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 clrmoney
6/9/2017 2:40:16 PM User Rank Platinum 
AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
This is great that AT&T has GE and First Net. GE does appliances and FirstNet has information technology or something. With all of them together will be better in a way as it relates to us and them.
 Ariella
6/9/2017 4:35:43 PM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
<It has camera feeds and sensors for detecting hazardous gases in the air, gunshots or high decibel level noises that could be associated with a bomb.>
A couple of observations on this. 1 is that if it is detecting components of air, it should also be able to pick up on air quality changes to track what changes have an impact. For example, then, if trees are planted nearby, the sensors should be able to pick up on differences in air quality that result. 2. I'm surprised that it includes something like detecting gunshot s because there are services that focs on that specifically already in place in some cities. They entail not just the sound detection but the system of conveying the information for rapid response.  mhhf1ve
6/9/2017 11:16:33 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
> "For example, then, if trees are planted nearby, the sensors should be able to pick up on differences in air quality that result."
Well, that might logically seem correct, but there's a huge engineering difference between measuring a small amount of a pollutant that shouldn't be in the air at all -- versus measuring a small change of a component of air that almost defines what air is. And.. welcome to the surveillance state, everyone! You're on camera all the time.... Ariella
6/10/2017 9:41:28 PM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
<And.. welcome to the surveillance state, everyone! You're on camera all the time.... > @mhhf1ve Isn't that true of London? It is certainly true of parts of NYC>
mhhf1ve
6/11/2017 3:18:21 AM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
It's true of London and parts of NYC -- and apparently Baltimore for a while. As well as parts of the Middle East to track where IEDs come from.
Ubiquitous cameras can be deployed anywhere. Is it okay to use them for any purpose?
Ariella
6/11/2017 12:56:00 PM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
@mhhf1ve the reason why some people are opposed to them. Once they're up for the purpose of security, it's difficult to prevent the footage being used for other purposes. I think that they are legally covered so long as they put up a sign that lets people know the area is under a camera's view.
mhhf1ve
6/11/2017 4:31:57 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
Well, even security itself is a slippery slope. Once you agree to cameras everywhere for "security" then you open up the capacity to enforce all kinds of laws for the sake of security. Jaywalking, speeding, spitting on the ground... the possibilities can be scary.
Ariella
6/12/2017 8:26:53 AM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
@mhhf1ve Being caught speeding is one of the concerns some people had for E-Z Pass that works by picking up your distance between two points -- as it would on the NJ Turnpike. I believe that drivers have been assured that it would not be used for that purpose, though the data would clearly be there. Also people who have tracking devices put in for their auto insurance are concerned that it would pick up on their routes when it is only intended to pick up on their acceleration, stop rates, etc.
 Joe Stanganelli
6/12/2017 9:35:14 AM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
@Ariella: Security is an issue, too, however.
Ashley Madison, for instance, assured its users that their information would only be used for blah-blah-blah...but then the company suffered an enormous data-security breach. So even if we 100% trust those who are collecting, aggregating, and using our data in their intentions, that doesn't translate to data security -- or, for that matter, the availability of that data after a breach. Ariella
6/12/2017 9:55:44 AM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
@Joe true, nothing is completely secure. But most of us are not ready to go off the virtual grid and wear tinfoil hats for the rest of our lives.
Joe Stanganelli
6/12/2017 10:01:59 AM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
@Ariella: I'm not so convinced privacy fears fall into "tinfoil hat"/"The CIA is controlling my brain" territory. In an age where our televisions are actually spying on us (in some cases via hackers in some cases intentionally), we have quite literally begun to venture into 1984 territory.
Regardless, I think a healthy balance is strikeable between privacy concerns and living one's life. (I've managed to live life thus far without EZ-Pass, for instance, and I'm still doing fine.) I think our European counterparts, as hypersensitive as they may seem to be sometimes about privacy, have a better cultural memory about this kind of thing than most Americans do. Ariella
6/12/2017 10:40:02 AM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
@Joe About E-Z Pass, we've had it for many years even though we rarely use it now. The primary motivation for people in the NY area is not the small discount you get for using it but the amount of time you can save on the lines for the manned toll booths. Does it link your car with when are where you were if you used it? Sure, as they are designed to not be tranferable, they do a check on the license plate whenever the tag is read for payment. Does that bother me? Not really. I don't know if I would opt to have my TV watch me, and I do find some of the smart home systems just a tad creepy. Perhaps that's because a lot of more life is in my house than in the car.
