María Cascajo Sastre

In previous articles we have already discussed how important scalability is in Blockchain technology and how this ecosystem is starting to create solutions to achieve faster and more computationally and energy efficient public networks. (If you have come this far without reading the previous article, I suggest you take five minutes and read it.:) ) Of all the solutions analysed, one of the most promising is what are known as "rollups". This new paradigm is expected to be the cornerstone of scalability in Ethereum and is classified as a layer 2 solution. However, before we get down to the nitty-gritty of what this idea is all about, let's take a look at the mathematical trickery behind the blockchain technology, also known as cryptography. Let's start with the basics: the hash The most basic concept we will start with is the so-called hash or summary function. This mathematical algorithm allows us to transform any data (words, phrases, documents, etc.) into a new series of characters with a fixed length. For example, if we hash "Hello world!" we would obtain the following: “239bdfaad79afdf9220349ddccd67b1e801aa275d757ac90c3977ac2f0a1f9e4”. One of the characteristics of hashes is that if we modify any character of the content we transform, the hash changes completely. For example, if we remove an exclamation mark from the previous sentence and hash "Hello world" the result would be: "48666287270d81108ea41339aa48316f92c52995690b6da6b4f86242b408f779". Therefore, one of the many use cases of this type of cryptographic functions is to be able to guarantee the integrity of documents. Finally, it should be noted that the hash, unlike the encryption, once it has been generated, it is not possible to go backwards. In other words, if we have a hash, we cannot decrypt what was there prior to the execution of the algorithm. Let's complicate the theory and add a bit of botany: Merkle Trees On the other hand, another concept to review is what is known as Merkle trees. This is a data structure in the form of a binary tree, binary because each node has only two children. If we look at the div below, the tree is built from the bottom up, so that at level 0 we would have the raw data, at level 1 the hashed data, at level two we would hash the two child nodes and so on until we get to the last level or the root node of the tree. Graphic illustration of a Merkle tree, David Göthberg This type of data structure provides a secure and efficient method of verifying information, since, if we were to change a piece of data in one of the leaves at level 0, when performing the hashes towards the higher levels, the result would change drastically at the root node. The biggest use case for Merkle trees today is the secure storage of transactions in a blockchain network. Now, you may ask, why so much of a cryptographic concept if it is already applied in this technology? The answer is simple, rollups are also based on the concept of Merkle trees to be able to group transactions. We already have all the components ready... what do the rollups consist of? A rollup is a set of protocols that combines Merkle trees, plus cryptography which we will not go into in depth in this article, and a smart contract deployed on a blockchain network. This smart contract maintains the root of the rollup state, or, in other words, it stores the contents of the root node of the Merkle tree that contains the information that has been compressed. This compressed information is a set of transactions, so, instead of performing all transactions on the network, these can be done outside and only a summary of all transactions would be uploaded to perform only one transaction instead. Illustration of how rollups work, Vitalik Buterin. This mechanism is not restricted, but anyone can publish a batch of transactions, as long as they take into account the root of the previous state in the calculation (very similar to the way blocks are chained in blockchain). At the time of recording the result of a new batch of transactions, the smart contract checks that the state root of the previous batch of transactions matches the root of its current state, because it has not yet been updated. If it matches, it would be updated by changing the state to the new root as shown in the following image: Illustration of how rollups work, Vitalik Buterin. What would happen, however, if someone batches transactions that have not actually occurred? In the end we are relying on the state of the previous root being the same, but at no point do we check that the transactions being batched are valid. There are two types of rollups for this necessary validation: Optimistic Rollup: Transactions that are batched are assumed to be valid by default. The smart contract keeps a record of the entire history of the roots and hash of each batch. If someone discovers that the batch had an erroneous state root, a proof of fraud is published on the chain. The contract then verifies this proof by reconstructing the tree and in case of fraud, the batch and subsequent batches are reverted. If there is no evidence of fraud, this method is very efficient. However, if there is a lot of evidence, all the information has to be processed to analyse its validity and, therefore, efficiency is lost. ZK-Rollup: a proof of validity is stored in the contract following the Zero Knowledge Proof protocol using ZKSnarks proofs, based on it. This would prove that the result of the root of the new state is correct without having to process all transactions in the batch. To this end, the contract would perform a validity check of the root before storing it. It is also worth noting that rollups are sometimes closely related to the use of sidechains or alternative chains. In this way, transactions would be carried out on an alternative chain and from time-to-time rollups of sets of transactions that have taken place would be generated with the aim of being dumped on another network. In other words, if we wanted to make transactions on Ethereum, but this network did not give us the necessary performance, they could be made on an alternative network and every so often rollups could be dumped onto the main network. Rollup solutions in the market There are currently companies that are already starting to use this mechanism to benefit from this improved scalability in public blockchain networks. Among them is Polygon with Hermez, which has created an open-source zk-rollups solution, with the aim of being able to transfer tokens securely and at a lower cost. There is also zkSync, a scaling and privacy engine for Ethereum. This implementation allows low-cost transfers of ETH and ERC20 tokens on the Ethereum network or even atomic swaps. And finally, Consensys' zk-rollups solution, which will be validated through a consensus test together with one of the world' payment giants, Mastercard. References: https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/01/05/rollup.html

