The Intersection of AI, Blockchain, and IoT: A Trifecta for Smart Cities

As we continue our series on the convergence of AI and blockchain technology, we turn our attention to the future—specifically, the future of city infrastructure and the integration of smart technologies like AI, blockchain, and IoT.

So far, our series has primarily focused on decentralized software and how AI protocols can enhance the entire DeFi landscape. Everything from improving the interoperability of blockchains to identifying modern risk vectors through anomaly detection and even how to future-proof these systems against the inevitability of quantum computing.

This entry will be unique as it tackles the tangible, real-life infrastructure we interact with in our daily lives. We will begin by examining a brief history of IoT, defining what it is and specifically how it currently works. We will then explore how integrating IoT and blockchain technology can lay the groundwork for the future of smart cities and what a fully integrated smart city may look like. We will look at some current examples and address the most important hurdles smart cities must overcome before they can be fully realized.

Understanding IoT Fundamentals

IoT refers to physical objects that contain some form of sensor or software with network connectivity, which can then send and share data across a network. Devices can be as basic as thermostats and home refrigerators to more advanced systems like industrial machines, energy grids, or transportation infrastructure. 

Each device gathers information, which can be anything from the temperature inside of a house or fridge to an individual’s resting heart rate or the proximity of an autonomous driving vehicle's location to other objects.  The information is then sent over a network (wireless, cellular, Bluetooth) to a central platform like a cloud server or local network. The platform then analyzes the raw data and relays commands back through the central platform to the devices. In the example of the thermostat, the thermostat would detect the room's temperature, relay it through the central platform, and then issue a command back to raise, lower, or hold that temperature. 

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Why is IoT Important?

In our second entry in the series on the limitations of AI, we examined the issue of data silos and the importance of quality raw data when it comes to training AI models. We identified that data has become the most valuable asset on earth, more valuable than oil, gas, gold, and even Bitcoin. IoT is the mass production of trillions of untampered raw data points. This is what makes IoT so valuable in its own right. When combined with the power of blockchain technology to store immutable records and AI protocols that can easily analyze mass volumes of data and engage in autonomous action through agents, IoT becomes even more invaluable as a resource.

Where did IoT Come From?

Similar to our exploration into the early history of AI and blockchain technology, IoT can be traced back to the 1960s when NASA’s Apollo Moon Landing Guidance System utilized an embedded tracking system. This is broadly considered to be the first documented case where a device could send and share data over a network. From there, machine-to-machine (M2M) learning began to evolve in the 1970s before falling into a similar developmental winter to the one we saw in the 1970s and 1980s with AI development. 

The reignition of interest in IoT coincided with the development and popularization of the Internet in the 1990s and early 2000s. The explosion in wireless technologies and cellular services provided the foundation for IoT to thrive. Over the next twenty years, more and more devices came online and connected to networks to share data with. 

Covid would then provide another catalyst for accelerating the growth of IoT in 2020. As the world shut down, critical infrastructure looked for innovative ways to maintain operations. Healthcare, agriculture, and supply chains were among the first few industries that began integrating IoT en masse. At the same time, retail consumers looked for innovative ways to track and share every aspect of their entirely digitized lives during lockdowns. This set the stage for the next evolution of IoT and its convergence with AI and blockchain technology in smart cities.

Smart Cities

Despite most of pop culture's predictions of what a futuristic smart city might look like, some of the depictions are not too far off from what is possible today with the integration of IoT, AI, and blockchain technology. Smart cities are simply cities that integrate novel solutions for more efficient and well-governed city infrastructure. 

This can come from optimizing IoT within individual homes and businesses through predictive maintenance and grid optimization or through broader policy integration like enhancing public transportation, improving public services, and promoting sustainable development. IoT devices that are interconnected and integrated into the most efficient and sustainable practices. Imagine a thermostat that helped track weather patterns and could preemptively notify emergency response vehicles through decentralized cellular and satellite internet connections of the worst impacted areas or a dynamic transportation routing model that updates all self-driving vehicles and optimizes each route home in real-time. The integration and synergies from the second-order effects of smart cities are endless.

