increasingly leveraging cloud-based AI systems that can search footage from surveillance networks, enabling the platform and technology to be applied to existing camera infrastructure. As the use of surveillance cameras has exploded, Kirkpatrick said that AI-based video analytics now represent the only way to extract value in the form of insights, patterns, and action from the plethora of video data generated by smart cities.
For more information about the Omdia AI research report, “Artificial Intelligence Applications for Smart Cities,” click here.