The United Nations uses World Environment Day every year to create awareness regarding pressing environmental issues. This year the topic is "Time for Nature". We will see how even in this non technological field, the IoT can be useful for environmental uses. Here are five ways technology is being used to make the world a better place: The Iberian Lynx, a Preservation Success Story. Spain has one of the clearest examples of how to save a species on the verge of extinction through technology. At the turn of the century there were under 100 Iberian lynxes left and considered a critically endangered species. Thanks to a cutting edge captive breeding centre called La Olivilla in Southern Spain, the number of these felines now surpasses 300, many of which have been reintroduced in safe habitats, protected for the causes that led them to be an endangered species, as a second stage of this repopulation effort. How is the IoT helping this wildlife programme? Lynxes are tracked with location collars that georeferences them the same way other IoT asset management systems would. Scientists can study behavioural uses of space and territories by these lynx in the wild. Connected drones, less invasive than humans, also help monitor them and see how well they are doing from a distance. Researchers are considering the option, in the near future, of changing the uncomfortable (and battery-dependant) collars for weightless subcutaneous sensors that would remain under the lynx’s skin it whole lifetime as a sort of ID. Environmental Sensors. It is very clear that sensors can get the job done where people cannot. Deploying sensors to measure elements like air or water quality, radiation, or sensors to detect hazardous chemicals can help track the evolution of the environment. Inaccessible, polluted or uninhabitable spaces can be accessed without risking the health of technicians. Parents of infants with breathing problems and asthma affected citizens could also receive precise information in real time. Of course workers that need to operate in hazardous conditions (like mines or workplaces exposed to radiation), can benefit from this real time environmental data more than anyone. Smart Farming. Efficient farming has a huge positive impact on the environment. We already explained here how technology was being used to control crop or greenhouse irrigation through sensors. Automatic irrigation in Southern California is being deployed as a way to fight the periodic droughts providing water according to the conditions of soil. Connected drones are also being deployed in farming. Their spectral on-board sensors help farmers optimise the use of fertilizers and plant protection products besides providing airborne soil condition data to complement soil sensor information. Energy Efficiency. A Boston Consulting Group report determined that ICT-enables climate mitigation strategies could reduce global climate change 16.5% by 2020 compared to current efforts. No other climate mitigation strategy is expected to be as effective. These improvements include Smart Home and Smart Building energy management, efficient use of home appliances, smart grid devices, asset tracking applied to logistics and smart industrial motors that adapt speed variably to illustrate with only some examples. Energy Requirements. The energy toll of adding connected device by the million every year is enormous and it cannot be overseen. It is in the interest of everyone moving forward to create an IoT that minimizes energy requirements and environmental impact. LPWA, has this idea of low-power embedded in its name in fact. In the near future, ubiquitous low-power sensors will be able to work under conditions that surpass current IoT capabilities. Besides working underground or being able to be deployed at a long distance from the nearest antenna, battery life will be extended to last for years, thus reducing the energy impact.

Mobility is one of the key factors to consider in order to make cities more efficient, a necessity taking into account the millions of citizens travel to work or study centers in their vehicles. Taking into account that in our country there are about 492 vehicles per 1000 inhabitants, an effective management becomes essential to guarantee security. That improvement in management has arrived with Internet of Things, it will make daily transportation more efficient and secure. IoT is already working to ensure road safety in areas such as vehicle maintenance, improved circulation, navigation, and monitoring environmental conditions or the state of the roads. IoT obtains the majority of its data with the help of connected cars. These incorporate a large number of sensors that establish communication with the cloud, other vehicles and devices. Thanks to this it provides data and information of great utility for the improvement of road safety. The connected cars allow the constant monitoring of basic aspects of the vehicle to ensure its maintenance. Drivers can, for example, have real time information about the pressure and temperature of tires or other parameters such as fluid levels, deterioration or the state of the battery. All this helps to avoid breakdowns and, therefore, the prevention of accidents. The connected cars allow the constant monitoring of basic aspects of the vehicle to ensure its maintenance Connectivity also allows monitoring the flow velocity in real time so you can warn drivers on the screen of their cars that they are exceeding the speed limit. They also warn the pilot parking in prohibited areas or other behaviors that do not comply with the law, thus avoiding penalties for drivers. One or more of the fundamental data to guarantee road safety of the connected cars is the geolocation. Thanks to it, connected cars can communicate with each other, so that, depending on the speed and position of each vehicle, collisions are avoided, like maneuvers involving emergency braking. The geolocation also provides a constant update of traffic conditions, which makes it possible to send notifications about incidents on the roads, as well as the proposing the most efficient route. In addition to the state of the traffic, thanks to IoT drivers can receive updated information on the state of the roads (potholes, ice, grade changes, black spots, etc.). Thanks to IoT drivers can receive updated information on the state of the roads Other IoT devices like intelligent traffic lights communicate with the sensors of connected cars. Drivers and receive information about their status (color and when they will change), which reduces the number of accidents and improves circulation. Also in case of emergency connected cars have automatic warning mechanisms for emergency services, providing rapid attention that can be decisive to save lives. In addition, some vehicles incorporate fatigue sensors capable of detecting deviations in the driver's normal behavior pattern and emit an alarm if there is a danger that he will fall asleep. As we have seen, IoT has a wide range of applications in the field of road safety, which will be progressively integrated into the streets in the coming years. By 2025, the market for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is expected to grow to about 36 billion euros.