Joe Stanganelli
6/12/2017 11:04:05 AM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
@Ariella: That was the same primary motivation in MA until relatively recently. Now, EZ-Pass lanes are the *only* lanes on all toll roads in the Commonwealth.
Ariella
6/12/2017 1:27:18 PM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
<Now, EZ-Pass lanes are the *only* lanes on all toll roads in the Commonwealth.> @Joe then what options exist for people who are visiting the area and don't have E-Z Pass?
mhhf1ve
6/12/2017 1:23:55 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
California, I think, has done away with the requirement to have a physical device in your car to charge you at toll booths -- they just take a picture of your license plate, and if you're in the system, the amount gets deducted from your account.
I'm not sure why assurances have been made to prevent the govt from issuing speeding tickets based on toll booth information. Either it's an admission that speed limits are meaningless for actual safety, or they want to keep police officers occupied with handing out tickets in person. Given that autobahn-like roads exist that have no speed limits, and accidents don't appear to be significantly higher on them, it seems like speed limits are just a way to suggest that people drive safely. If cameras existed everywhere, police officers wouldn't need to "chase" anyone down -- they'd just get them at the next exit or wherever the nearest police office ahead of the criminal was.... Ariella
6/12/2017 1:41:19 PM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
@mhhf1ve A similar issue arises now as the Supereme Court refused to review the proposed electronic logging devices (ELD) mandate . see http://www.supplychain247.com/article/appeal_on_elds_will_not_be_reviewed_by_us_supreme_court?ajs_uid=0795D5330267I3U
Commercial truck drivers are restricted to a limited number of working and driving hours under current regulations. The FMCSA's mandate requires that truck drivers use ELDs to track their driving and non-driving activities even though such devices can only track movement and location of a vehicle. OOIDA contends that requiring electronic monitoring devices on commercial vehicles does not advance safety since they are no more reliable than paper logbooks for recording compliance with hours-of-service regulations. In its petition to the Supreme Court, OOIDA asked the court to determine whether the ELD rule violated the Fourth Amendment by failing to establish a regulatory structure at the state and federal levels that serves as a substitute for a warrant. Joe Stanganelli
6/28/2017 10:01:23 PM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
@mhh: I have been told that, even in the states that "require" you to have the physical device, you can still get onto EZ-Pass toll roads just fine and siimply be mailed a bill for the toll amount -- with no penalty -- via a picture of your license plate.
Which makes me wonder why have the system at all.  dcawrey
6/28/2017 10:54:09 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
@Joe Stanganelli Yeah, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
I'm pretty sure a lot of people had to pay to get an EZpass device. Now it's just mailed out to someone? Hmm.  elizabethv
6/29/2017 10:18:26 AM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
@Joe - the toll roads here in Denver use the EZ Pass and automatically take the money out of your bank account. I'm guessing they want you to have the device to make their lives a little easier so they don't have to sort pass carriers and non-pass carriers by their license plate number, instead they're sorted by the pass, and then use that information to send the bill. Or take the money rather.
mhhf1ve
6/12/2017 1:32:36 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
> "our European counterparts, as hypersensitive as they may seem to be sometimes about privacy, have a better cultural memory about this kind of thing than most Americans do."
