Research Article: A Path Forward for Smart Cities and IoT Devices

With many of the world's cities moving towards the ideals of a "smart city," it is crucial for city stakeholders to consider all facets of developing policy regulations.

This paper was originally published in the IEEE Internet of Things Magazine, to view the full paper, click here.

The growth of cities means the movement of people to urban areas at rates never seen before. This urbanization calls for the need for more regulations and policies for governance, security, privacy and community autonomy. The issue, however, is not forgetting to account for any specific policy needs and ensuring that good opportunities are not prohibited by regulation. Researchers Mario Bergés and Constantine Samaras of Carnegie Mellon have produced a paper, titled “A Path Forward for Smart Cities and IoT Devices” that explores critical national and international IoT policy and regulatory efforts as well as take a deeper dive into specific topics of interest.

For context, IoT devices, or Internet of Things devices are a conglomeration of many sensors and actuators that act as intermediators for humans. Use of IoT devices are revolutionary in the fast change of communities and introduce new opportunities to its residents. However, with this power comes new threats regarding economic, social, security, and sustainability outcomes. Making progress on issues in this realm, according to Bergés and Samaras, is defining IoT devices as its own infrastructure, like that of wastewater, electricity and others.

If this structure is utilized, it would be backed by a complete paradigm shift in the way we design, test and deploy Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). That could include a IoT policy commission from governmental and nongovernmental structures but should also be able to use IoT technologies independently.