Internet of Things (IoT) has come to revolutionize society. The disruptive nature of this technology optimizes all kinds of processes, and within the framework of digital innovation, construction is one of the sectors with the most potential to implement the solutions they offer. IoT can be applied in the different stages of the construction process, be it a building or an engineering project. Already in the first phase of calculation, planning and design of structures, they offer great advantages and its possibilities are enormous for the subsequent work on site. It is also very useful during the phase of materials transportation and cementation, in which its use manages to improve the operation of the machinery used, the transfer of raw materials and the management of the available stock. The IoT connectivity does not end here, because once the works are finished, it can be used in the tasks of maintenance and energy management of the buildings. 1.CALCULATION, PLANNING AND DESIGN From the first phase of planning, calculation and design, the IoT technology is of great help to carry out design tasks in an integrated manner. Thanks to transportable connected devices to the construction site, modifications are made more flexible for the architectural model, previously simulated in 3D. 2.WORK FOOT The use of connected sensors in construction provides updated information about the work. These guarantee the safety of the buildings by identifying defective parts, thus avoiding disasters after the completion of the works. Installation in concrete is especially useful in monuments and structures such as bridges and tunnels. IoT technology also allows monitoring of environmental conditions at all times, which offers an enormous advantage for the protection of materials during the construction period and the prevention of damage, with the consequent savings in time and money. 3.TRANSPORT MATERIALS AND FOUNDATION The transfer of the necessary materials to carry out the constructions is another component of the sector that can benefit from IoT connectivity. E l GPS tracking vehicle fleets that transport and monitoring their status. This is an improvement that helps to avoid delays due to breakdowns, thus avoiding unnecessary stops in the works. They are simultaneous, since both works during the project. 4.MAINTENANCE AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT As a consequence of the extension of IoT in the sector, the construction of intelligent buildings is becoming more common. These hyper connected buildings have the ability, through the use of different systems or technologies, to adapt their operation to the existing conditions at any given moment and allow the monitoring of the state of construction and the environment (lighting level, temperature, presence of people, etc.), which favors a much more efficient energy management and maintenance, as well as a more efficient rehabilitation of the buildings. The new challenge of architecture is to create sustainable buildings that are energy efficient and capable of self-sufficiency. Intelligent building management systems have become a reality in most countries. The almost infinite benefits of intelligent building mark the way forward in this area and open the door to endless possibilities yet to be explored to achieve sustainable, efficient and respectful cities which will improve environment life for millions of people who live in them. The integration of the IoT and the existing construction technologies are presented, in this sense, as a great challenge for the cities of the 21st century. The IoT technology applied to construction does not stop having the people and benefits as its ultimate goal, in fact, it also helps all those involved in the construction process. Architects and engineers see their work facilitated thanks to the connectivity between the offices and the construction site; the technicians and operators of the work benefit from a greater security and precision in their work and the final consumer enjoys, thanks to all this, of a higher quality and efficiency whether they are in a transport, in the case of roads or bridges, places of work or your own home. The architecture of the future is already built today.

Connectivity allows a greater efficiency of the messaging services. The devices are used to geolocate packages, monitor their environment conditions or alert of the existence of incidents during transport processes.

