Air pollution monitoring is a crucial application of the IoT Geo Heatmap technology, especially in the context of smart cities. The Geo Heatmap widget can display real-time data from air quality sensors on a map, allowing city officials and residents to quickly pinpoint areas with poor air quality.  The CHARMS urban development project in Thailand’s city of Chiang Mai is utilizing the OCTOBUS Platform and its Geo Heatmap widget to enhance the indoor air quality of its historic wooden houses. To ensure the constant monitoring of the air quality, 15 AirWits PM sensors have been installed in these homes and registered in the OCTOBUS Platform. 

The data is transmitted to the OCTOBUS cloud via Sigfox every 30 minutes, and the Geo Heatmap is used to visualize it. If the air quality levels reach a critical point, the residents receive automatic alerts to take necessary measures, such as turning on air purifiers or using air filters to remove pollutants from the air, maintaining proper humidity levels to prevent the growth of mold and other harmful allergens, etc.

Water management is facing increasing challenges such as aging infrastructure, rising energy costs, and growing populations. To tackle these challenges, smart water management is being used to leverage self-optimizing equipment and data analytics that support proactive decision-making. The Geo Heatmap feature offers several benefits for water management, including early detection of water leaks,  real-time water quality monitoring, optimized water allocation, and flood management.

Using the Geo Heatmap feature, water managers can quickly detect leaks in the water distribution system, alerting them when water flow rates are abnormal or when the water level in reservoirs drops too quickly. This can prevent water loss and reduce repair costs. The feature can also monitor water quality in real-time by installing sensors at different points in the water distribution system to measure pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature. Managers can ensure that the water is safe for consumption and can quickly detect contamination issues.

Moreover, the Geo Heatmap feature can assist water managers to optimize water allocation by monitoring the water level in different reservoirs and water tanks, allowing them to allocate water more efficiently to areas with higher demand.  

Additionally, it can help predict and prevent flooding by monitoring water levels in rivers and other bodies of water, enabling authorities to issue early warnings to residents in affected areas. Cary, a town in North Carolina, U.S., located across three river basins and prone to heavy floods, has installed water-level sensors and gauges at town owned facilities, with the Walnut Creek stream basin being the primary focus. The data collected by these devices is visualized on a Geo Heatmap dashboard, providing minute-by-minute information for predicting areas that may experience flooding. Prior to incorporating IoT Technology, Cary relied on resident’s complaints to identify flooded regions and respond to them.  

The IoT Geo Heatmap technology holds great potential for improving traffic management in smart cities. By utilizing data from traffic sensors and GPS-enabled devices, city planners and traffic engineers can develop more efficient strategies that reduce traffic congestion, improve safety, and enhance mobility. Real-time monitoring of the traffic flow and congestion using IoT Geo Heatmap tool can quickly identify bottlenecks and high congestion areas. This information can be used to optimize traffic signal timing, adjust speed limits, or redirect traffic to less congested routes. These implementations will reduce travel times, lower emissions, and improve safety by reducing the number of accidents.

Barcelona is one of the top smart cities, boasting a powerful computing center that assimilates large amounts of data collected from smart traffic sensors, autonomous vehicles, and connected cars. The cutting-edge 5G infrastructure enables a wide range of IoT devices such as asphalt sensors and traffic light cameras to receive real-time information about activities on the streets and intersections and reflect it in Geo Heatmap tool. The city is making significant steps towards developing a highly efficient urban mobility system for the future.

Waste management is another area where the IoT Geo Heatmap feature can be particularly useful. By using connected devices, such as smart bins or sensors, waste management companies can  monitor waste levels in real-time and optimize collection routes, leading to cost saving and reduced environmental impact.

Amsterdam is a bright example of the effective use of IoT technology. In 2017, the city introduced a smart waste management system that not only equipped waste collection trucks with a weighing mechanism to monitor container weight but also predicted fill levels with 80-90% accuracy based on aggregated data. Additionally, the city installed 12’500 Enevo sensors in waste containers to track data on plastic waste. 

Furthermore, waste management companies can use the IoT Heatmap feature to identify areas where illegal dumping or littering is prevalent. By deploying sensors in these areas, companies can monitor the amount of waste being improperly disposed of and take measures to prevent it, such as increasing public awareness or increasing waste collection in those areas.

Summary

In conclusion, IoT technology and Geo Heatmap tool offers multiple benefits to many industries, as well as smart cities, particularly in the areas of water and waste management, air pollution monitoring, and traffic management. By leveraging real-time data from connected devices and sensors, city officials and residents can make proactive decisions to optimize city services and improve quality of life.

The OCTOBUS Geo Heatmap tool displays the data on a map, making it easy for users to identify trends and patterns. With the growing need for sustainable and efficient urban development, the OCTOBUS IoT Platform is prepared to play a crucial role in the future of smart cities.

To witness the speed with which Geo Heatmap can be created in OCTOBUS and its efficiency, please, refer to the video in the provided link -GeoHeatmap Video