Logistics Viewpoints

Vehicle electrification provides significant cost benefits for fleets - unless they get hit with demand tariffs from their utility. In this episode, ARC Transportation Analyst Eduard Fidler speaks with Greg Hintler of Smart Charging software provider The Mobility House to discuss how fleets can capture the benefits of electrification by using charge management solutions, and how EVs could become an asset to the grid through Vehicle-Grid-Integration (VGI)

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Jim Frazer, Smart Cities VP at ARC Advisory Group, and Chair of the IEEE Smart Cities Planning and Technology Guide draft standard discusses the details of P2784, including;

1. An examination of the Five Groups of Human Factors
2. A discussion of how to define and include a broad range of stakeholder communities
3. How to develop user needs from each of the stakeholder communities
4. How to refine those needs into a set of consensus based user needs
5. How to create measurable functional requirements from those needs
6. How to create and overlay test plans so all needs are satisfied - and so that no extraneous requirements get introduced.
7. Lastly how to join and participate int he IEEE P2784 Smart City planning initiative

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Coronavirus and The Importance of Smart City Platforms

Hyperlocal Coronavirus Discussions

In my local community in south Palm Beach County, Florida  the importance of community cohesion and a coordinated response to the coronavirus pandemic has been demonstrated through citizen dialogues on NextDoor, a community building smart city platform. Of course, many other community platforms are also just as important – from Twitter to Facebook and even Meetup.

In the NextDoor example, here in South Florida, over the past weekend, news was shared by citizens about a local confirmed case, quickly community information began to be shared about national, state, city and many other very local “hyperlocal” resources. This includes neighbors helping neighbors through doorstep delivery of food, medical and other supplies.

National and Local Coronavirus Resources

Additionally, like many other social media platforms, NextDoor has formally been in contact with the CDC and WHO in order to act as a conduit to local residents. Perhaps more importantly Nextdoor has enabled local public agencies to bring relevant Coronavirus information to their areas, down to very small areas of even a few hundred residents – or smaller.

As NextDoor is active in 11+ countries, and the Coronavirus is having a dramatic impact worldwide, you might consider participation in the hyperlocal discussions being hosted by this unique platform

So what is NextDoor?

Founded in 2011, Nextdoor is an online platform positioned as the “world’s largest social network for the neighborhood”.  Specifically, its mission is to facilitate conversations that empower neighbors to create stronger and safer communities.  Nextdoor is pursuing this objective by defining the physical boundaries of individual neighborhoods, and building an associated, private online community site for each. Users are required to verify that they have a local address before they are allowed to join a neighborhood’s Nextdoor site.  Once an online neighborhood has a critical mass of members, those members can begin creating discussion forums on a range of topics.  For example, users commonly leverage the platform to find babysitters, locate lost pets, sell personal items and review local businesses

Nextdoor is based in San Francisco, California, the company was founded in 2008 and launched in the United States in October 2011. Nextdoor is a privately-held company based in San Francisco with backing from prominent investors including Benchmark, Shasta Ventures, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Riverwood Capital, Bond, Axel Springer, Comcast Ventures and others.

Other Useful Coronavirus Links:
CDC Social Distancing Guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html

CDC Updates: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html

World Health Organization https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Next Door www.nextdoor.com

Johns Hopkins Corona Virus Statistics Map: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

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Innovative cities are reimagining how we move, integrating different transportation modes into a single point of booking and payment with Mobility as a Service (MaaS).  In this episode, ARC transportation analyst Eddie Fidler speaks with Justas Petronis, Marketing Lead at Trafi.

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In this podcast, we interview Mr. Joel Rakow of Fortium Partners, which consists of a network of world-class technology executives that are hired by Fortium clients in an advisory role.  Joel is a partner in the Los Angeles practice of Fortium Partners. He brings more than 25 years of technology leadership experience in the area of e-crime risk management, which encompasses all elements of both physical security and cybersecurity. Rakow is globally recognized in the field of technology security, having served as an advisor to the Secret Service and Los Angeles Electronic Crimes Task Force and a representative member of the FBI Infragard, Adobe Software’s Advisory Council, and the Receivers Team for the State Courts of California. 