Is the Internet of Things established in our daily lives? Internet of Things is a reality applied in more areas than we can imagine, both in our country and internationally. In fact, many customers with whom we collaborate are transforming their businesses thanks to the application of this new technology. From Telefónica we want to offer our knowledge and experience in this process, since we are aware that the digital transformation entails a great challenge. We believe it is a trend that will continue to rise and, therefore, we are betting on it and working with different companies to extend the advantages of connectivity to all possible sectors. Among some of the examples of the technology that we are developing, we can highlight the connectivity applied to the automotive sector. In this case, thanks to Telefónica, thousands of vehicles currently have the necessary connectivity so that drivers have all the information regarding the status of their car. This allows drivers to detect in advance any anomaly in the vehicle before it becomes an issue. As you can see, connectivity has already been implemented in the most common aspects of our daily lives. "we are aware that the digital transformation entails a great challenge. We believe it is a trend that will continue to rise" What advantages of IoT are common to the company and the user? Our vision from Telefónica is for connectivity to be implanted in all levels of society so that we can connect with what is really important and simplify different tasks. That is, the objective for the objects themselves to have the ability to take care of their functions. For example, the garbage can has the capacity to warn you that it is full so you do not have to worry about checking it. This gives us greater efficiency and control of everything that happens around us and to better spend our time. Thus, we can focus on those things that distinguish us and differentiate us as humans and machines can work more effectively in those things that are more mechanical and routine. All this is clearly reflected in the performance within the work, both for the company and for the employees, who save time in tasks that are now in charge of the machines and can dedicate their time entirely to their job. On the other hand, IoT connectivity collects information as things connect with each other. This allows us, based on the collected data, to have a sketch of our behavior and thus we can know ourselves in a much more complete way. As a consequence of this knowledge, we can make sound decisions in a much faster and safer way. This is something that we all benefit from, especially companies, since IoT is the ideal means to improve processes, be more efficient and even to detect business opportunities that until now remained hidden. Precisely adapted to companies, we have designed the Kite Platform tool for greater control in the management of business. The Iot connectivity platform supports new technologies, manages devices and facilitates the integration of IoT clouds. "IoT is the ideal means to improve processes, be more efficient and even to detect business opportunities that until now remained hidden" Ten years ago we started using the smartphone, what do you think will be the situation in the IoT sector in ten years? It is true that the technological sector is evolving exponentially. If this trend continues, in the coming years connectivity will have extended to practically all aspects of life and, possibly, we will not understand the function of objects that are not connected, as we do not contemplate our day to day without smartphones . In fact, according to Machina Research, in 2025 we could reach the quantity of 27 billion connected objects. Although it is difficult to estimate all the possibilities of IoT in the future, today its contribution to companies is a reality. In fact, we could even talk about a change of era. The companies that are developing the most in this aspect are building a clear advantage over their competition and are contributing to substantially improve the possibilities of users on a day-to-day basis. Even so, the challenges and opportunities in the IoT environment do not stop appearing. For this reason, at Telefónica we are working to anticipate them and be able to provide the most complete response possible. For this, we are building a solid base of partners with whom to continue developing new initiatives, but to do it optimally we need the best professionals in our team. That is why we are building an environment where these professionals coexist or, as we call them, "Thingnovadores", with the aim of facilitating collaboration between them and enhancing creativity, since we believe it is the perfect climate for Telefónica to follow championing the change that implies the incorporation of IoT.

Mobility is one of the main problems of large cities. Every day, millions of citizens are caught in traffic jams. Although it may seem difficult, this reality can be changed. The application of Internet of Things and Big Data to the world of carsharing offers us a way to improve urban traffic. Telecommunications networks produce huge amounts of data about our daily lives constantly. All this information, which needs Artificial Intelligence techniques to be processed, is what is known as Big Data. From its analysis, valuable information can be obtained for a more efficient management of urban mobility. The connectivity of smartphones and automobiles (Gartner estimates that in 2020 there will be around 250 million cars connected worldwide), together with the massive data processing, allows users to be in contact with companies and calculate the most efficient routes to minimize the travel time. These technologies have led to a disruptive evolution of the rent a car model towards carsharing. The concept refers to the loan or temporary use of vehicles made available to users in exchange for a specific tariff, generally for short periods of time and in limited geographical areas. This system allows users to be in contact with companies and calculate the most efficient routes to minimize the travel time Carsharing is empowered by IoT and Big Data for the centralized management of its vehicle fleet Like VTC platforms such as Uber or Cabify, the carsharing companies use IoT and Big Data to carry out a centralized management of their vehicle fleet. Everything works with geolocation services that provide constant traffic updates, which makes it possible to send notifications about accidents and other incidents, as well as information about the location of available cars. Another variant of shared car that is empowered by digital innovation is carpooling, that is, the practice of several people travelling in the same vehicle, divided the expenses among all the participants. Applications such as BlaBlaCar put users in contact with similar journeys every day, thus reducing the number of cars circulating simultaneously. Besides saving time and costs in your travels, it is very simple, fast and intuitive for users to be able to join these new initiatives. All these companies have developed mobile applications so customers have an easier time using them. You only need your smartphone to register, find the car, find the passengers that will accompany you and choose the destination. Towards a more sustainable city The conventional model of mobility is not sustainable. The density of traffic has an impact on the level of pollutionof the air we breathe. It is no longer necessary for each citizen to own a car, especially if it is going to be used during reduced fractions of time throughout the week. New business models based on shared-use vehicles allow consumers to pay exclusively for driving time and save on refueling, insurance or maintenance costs. In addition, they facilitate the extension of electric cars through cities. New business models based on shared-use vehicles allow consumers to pay exclusively for driving time and save on refueling, insurance or maintenance costs The high initial cost is the main obstacle for the expansion of this type of transportation in the domestic sphere. Therefore, the creation and development of startups that offer them is great news for society as a whole. Car2Go, Emov or Zity are some examples, but there are also available motosharing platforms that have electric motorbikes for shared use. Digital transformation has come to the world of automobiles to stay. The development of new ICTs provides new, more efficient habits. Everything seems to indicate that payment for use will displace property when it comes to travel and that the non-polluting vehicles will continue to spread through megacities around the world. The future trend offered by technologies based on IoT and Big Data are connected, electric and autonomous cars within the framework of smart cities where the parameters for sustainable mobility are registered in real time and always aiming to improve and make the life of its inhabitants simpler.

