Smart cities: the future is already here
There are still nostalgic travelers who, when they land in an unknown city, they are not calm until they find a tourist information office . Once there, they wait as long as it takes to get hold of a map to guide you . If they no longer want to understand that in their pocket there is a smartphone equipped with GPS capable of indicating precisely the correct directions to reach a monument, or that with that same device they can consult all the details of the places they want to discover, what will happen when they visit a smart city?
In the cities of the future, which are beginning to be those of the present, moving through the streets will be a piece of cake. Not only because of the classic Google maps, but also because of applications like ** CityMapper ** that, taking advantage of the geolocation of your smartphone e, suggest the most comfortable way to go to the different places you plan to visit.
Whether taking the bus, taking a taxi or, why not, pedaling a bicycle . Thanks to the fact that the transport services of more and more cities make known, in the form of a database that developers can access in an automated way , all the information they have, apps can be developed that make it easier for users to move around the city. It will only take a few minutes for you to find your way around and know which Metro line to take. , the exact stop where you have to get off or how long you have to wait for a bus to arrive.
With your mobile you will be able to dominate a city that you do not know
If we discard the option of public transport and choose to travel with our own car, in the smart cities We will also have certain facilities. Beyond those that guide us, for example, to get to our hotel, there are already apps like Wazypark or Parkify that give us a cable when it comes to finding parking. In order not to fall into the clutches of despair, it will suffice to have them downloaded to our phone and be told where is there a place available to park our vehicle.
Also, walking the streets of a smart city we will feel as if we grew up there, even though it is actually the first time we have seen those buildings, crossed those crosswalks and seen the faces of those neighbors. One of the trends that is prevailing in cities like Berlin or Dublin is the presence of sensors throughout the city that allow citizens and travelers get useful information just by pointing their phones in one direction or another.
Smart Destination: or how the city will keep you informed, traveler
In this way, if a visitor points to the door of a hotel or restaurant , then the website of that establishment will appear on the screen of your smartphone. You will be able to check the rates, the menu, whether or not there is accommodation available... There are already companies like Civil Resource Group developing such tools. “Now all that technology - open data, smartphones and augmented reality - allows cities to have a greater impact on the travel experience ”, points out Greg Curtin, head of this company.
On the other hand, when paying in these establishments, we can also use our mobile. Even thanks to NFC technology , a good number of cities already offer the possibility of paying for the bus without taking out your wallet. If the credit card plays tricks on us, we will always carry money with us thanks to the smartphone. A circumstance that allows you to avoid, in case of traveling abroad, the hassle of looking for a branch of our bank to get a little more money without paying a high commission.
Apple PaymentSquare
Another of the great advantages of traveling to a smart destination is that we will save ourselves from going constantly to wifi search and capture . In a smart city we will be able to connect to the Internet from anywhere, without having to enter a place and consume to get the key. Will we have to pay? Surely. Of course, it will not matter where we go because we will always be connected, not only to share photos and make our friends envious, but also to get to know the city in depth.
And thanks to everyone technological equipment which is being implemented in many cities around the world, both locals and visitors will have new tools to contact the security forces in case, unfortunately, they are victims or witnesses of a crime. In Spain, without going any further, the Ministry of the Interior has designed Alertcops , an application to facilitate contact between citizens and the authorities responsible for ensuring everyone's safety. If we have a Wi-Fi connection, no matter where we are, we can report an assault, an assault or any other circumstance instantly.
However, all that glitters is not gold. Smart destinations will also become a coveted target for cyber criminals. Manipulating communications between different elements of the smartcity, attackers will be able to disable or modify certain services with unpleasant consequences. Any innovation entails certain risks. Perhaps for this reason, and because prevention is always better than cure, some continue to decide to respect customs. Regardless of whether the city they visit is connected or not, as soon as they arrive they get a map at the tourist information office. It's not such a bad idea either: if you don't use it, you can always keep it as a souvenir of an unforgettable trip.
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