In this episode, we talk about the role of cybersecurity in building automation, the lack of relevant experience in cybersecurity that many workers have at the OT level in today's built environment, and what we must do to address these concerns.  Many of the systems in today's intelligent buildings have the potential to impact human health and safety, particularly in this very vulnerable moment in human history.  The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a surge in cyber-crime.  It's time to raise the level of awareness of cybersecurity among OT level workers in today's built environment and get serious about securing our buildings.  

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This IEEE Smart Cities Planning and Technology standard is intended to educate end-users as well as their engineering consultants and other partners on planning, implementation and operational best practices required to build sustainable, economically sensible Smart City solutions. 

Public works personnel, Department of Transportation staff, consulting engineers, utility staff, resilience and sustainability experts, planners, community leaders and the general public are strongly encouraged to attend.

What's in the IEEE P2784 Standard?

1. What Human Factors Impact a Smart City
2. What are the Nine Applications That Must Be Considered
3. What Seven Technologies Drive Those Applications
4. How to Identify Stakeholder Communities
5. What Stakeholder Communities Must Be Included
6. How to Document Needs of the Communities
7. How to Build a List of Consensus-Based Needs 
8. How to Refine Consensus-Based Needs into Measurable Functional Requirements
9. How to Develop a Request for Information (RFI) and Request for Proposal (RFP)
10. How to Develop and Implement Test Plans to Keep You on Track
11. How to Manage Smart City Projects Over Their Entire Life-Cycle

Details on the IEEE P2784 Guide for the Technology and Process Framework for Planning a Smart City

Sponsor: IEEE Communications Society/Standards Development Board -Tarek El-Bawab

Chair Jim Frazer, [email protected]  

Staff Liason - Jennifer Santulli, IEEE

Scope: This guide provides a framework that outlines technologies and the processes for planning the evolution of a smart city. Smart Cities and related solutions require technology standards and a cohesive process planning framework for the use of the internet of things to ensure interoperable, agile, and scalable solutions that are able to be implemented and maintained in a sustainable manner. This framework provides a methodology for municipalities and technology integrators to use as a tool to plan for innovative and technology solutions for smart cities.

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Summary of the episode:

Fever screening thermographic cameras are classified as medical devices because it is intended to be used to diagnose and monitor vital conditions of human beings.  

Frequently Asked Questions about Fever Screening Camera Systems

1.       What is the difference between a thermal camera classified as a medical device and other thermal cameras?
 
 The thermal module in a camera is more of a sensor than a camera because it displays images based on heat that it senses.  Thermal cameras in ITS deployments generally have a temperature accuracy of +/- 8°C, industrial +/- 4°C, fire detection +/- 2°C and medical +/- 0.5°C.  Since medical instruments are required to be more precise, the on-board sensor is high grade and more expensive.
 
 

2.       What fever screening thermographic camera form factors are available?
 
 Handheld human fever screening thermographic cameras are for use at 3 - 6 foot distances and can connect to a PC or a smartphone. The handheld also features a built-in monitor and speaker for audio alarm.  The handheld can also be mounted on a tripod for portability.
 
 The bullet style (fixed) human fever screening thermographic camera is for use at 8 - 30 foot distances, is typically mounted on a wall and is best deployed where people are herded such as building entrances and port disembarkation points.
 
 

3.       What is the operating environment?
 
 These instruments work best in indoor (air conditioned) environments with limited exposure to background objects with temperatures higher than the human body.  Operating outdoors and in uncontrolled environments my effect accuracy.
 
 

4.       How is the user notified when temperature exceeds a set value?
 
 The suggested threshold is 37.5°C (99.5°F) but this can be adjusted to meet other requirements.
 
 When using the handheld, the “Max Temp, Value” turns red on the on-screen display and flashes red.  An audio alarm will also sound.
 