Internet of Things is revolutionizing the global technology sector and Spain is not far behind. In fact, it is the fifth European country when it comes to investment in this technology. The best example of this is Telefónica's position in the sector. The multinational is listed as 'Leader' of the prestigious Gartner Magic Square of M2M services, placing itself at the forefront with its offer of services for companies and institutions. Due to the enormous potential of Big Data for the improvement of sustainability, Spanish cities are also adopting this technology. Next, we can see some of the great Spanish advances in IoT: Madrid The capital of Spain has launched a series of IoT measures to improve mobility and combat pollution, including applications that report public transportation, smart traffic lights, air quality detectors, sensors that monitor traffic and parking spaces or the intelligent management of lighting and water resources. Barcelona The installation of around 20,000 sensors that measure air quality, traffic or public transport has placed Barcelona as a global example in IoT. Among other actions, the municipality saves resources by telemanaging automated irrigation infrastructures and has installed smart lifts in the metro. In addition, it has a specific plan for digital transformation: Barcelona Ciudad Digital. Valencia The capital of the Valencian Community has centralized all its municipal information through the VLCi Platform(Valencia Ciudad Inteligente), a unique connection technology solution that has managed to optimize the management of areas such as transport, energy, environmental services and open government. Málaga The Smart City Malaga plan has implemented equipment such as photovoltaic and wind lamps that take advantage of the energy provided by sun and wind efficiently, mobile environmental sensors, smart buildings that save energy, charging points for electric cars and sensors in car parks that indicate available parking slots. A Coruña Coruña Smart City aims to establish a more efficient and sustainable city model. The plan includes telemanagement of the sanitation and water supply network, of electricity meters and of intelligent irrigation systems. At the same time, a network of sensors controls air quality, noise levels and systems for optimizing traffic and intelligent parking. Santander Santander has been one of the pioneers in the implementation of smart models based on Big Data. The Santander Smart City plan has provided the city with an advanced network of sensors that give constant information on waste, water or traffic management. Likewise, an app allows citizens to report any incident to the consistory. Bilbao The Bilbao Open Data project offers citizens useful information for their day to day activities in real time. It has applications such as GeoBilbao or iBilbobus, which monitor the traffic status, the municipal bus network, the existence of construction places or the occupation of parking lots. Ávila Through Smart Patrimonio, Ávila controls important environmental factors to keep an eye on the state of its monuments, such as the level of humidity, temperature or light. Damage prevention is achieved, which improves efficiency and reduces costs in the preservation of important historical and cultural buildings and monuments. These are just some examples of the implementation of IoT in our country. In total, the Spanish Network of Smart Cities currently has 81 municipalities. Even so, it is a technology in constant evolution that has a lot of further development and testing ahead. Everything seems to indicate that investment will continue to grow in Spain in the coming years. The advances of the IoT and its application in the daily life of the cities not only have an impact on the benefit of society as a whole, but it also improves the quality of life of individual citizens. Its applications, so often aimed at the efficiency and sustainability of cities, also make life easier for people: time saving, access to information from their devices or personalized assistance that allows better decision making are only some of its many advantages. In conclusion, an IoT at the service of cities is an IoT at the service of the people.

Madrid has positioned itself as one of the Smart cities of reference thanks to the use of connected devices to manage the fight against pollution, lighting, traffic, parking of vehicles or public safety.

