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More and more objects are becoming embedded with sensors and gaining the ability to communicate. In what is called the Internet of Things - IoT, sensors and actuators embedded in physical objects—from roadways to pacemakers—are linked through wired and wireless networks, often using the same Internet Protocol (IP) that connects the Internet. These networks generate huge volumes of data that flow to computers for analysis. Fields of applications include for example waste management, urban planning, sustainable urban environment, smart meters, continuous care, emergency response, intelligent shopping, smart product management, etc.

The city of Santander (Spain), a Covenant of Mayors Signatory, has planned to develop such a system through the “SmartSantander” programme. This is a one-of-a-kind city-scale experimental research facility focusing on the typical applications and services which make up smart cities. The project envisions the deployment of 20,000 sensors in 4 European cities: Belgrade (Serbia), Guildford (United-Kingdom), Lübeck (Germany) and Santander (12,000 sensors), exploiting a large variety of technologies.

The objectives of SmartSatander is to “fuel the use of the experimentation facility among the scientific community, end users and service providers  in order to reduce the technical and societal barriers that prevent the IoT concept to become an everyday reality.”

* Sources: www.mckinseyquarterly.com; Wikipedia.