Agreed. I think Americans haven't learned enough history to remember how privacy can be abused by the government (or any authority). Or perhaps we've even learned the wrong lessons from our own history, seeing that some leaders in our country think that Japanese internment camps during WWII aren't a horrible embarrassment to America. Japanese Americans were found using Census Data taken by the government, and then that information was used to round up everyone of Japanese descent. There are no assurances that government data of a similar kind might be used again in that way, but it doesn't seem to bother *some* Americans in the majority because these abuses only affect minorities. Perhaps when the demographics of the US changes... but that's why there's some support for a Border Wall to try to prevent demographics from changing too much. Ariella
6/10/2017 9:47:46 PM User Rank Author
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
<there's a huge engineering difference between measuring a small amount of a pollutant that shouldn't be in the air at all -- versus measuring a small change of a component of air that almost defines what air is. <
@mhhf1ve but such things already exist. Hyperlocal air quality measurements is exactly the type of information that Breezometer delivers. And BTW while I had actual trees in mind, apparently there are artificial ones that are actually put in some cities. It's called CityTree, though one supposedly has the clearing air capacity of 275 real trees Developed by Germany's Green City Solutions (GCS), these sculptural structures contain specific plants to remove the dust, nitrogen dioxide and ozone gases from our low-lying smog. Often doubling as billboards or benches, these have been designed to fit where there simply isn't space to plant the real deal. Each tree offsetS 240 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year, GSC's Tina Hensel told The Memo. mhhf1ve
6/11/2017 3:15:33 AM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T has GE and FirstNet for smart cities
I'm not saying it's not possible-- but the kind of sensors that can detect specific "toxic gases" are not the same as those that can detect oxygen levels. It depends a lot on what is being measured.
mhhf1ve
6/9/2017 11:20:10 PM User Rank Platinum
Is there an AppStore for Smartcities?
> "Those applications and that device, in essence, become an iPhone for municipalities..."
I have to wonder who operates what apps can run on top of this platform? If the analogy is the iPhone, who owns the smartcity appstore? Is it GE? AT&T? The municipal government?  afwriter
6/14/2017 11:58:06 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: Is there an AppStore for Smartcities?
Perhaps a better question is who we would want to be in charge of it. Unfortunately, the idea of municipal government running things makes me cringe a little.
mhhf1ve
6/12/2017 1:38:10 PM User Rank Platinum
Smart cities need to be fair cities as well..
Ultimately, Smart cities need to not just collect a lot of data, but also use it wisely and fairly -- so that privacy and freedom aren't infringed upon. It's easy to promote the use of data for various conveniences or efficiency gains, but it's harder to put the toothpaste back in the tube if the data gets out and has unintended consequences.
It's difficult to anticipate the unintended consequences, but that means there should be some thought put in ahead of time for how to deal with breaches or abuses....  DHagar
6/13/2017 6:25:01 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: Smart cities need to be fair cities as well..
@mhhf1ve, I fully agree. Working with some Smart Cities and very familiar with the FirstNet capabilities, if there is not a clear design, strategy, and governance, it can derail and become a problem at any time. It is particularly critical to maintain the Trust Level when dealing with the public and have comprehensive design and data governance structure that preserves that trust.
 freehe
6/18/2017 2:32:40 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: Smart cities need to be fair cities as well..
@DHagar, good point. I agree. Companies will have to develop a strong implementation plan and develop a strong contigency/mitigation plan for hiccups during implementation. I think right now across the country Trust Levels are down. Standardization, policies and procedures will also need to be implemented.
DHagar
6/19/2017 4:50:52 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: Smart cities need to be fair cities as well..
@freehe, well stated! Yes, developing a "new framework" (ie standards, common terms) with a new transparency that benefits both public and private entities would go a long way to establishing trust in communities and confidence in the leadership.
Cities that lead the way - with new open systems and transparency will move forward into this space and become leading cities. afwriter
6/29/2017 5:45:15 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: Smart cities need to be fair cities as well..
There also needs to be accountability if cities or companies overstep their boundaries in terms of security and privacy. Though most of us would probably never know if that happened.
dcawrey
6/29/2017 5:51:41 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: Smart cities need to be fair cities as well..
@afwriter Most of us would not know if that were to happen.
And that is a scary thing. Just think about how companies try to keep security breaches security. Are governments going to be more transparent? Just some food for thought.  srufolo1
6/12/2017 5:39:55 PM User Rank Platinum
AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
With this partnership of AT&T and GE and FirstNet, anything is possible. The sky is the limit. It starts out with good intentions, such as lighting for cities and surveillance to keep citizens safe, but it can degrade into Big Brother Is Watching your every move, like in George Orwell's 1984.
DHagar
6/13/2017 6:27:06 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
@srufolo1, you are right - these are all the right partnerships to put together a complete platform and design and deliver new solutions. When you offer citizens new capabilities and services that better serve their interest you will have a good market.