Each time we surround ourselves with more interconnected accessories, systems and applications that make our lives easier. Who would have imagined a few decades ago the development of a technology capable of making the objects that surrounds us every day smarter? IoT surprises us once again with a solution to monitor the use of light through an intelligent system. It is a new technology capable of managing lighting in the home, facilitating energy savings and offering multiple customization possibilities. Home automation, Internet of Things in the home Internet of Things finds its way not only in the spaces destined to events and conferences, but it also sets out to be installed in our homes. In fact, the domotic revolution has already brought us several technologies that allow the automation and intelligent control of our homes. Imagine that we have left an appliance plugged in before leaving home and we only realize it when we arrive at work ... it will no longer be a problem thanks to smart plugs. IoT allows us to control electrical appliances so that they can be disconnected from the current easily and from a distance. We can also save time in the management of domestic tasks thanks to the intelligent cleaning that, by means of infrared rays, distributes vacuum cleaner robots or throws air freshener around the house while we are away, so that when we arrive at our home we find it clean and cozy. The same happens with other solutions such as intelligent security, which allows access to video cameras installed in the home through a device. Intelligent lighting at home, without cables and catered to your needs Internet of Things in lighting comes from companies such as Phillips and SPC, which have developed technologies that automate lighting preferences in both commercial spaces and at home. Something as innovative as light bulbs connected to WiFi and automatic shutdown devices thanks to geolocation are some of the advances that have been presented and that can be marketed and installed in offices. These intelligent lighting systems facilitate energy savings, which not only affects the user's pocket but also the care of the environment thanks to the reduction of pollution in cities. This saving is based on a better use of resources and the study of rates per time slot. In addition, monitoring offers data and analysis that will improve the consumption habits of each company, achieving greater efficiency. Lighting is not just a means of seeing; it goes beyond for those who value the experience of the illuminated space. Well-treated light totally transforms an environment and is capable of generating experiences that have more to do with the emotional than with the view: would you illuminate the conference room the same way as the work space? That's why intelligent lighting also offers services such as choosing the color temperature or saving your favorite light scenes to use them to your liking with just a click. Intelligent lighting in large spaces Intelligent lighting offers endless possibilities that will allow us to live more efficiently and productively not only at home or in the company, but in many other spaces. Its application on the streets and highways of citiescan be combined with traffic lights and electronic signs to improve traffic flow. Vehicle use can also be reduced thanks to the use of IoT lighting that is able to inform in real time about empty parking spaces. In a few years we will be surprised at how fast this technology has spread to shopping centers, train stations or airports, improving the efficiency and safety of users.

Thanks to the rapid advances in mobility, we have realized that the systems that facilitate the transport of people and that connect different points of the city are undoubtedly the backbone that sustains the order and proper functioning of the metropolis. The most outstanding qualities of mobility in a city have always been fluidity and sustainability, however, in recent years it has become essential that this mobility also becomes completely connected. Internet of Things gives us the opportunity to improve mobility services for citizens, correctly manage the demand in transport networks and even generate economical value and protect the environment. The most outstanding qualities of mobility in a city have always been fluidity and sustainability. In recent years it has become essential that this mobility also becomes completely connected. That is why we highlight some solutions that can turn any city into a Technology City in which all mobility resources are managed with sustainability and efficiency. Big Data: The collection of the vast amounts of data that we create in our daily lives allow the most innovative information systems to explore the mobility habits of citizens, identify patterns of movements and establish associations of data that we had not observed before. Thanks to this comprehensive analysis it is possible to develop intelligent solutions that optimize the times and, why not, the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere by the different methods of transportation. Thus, the bases of the new artificial intelligence are built, thanks to which we can propose operations and systems infinitely more efficient than those that have been developed. Mobility As A Service (MaaS): The concept of mobility as a service has meant an important change in the means of transportation for people, both for large journeys and for intercity journeys. Nowadays the purchase of a car or motorcycle is no longer an essential need in the big city, and is thanks to the development of intelligent mobility systems that we can access the transportation we want through our mobile and in just two clicks, and even calculate the fastest route taking into account the combination of several transport methods. Companies and governments have strengthened ties to develop more efficient, more sustainable and more connected systems and transportation methods, so that all of them can be integrated to offer a solution that not only reduces time and avoids unnecessary traffic jams, but also helps to significantly reduce pollution in large cities. Telefónica has already developed a bus without driver, sensorized and connected through the mobile network that allows users a georeferenced tourist route and download unlimited multimedia content thanks to the 5G connection. Smart signage and autonomous tourism: The signs for the orientation of pedestrians (locals or tourists) are vital to maintain the fluidity of the streets and enhance the walking experience, something important because in many occasions we miss beautiful corners and historical monuments because of not being able to orient ourselves when we are walking around the city. Thanks to IoT we can put an end to this problem and provide smart solutions that improve the movement of people on the streets and prevent tourists from getting lost in their tourist routes. This solution is called "wayfinding" and has already been implemented in large cities such as London, New York or Rio de Janeiro. It is a technique that uses sensory stimuli to help people understand their environment and move through it. The tools that implement this new orientation model will be intelligent screens accessible to everyone, with a universal design and a concept that places pedestrians at the center of urban life. In this way it is possible to incorporate technological elements that provide information in real time, making it possible to interact with tourists and residents as well as expand the information.

