Society is at the beginning of a new era, driven by ever accelerating social and technological trends; a shift to high density urban living, artificial intelligence, smart infrastructure and the connected citizen.
At the core of this revolution are advances at the interface between data analytics and distributed digital infrastructure – the cyber-physical domain – that collects data and informs decisions.
The impact will be similar to the emergence of the internet in the 1990s and is driven by rapid uptake of a new generation of Internet of Things technology.
For the first time, very low-cost battery-powered devices are able to exchange information over long distances for many years.
The first wave of IoT applications is having a profound impact on smart cities in areas as diverse as street lights that respond to need and report faults, to improving energy efficiency and life conditions for the poorest in society by effectively targeting fuel poverty.
Smart infrastructure’s global potential
CENSIS is working at the forefront of this revolution, supporting Scottish companies to exploit these new technologies and create solutions of huge global market potential and societal benefit.
Cities are the engines of our economic future, but the IoT opportunity transcends these boundaries to encompass the whole country. This wide-ranging nature of the challenge demands we deliver seamless capability within, between and beyond our cities, to enable our cities to flourish and to be a true “IoT nation”.
Scotland is well positioned, with the Scottish Government making a strategic commitment in March this year to national IoT coverage and putting delivery of this at the heart of the 2017-18 Programme for Government.
We can look forward to a future where companies, cities and citizens, across Scotland, can all benefit from the dawn of this new era.
Mark Begbie is business development director at CENSIS, the innovation centre for sensor and imaging systems. @CENSIS121
DigitalScotland 2022
25 Oct 2022
Not a drop wasted: digital cask filling can save the whisky industry millions
Scotland’s food and drink sector is central to the country’s economy. Bringing in around £14 billion every year, it employs more than 115,000 people and accounts for one in five manufacturing…
The value of engineering in the curriculum
If you were to look back at the greatest discoveries in science and technology over the past 30 years, you would soon notice that engineering is a key catalyst for…
Glasgow Council leads the way in digital learning
In 2017, we at Glasgow City Council took the opportunity to overhaul our digital approach to education and redefine learning, keeping in mind the core aim of reducing the impact…
Why data is the new oil
In 2006, British mathematician Clive Humby coined the phrase, “Data is the new oil”. This analogy has been proven correct as data now powers entire industries and holds tremendous value…
Global Entrepreneurship Week offers chance to reset aspirations amid new innovation landscape
With the advent of Global Entrepreneurship Week, it is an opportunity for us to celebrate the innovators, the grassroots risk takers who drive the economy, and those who invest in…
Aberdeenshire leads the way in work-based learning
There has long been debate about the distinction to be drawn between vocational and academic learning. However, in Aberdeenshire Council the focus is on what is best for our learners;…
5G connectivity can ’empower people to restore our planet’
Six years on from the Paris Climate Accords and the world is still getting warmer. We are now seeing first-hand the impact of climate change – the floods and fires…
Cracking the code to offline computational thinking
In our digitally connected world, it can be argued that coding and especially computational thinking have become essential parts of a new ‘computing literacy’ to support traditional literacy. These computational…