 When using the bullet style (fixed), the camera is connected to provided software that alarms to the software in the same way as the handheld.  The software (if connected to network) can alarm to an SMS, email or trigger a light, siren or other audible notification.
 
 

5.       Do these instruments detect Coronavirus?
 
 No.  Coronavirus is a medical condition detected by specific medical tests.  GovComm human fever screening thermographic cameras detect high fever which is a symptom of Coronavirus as well as other ailments.  This product is used for preliminary screening of people with fever.  After an alarm is triggered, a specialized medical thermometer should be used to confirm.
 
 

6.       Where should these instruments be used?
 
 GovComm human fever screening thermographic cameras can be a front-line defense for deployments in airports, seaports, hospitals, clinics, government and commercial facilities.
 
 

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While taking the “road less traveled” may be rewarding in other aspects of business and life, doing so in the domain of your Smart City project will expose you to a plethora of negative unintended consequences. A far better suggestion is to take the standards and best practices route - a route traveled by many, many others.

While there are many benefits to the use of standards, some of most important include;

1. Future proofing - so you can avoid technological and business process obsolescence.

2. Product Commodification - which drives down costs and increases availability

3. Development of New Features are hastened - as manufacturers attempt to differentiate their offering beyond that of the standard, and

4. Virtually free access to the accumulated intelligence of an ecosystem of domain experts

Using standards and best practices allows the designer, installer, end user and maintenance organizations to adopt proven, tried and true methods for each step of a project – over the entire lifecycle – from project conception to project retirement and disposal. 

Warning: Not all Standards are Created Equal

As pictured above, the standards continuum ranges from a single or two-party proprietary specification to a full international standard, in a time span that is measured in months to years. Further categorization can be applied regarding the de facto or de jure legal status. Specifications and requirements are defined by single or multiple persons, alliances or organizations. Often proprietary in nature, they are quickly developed to support interconnection and integration of various devices and systems, usually over a period of months.

Alliances, trade groups, and consortiums are groups that embrace a particular technology, and form a formal "interest group" to promote that view. The difference between an alliance and a formal standards group is in both the rules and the actual deliverable. Since any number and balance of interested parties can form an alliance, the rules under which they operate are very broad.

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The 2005 World Summit on Social Development identified sustainable development goals, such as economic development, social development and environmental protection. This view has been expressed as an illustration using three overlapping ellipses indicating that the three pillars of sustainability are not mutually exclusive and can be mutually reinforcing. In fact, the three pillars are interdependent, and in the long run none can exist without the others. The three pillars have served as a common ground for numerous sustainability standards and certification systems in recent years.

Venn diagram of sustainable development (image above)

As you can see from the image above, sustainability includes:

1. The Preservation of Environmental Resources

2. The Enhancement of Societal Goals – also known as ‘quality of life” or "safety" and,

3. Economic Viability – since none of these goals can be accomplished without a sound, robust economic plan.

Notice too that these are akin to a vision statement, without much specificity. Thus it is incumbent upon you as the project creator to document multiple, measurable parameters for each of the pillars above. Later these will be used to rank, and ultimately approve or reject any proposed requirements.

In practice, as approaches to achieving any goal is envisioned and discussed, practical processes must be implemented. This includes a comprehensive investigation of each stakeholder community. By an examination of the user needs of individual members of each stakeholder community, common well-supported user needs can and should be developed. As this process progresses, it is also critically important to remember that these needs should be solicited and documented over the entire life cycle of the proposed project – from envisioning, design, testing and implementation to post-install operations, maintenance and eventual retirement. This process is effectively managed through use of the Systems Engineering Process as described in this article from earlier this year: The Top 12 Reasons to use the Systems Engineering Process for Your Smart City Project

Read more at https://www.arcweb.com/blog/three-pillars-sustainability-your-smart-city-project

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Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is reimagining how we move, with sustainability, choice, guaranteed service, and fun as founding virtues. In this episode, ARC transportation analyst Eddie Fidler sits down with Sampo Hietanen, CEO of MaaS Global and founder of the MaaS movement.

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