Great Pyramids Builders Go Smart
- By Lachlan Colquhoun
- July 02, 2023
Egypt, home to some of history's earliest and most sophisticated cities, is building cities again. This time around, it is going smart.
Egypt is already building a new capital city, home to 14 government ministries that moved to the New Administrative Capital in a USD100 million operation in May 2023. It also rolled out an ambitious plan to create up to 37 smart cities to transform Egypt into what the Government hopes is a "digital society" and imagines up to 30 million people living there.
Much of Egypt's future revolves around the smart city infrastructure strategy articulated in the Egypt Vision 2030 plan.
The new 700-square-kilometer capital is only 35 kilometers from Cairo. In the next decade, it will be home to a population of five million, although it is estimated that the figure could rise to seven million.
Residents will use smart cards and apps to open doors, make payments, and browse the web via public Wi-Fi broadcast from street lamps. A network of at least 6000 cameras will monitor activity on each street, tracking pedestrians and vehicles to regulate traffic and report suspicious activity. Through their mobile app, citizens can manage all their life affairs from their mobile phones.
Global building blocks
The plan is attracting the participation of some of the most prominent players in the technology industry.
Siemens, for example, opened a smart city center in Egypt in June, designed to showcase innovations in smart city technologies.
The center offers an "immersive experience that combines real and digital worlds," using mixed reality tools to demonstrate smart city solutions spanning energy management, intelligent power distribution and data-driven management for utilities.
"Deploying AI in areas like traffic management can significantly reduce accidents, sometimes by as much as 70%."
Siemens has also signed a deal to build Egypt's first residential complex operating on artificial intelligence, IoT and the MetaVerse.
Based in the New Administrative Capital, the compound will entirely run on an AI-based building management system (BMS), which operates on an intelligent network for monitoring and controlling a building's technicalities and implementing a SCADA infrastructure system.
Artificial intelligence will analyze the data and perform all operation and maintenance services remotely through the metaverse.
Nokia is also involved in the new capital project and will provide "intelligence everywhere" to help the city deliver IoT use cases to residential and enterprise users. The new capital will have up to 2.5 million IoT devices, representing Africa's largest certified tiered data center.
Schneider Electric is also present, with the new capital using the company's EcoStruxure platform, which connects all systems for a detailed overview of the city to drive system optimization.
The rewards could be significant. Water consumption tracking, for example, can reduce usage by 15% and leakage by 25%, while new optimization technology can reduce overall consumption by as much as 50%.
On the outskirts of the new capital is another planned smart city called Noor City, a project of Egypt's Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG).
Spanning over 21 square kilometers, Noor is the fruition of work by several international design firms, including SWA, SASKI, Perkins Eastman and BCG.
From digitized workspaces to smart house implementation, there is hardly a corner within Noor City that has not been founded on the latest 21st-century technologies, leveraging AI, delivery drones and augmented reality.
Reaching AI apex
According to Nvidia's Charbel Aoun, the smart city push has coincided with a tipping point in AI adoption, and the technology is set to power the next 60 years of innovation.
"Cities have begun embracing this technological shift, recognizing the potential of AI to address problems and create value for their citizens," said Aoun, Nvidia's smart city and space director, in a recent Q&A.
"The focus has shifted from understanding AI as a concept to exploring its practical applications and impact," he said.
"Deploying AI in areas like traffic management can significantly reduce accidents, sometimes by as much as 70% depending on traffic flow and location, while factories can leverage AI to optimize machine performance, enhance safety, and predict maintenance requirements. Furthermore, AI-assisted autonomous vehicles can enhance safety by proactively responding to potential risks."
Potential AI applications include analyzing how people use roads and spaces, combining visual sensors with air quality monitoring, and integrating data with healthcare and emergency systems.
This enables informed decision-making, such as dynamically changing traffic light patterns based on air quality and traffic conditions.
Twin approaches
There are, however, two types of AI approaches to smart cities, according to Aoun.
"The first type understands AI but lacks the resources and expertise to implement it. They seek ready-made, off-the-shelf solutions, and that's where the ecosystem we've created becomes beneficial," he said.
"The second type of city requires both a better understanding of AI and the necessary resources to implement it. These cities take a more modest and cautious approach, exploring AI solutions at a slower pace."
Overall, Aoun said a "significant portion" of cities fall into the category of needing further education and lacking resources to embrace AI fully.
That is Egypt's challenge, and the nation will need the collaboration of its international technology partners to realize its ambitious goals.
The most ancient of cultures has taken the first steps. The world marvels at ancient Egypt and may soon be marveling at the nation's 21st-century achievements as it builds a new generation of cities to rival those of the past.
Lachlan Colquhoun is the Australia and New Zealand correspondent for CDOTrends and the NextGenConnectivity editor. He remains fascinated with how businesses reinvent themselves through digital technology to solve existing issues and change their entire business models. You can reach him at [email protected].
Image credit: iStockphoto/Xurzon