Lightbulbs that turn on and off remotely; washing machines that begin program 4 at 11:30; microwave ovens that heat up the food in the container five minutes before you get home so that your dinner is nice and hot just as you cross the threshold: these are just some of the applications that connected intelligence can do in our homes today. And all of this is thanks to the fact that IoT is connecting more and more devices in our houses. The development of IoT all over the world has been exponential; according to estimates by Gartner, in 2017 we will reach 8.38 billion connected IoT units all over the world, and this year the div will reach 11.196 billion. Furthermore, according to Machina Research, by 2025, there will be 27 billion connected objects. Companies are vying to move forward and ensure that, thanks to all of these connected devices, our life at home will be simpler and more comfortable. Plus, this div comes from new Internet of Things applications which seek to help us in our day-to-day lives. Voice assistants: the new kings of the living room The IoT inside the home has witnessed the arrival of the greatest advance in the past few years: the development of voice assistants. The new smart homes now have a clear nerve centre: these new devices, which harness artificial intelligence to allow us to manage our smart homes more efficiently and simply. According to a report by Edison Research, 39 million Americans now have a voice assistant at home. But that’s not all: the adoption of smart speakers is already surpassing that of smartphones in the United States. It is even estimated that four years from now, more than 55% of American homes will have one. And logically, this is spreading to the rest of the world as well. Major companies have worked on the development of these devices and applications, such as Amazon and Google, which already have on the market products like Alexa and Google Assistant. These two assistants allow users to shop online and interact in a much simpler, quicker way with the different connected devices in their homes. Thanks to the use of artificial intelligence, these developments have become very popular among users, so much so that according to a Google survey, 41% of users of smart speakers claim that they feel like they are talking to another person. In the same vein, another new launch is Aura by Telefónica. Thanks to cognitive intelligence, it understands users better and interacts with other connected elements at home in a more natural way through the Movistar Home device. In this way, Aura helps you, for example, answer questions on the products and services you are using; manage and block access to devices on the Wi-fi router; request information on the content of a specific video and program a device to record it; or receive alerts when your data consumption is higher than usual, among other features. Chatbots, another great ally for a comfortable connected home But in addition to voice assistants, the experience that connected intelligence at home and the devices that have arisen from it bring to our homes doesn’t stop there. Another point worth bearing in mind are smart Chatbots. As Richard Tolcher, CTO of Action AI, says, these chatbots and the IoT fit together in a completely natural way. Therefore, we can see that the interactions with voice assistants allow them to accept increasingly complex requests, and yet they do so through interactions that are increasingly simple for users. For example, Richard Tolcher explains that you could tell your voice assistant, “I work from home on Monday, so leave the heating on,” without a second thought; or even, “Could you tell me whether the red trousers I tried on earlier were manufactured following ethical standards? If they are, could you have them shipped to me at home?” This kind of interaction will be increasingly common as smart chatbots will also become our allies and operate based on information provided by the IoT. Therefore, it’s not only that connected intelligence in our house can do more and more things, but that it can also do tasks that are increasingly complex without the interaction with users being anything out of the ordinary, instead simply through the most everyday conversations.