I think AT&T is truly a strong leader in building these partnerships and the AT&T/FirstNet looks like a winner! srufolo1
6/13/2017 8:36:25 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
@DHagar I agree. AT&T never fails to amaze me with how it knows just which technologies to follow and develop.
afwriter
6/15/2017 12:00:41 AM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
I think what makes AT&T so exceptional is that they don't just follow the trends, but create them. They seem to be the driver of mobile technology in the U.S. right now.
freehe
6/18/2017 2:26:25 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
@afwriter. I agree. AT&T is a leader in the technology industry. I would like to see other companies take the position as leader to provide some competition to AT&T. Creating trends is how a company sets itself apart from its competitors.
DHagar
6/15/2017 5:17:16 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
@srufolo1, I think that is the beauty of AT&T's design and vision. They are developing a platform for their capabilities that provides multiple solutions to be utilized in solving their customers problems and delivering new value.
dcawrey
6/18/2017 1:41:23 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
I was reading recently about the competition in "worlds" at amusement parks like Disney has. The advent of smart technology could really help improve amusement park experiences.
I'm sure there's a lot of behind the scenes work going on to make this a reality. DHagar
6/19/2017 4:44:25 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
@dcawrey, great example! I believe amusement parks can be great use cases and innovators, providing new customer experiences that move them forward. They have already demonstrated environments where robotics fit. I can see further developments with self-driving cars, smarter cities, etc.
elizabethv
6/29/2017 10:16:38 AM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
@dcawrey - you could have an app that would automatically put in you in the line you want to be in in the line and then notify you when you need to start walking to that ride to make your "line time." It would be entirely possible, my phone tells me when I need to be leaving for work each night. :-/
freehe
6/18/2017 2:28:23 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
@srufolo1, I totally agree. I read the book "Dragnet Nation" by Julia Angwin. It takes all about the multiple ways that Big Brother watches citizens. It is very scary.
With the increase of cameras practically on every corner, residents need to be concerned about privacy. Everyone is watched all the time even when they are in their home. Companies state cameras are only used for a single purpose but any camera or device that captures images or presents as image can monitor and watch as well as capture images. This is moving us towards a censored country where everyone is watched and nothing can be done about it. srufolo1
6/18/2017 6:30:47 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
@freehe I'm particularly concerned about being watched in my own home. I remember in the movie "Snowden" when he put a piece of tape over something on his computer. It was a camera. I never noticed it on my laptop, but there is a camera there. I need to put something over that right away!
afwriter
6/28/2017 11:46:58 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
This is entirely possible, but I wonder how much of it actually happens and how much is just the movies trying to scare you. There is an excellent example of this in a movie called "Ratter" which is all about a stalker who watches a girl through her phone and laptop.
elizabethv
6/29/2017 10:14:54 AM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
@srufolo1 - I actually have a sticker over the camera on my laptop. More often than not I just enjoy my little monster truck sticker than anything. I certainly have it closed far more than it's open and it'd be far easier to monitor me via my cell phone than my laptop anyway. Though I always keep a little mistrust in the powers that be, so nothing would surprise me.
srufolo1
6/29/2017 8:59:11 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Scores Smart City Deals With GE, FirstNet
I never really thought about someone taping me or spying on me even after the Patriot Act was passed in 2001 after 9/11. What really woke me up was watching the documentary "Snowden." Then I realized that the government could, and does, spy on anyone for whatever reason, including me.
freehe
6/18/2017 2:28:54 PM User Rank Platinum
Smart City LED Lights
LED street lights may be cost effective but they are dangerous. Drivers cannot see the light until they get right to the traffic light. This can cause accidents especially during rush hour traffic when many drivers block the box, right lights and/or slam on brakes because they were unable to see the light from a distance. Non-led lights are much better because drivers can see the traffic lights from a distance and can stop in advance and slow down at a reasonable rate.
freehe
6/18/2017 2:30:10 PM User Rank Platinum
Smart Ciites Player
I agree with Zeto. No one company can do it all. However, many companies give the impression that they can. It will take several collaborations, forums, certifications, standardization, R&D, conferences, and partnerships to provide and meet customer demands regarding smart technology. No one company will be able to meets all these needs.
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