The advancement in leveraging machines and programming is not there to replace humans with machines, it exists to create the opportunity for humans to take up higher quality tasks and be more productive.
In this era where technology has scaled immensely to present solutions to our problems, we often come across talks like "androids replacing machines". Although that would make up a good sci-fi movie, in reality, it solves problems that humanity has ever faced: productivity, feasibility, quality and consistency.
Here is why automation is vital to maximizing human-life quality:
#1 Take up higher quality tasks
Municipal corporations are responsible for keeping roads safe by keeping them well-lit and well-managed. Municipal corporations require a huge investment in maintenance and often becomes challenging for them to ensure zero failure rates on the ground force when it comes to critical operations like street-lighting and power distribution. The technology eliminates manual human intervention and consequent human error. It allows us to work smartly, saving not only time but energy as well.
#2 Precision where it demands
For time-critical operations, it is vital to maintain precision in performance. The power of automation gives us the liberty to not worry about recurring operations and delivers reliability. Be it a pre-defined schedule, geographic conditions based on ambient luminescence, everything is possible with the right tools. Thus, keeping us safe and our roads well-lit. It enables our attention to more prominent things like energy savings and cost savings.
#3 Connected, always
Instead of periodic physical visits, technology enables centralized control, instant notifications and data all in one place, the cloud. It makes it possible for us to accurately determine the faults and allows us to resolve the issues in the most effective way instead of a manual process of inspection which is somewhat time-consuming and slightly less cost-effective.
#4 Over-The-Air
OTA updates are one of the most important KPIs of successful businesses. Another benefit of having devices connected through the cloud is to modify, whenever and wherever, without having to leave your seat. Over-the-air programming refers to various methods of distributing new software, configuration settings, and even updating encryption keys to devices like mobile phones, set-top boxes, etc.
#5 Raising the bar for a smarter-city
Using reports generated on our desk and remote-detection of faults, we can take care of the next level of challenges in power distribution, i.e. power leakages and theft, which contributes to 30% of total energy consumption in street-lighting. This challenge daunts our electricity board corporations the most, leading to inefficiencies like large reactive-power losses. These corporations have to work twice as hard to prevent shutdowns by installing power-factor correcting devices and can not seem to estimate these leakages.
#6 AI and Intelligent Traffic Management, future possibilities
Elevating the game of automation with a kick of AI can bring exceptional results and optimizations. Imagine what we could achieve with a few sensors on a few poles of streetlight! Dynamic traffic management, emergency vehicle detection, collision detection, traffic offence detection.