Smart Waste Management 

Waste management is not one of the most attractive issues to deal with, but it is undoubtedly one of the most important issues that almost every local government struggles with. Landfills are often buried or hidden away from the public eye and continually excrete leachate and harmful methane gases. Coordination for separating and collecting varying trash materials can often be expensive and inefficient. Smart cities look to solve these issues through a number of novel solutions.

‍Barcelona City Council is at the forefront of smart waste management in collaboration with the Envac group. Their smart waste management system was initially designed as a pilot program for the 1992 Olympics. It has since evolved into a comprehensive zero-waste model that has been adopted around the globe. The design is based on a fully integrated underground waste management tube system. Citizens categorize the waste into the correct type and dispose of it at regularly intervening waste drop-off sites around the city. Those waste inlets are automatically sorted and sent through underground pipes out of the city for collection. The collection sites are maintained on demand rather than a regularly scheduled event. The result of the system is a reduction in waste from citizens as they become more conscious of their impact, an elimination of waste management trucks across the city of up to 90%, and a reduction of the spread of toxins and greenhouse gases by 90%, all while also creating a more efficient fleet of vehicles that cost less to maintain. 

A Decentralized Wireless Network

Helium is one of the best use current use cases for the integration of IoT and blockchain technology. The project is a decentralized wireless blockchain-based network that can provide low-powered connectivity to IoT devices over long ranges. It has proven to be particularly effective across Africa and in regions where traditional infrastructure has been unable to reach or is cost-prohibitive to expand into.

Helium connects a series of hotspots (nodes), essentially just a low-powered version of a router, to IoT devices within their immediate region. The hotspots provide low-powered wireless connectivity. Anyone can purchase and set up a hotspot; the more hotspots in the area, the stronger the coverage. The Helium blockchain uses a Proof of Coverage (PoC) consensus mechanism where hotspots challenge each other to determine their locations and whether or not they are providing wireless coverage to that area. Hotspots are rewarded with the Helium native token $HNT for providing coverage and challenging other hotspots. As an additional incentive, the hotspots are rewarded with additional $HNT for relaying the data from IoT devices, further incentivizing the expansion of the network and the connectivity of IoT devices.

Blockchain protocols like Helium will undoubtedly play an integral part in the shift to smart cities. Long-range, low-powered network access that even the simplest of devices can attach to in any area will be a defining feature of this shift while also helping establish the foundation for the more complex IoT applications. Adding AI protocols can improve the efficiency of these models, help secure data privacy, and optimize network hotspots.

Smart City Challenges

The first and most obvious hurdle that must be overcome with smart cities and the integration of IoT with blockchain technology and AI is that these cities typically do not start from zero. There are rare occasions like the City of Telosa Megaproject that have this starting advantage. For the most part, however, developing smart cities will require an entire retrofit and overhaul of the status quo in how modern cities operate. Cities that have existed for hundreds and even thousands of years are often slow to adopt infrastructure changes. This technological shift will be slow, expensive, and full of regulatory challenges from concerned citizens.

Individual privacy is another major concern for a lot of people. The IoT data that is produced and shared across networks could easily be exploited. Without clear guidelines on what information is being collected, shared, and trained or what policies are in place to protect the individual identity of the owner of the IoT device, many citizens may have issues with this kind of government access to their digital lives. Fortunately, the rapidly developing area of zero-knowledge and quantum-resistant protocols may provide reassurance if governments adopt them.

many people. The IoT data produced and shared across networks could easily be exploited. Without clear guidelines on what information is being collected, shared, and trained or policies to protect the individual identity of the IoT device ownerA third challenge that smart cities must overcome is the interoperability of data across blockchains used to store IoT data sets. If blockchains only contain a fraction of the information, then it impacts AI’s ability to analyze and execute agentic commands comprehensively. Fortunately, again, there are novel interoperable blockchain protocols with enhanced AI anomaly detection features designed specifically to address these concerns.

The Future of Smart Cities

Despite the challenges, the future of smart cities and the convergence of IoT, AI, and blockchain technology remains bright. Projects like the City of Telosa represent the aspirational long-term goals of what smart cities might bring. At the same time, current practical examples like the City of Barcelona show what is possible today.

Our series has focused on the convergence of AI and blockchain technology. Yet, when it comes to smart cities, IoT represents an equally compelling revolutionary technology. Combined, the convergence of the three technologies may just provide the key to the future of how we live our everyday lives.