The largest technological show on the planet was just held in Las Vegas. Huge expectations are hanging on the ingenuity and the products and services of the big companies in the sector. So what did we see at the most recent CES 2018? Below are just five examples of the great advances that will mark a turning point in our way of seeing technology. Assistants, artificial intelligence, autonomous cars and improvements in quality are in the spotlight in a scene where the Internet of the Things was omnipresent. Smart headphones It is clear that Sony does not want to be left behind in headphone development. For this reason, at CES 2018 we were able to see up to four different models. While until now, the quality of wired headphones has been the main factor, wireless headphones are showing an interesting improvement: the native incorporation of Google Assistant. This will be accompanied by the general update of some of their older models, so the Japanese company is turning their headphones into veritable smart listening systems capable of offering not only better sound but also a range of services thanks to the IoT. Television is now smart and in 8K We are still getting used to resolution of 4096 x 2160 pixels, better known as 4K. But that is no reason why technology should not continue to advance, as we have seen at CES 2018, where the first uses of 8K, or 7680 x 4320 pixels, were unveiled. But this resolution would not be worth anything in itself were it not for artificial intelligence. Samsung's new model, the 88-inch QLED Q9, will be able to convert video to 8K thanks to the real-time use of artificial intelligence, which processes and rescales the images. All this power is joined by the conversion of simple televisions into smart TVs, which is already a natural integration, just as being connected to the Internet is a fact. The race for smart assistants Although virtual assistants have been filling the show for years, in 2018 they were especially the talk of the show. Voice assistants are probably one of the best examples of an IoT application at the service of the user. They provide information, allow you to manage events and make purchases, and much more. Probably the most striking and interesting assistant at the fair was the Lenovo Smart Display, a speaker to which Lenovo and Google have added a small touch screen and the presence of Google Assistant. With this launch, Amazon Echo Show has gained a strong opponent, while users have gained more features. The speaker will allow users to make and receive video calls, listen to music and get information about the traffic and weather, as well as having the functions needed to control a smart home. The Lenovo Smart Display will also have access to Google Maps and YouTube, in addition to Google, making this assistant probably the most advanced to date. The first autonomous cars are here One of the most striking initiatives we saw at this year’s CES was the testing of several BMW 5 Series cars equipped with Aptiv autonomous driving technology. Aptiv is the parent company of nuTonomy, both of which are allied with Lyft to carry out a plan for autonomous taxis. For many years, Aptiv has been working on mapping the streets of Las Vegas, where CES 2018 was held, so they were very familiar with the service they were offering. In addition, at CES we saw several other proposals, such as the Toyota e-Palette, which aims to combine two technologies: electric motors and autonomous cars. With these demonstrations, the fair became yet another showcase of what the future holds for us, as visitors were finally able to see an autonomous car, probably one of the best examples of what the IoT is capable of, circulating around the city with real "clients". The heart of autonomy In addition to the launch of autonomous cars, the CES was also the scene where two surprising technologies closely related to the Internet of Things and autonomous cars were unveiled. The first one comes from Nvidia. The company unveiled the finishing touches on Xavier, a chip to manage everything related to its Drive XI platform, designed to govern autonomous cars. The joint efforts of Drive IX and Xavier will allow vehicles to have functions that until now seemed difficult to apply massively in vehicles, such as gesture control and facial recognition, as well as the installation of a native virtual assistant and the recognition of natural language, without which IoT could not be implemented in cars. On the other hand, Mobileye REM (Road Experiment Management) technology, which was purchased by Intel, will put two million autonomous vehicles in circulation on roads around the world in order to acquire data, make more detailed maps and, ultimately, improve the autonomous driving systems that will begin to be integrated in the future, as announced at CES 2018. With REM, Intel aims to take the lead in the expansion of autonomous cars, as it controls a huge amount of unique information for the development of these cars. Could this be the starting signal we all expected? Of course, CES has always marked the beginning of a new technological stage, a stage in which IoT has been growing in prominence for years.

Technology is constantly evolving and offering new applications to users. There are always risks when innovating and putting these inventions into practice is more likely when the risks are unknown or have not been taken into account. In this sense, the norms, standards and regulations are intended to make those risks public, inform how they can be treated and encourage and / or force designers, producers or engineers to put in practice the means that can mitigate such risks to take the appropriate actions. For these standards to be effective it is vital that they adapt to the new times, and this is precisely what is happening with those that apply to the Internet of Things, since recently two very relevant ones have been published: the first international standard ISO / IEC for Internet of Things and a technical specification of ETSI for IoT devices and services for the general public. The new regulation is ISO / IEC 30141 and it establishes a common vocabulary for the design of IoT products, which allows the development of reliable, safe, protected, privacy-friendly systems capable of facing cyber-attacks. It joins the more than 600 international standards that are in waiting to be reviewed and officiated to regulate the industry 4.0, with the aim of reducing the invasive nature of new technologies. Regarding the technical specification of ETSI (ETSI TS 103 645), it is a standard that establishes a series of security requirements for IoT products targeted for the general public, with the intention of establishing a basis on which future certification will be defined. Some of the most relevant requirements included in this specification are the prohibition of default passwords for all devices (e.g. admin / admin) or the requirement that there is has to be an official channel through which users can report vulnerabilities to manufacturers. The main players in the technology industry are fully aware of the importance of taking care of safety The main players in the technology industry are fully aware of the importance of taking care of safety. This year, the RSA Conference 2019 is held in San Francisco, a world trade fair and companies specialized in technology from all over the world attend this event every year, in order to show the advances and innovations that they have to contribute to the cybersecurity market. In addition to the stands of the companies, practical sessions, keynotes and informal meetings are held where the most current topics in the world of security and technology are discussed. Telefónica will be attending for the fourth year in a row to show off to the technological community a wide variety of its most relevant and innovative products, most of which incorporate IoT technology, including CapaciCard, Stela FileTrack and Dinoflux. The CapaciCard software is a plastic card that allows you to make payments and purchases online much more safely. Its function is the authentication, identification or authorization of users, avoiding that, in case of loss, third parties can make payments without authorization. With only one card it will be possible to authenticate yourself in different providers, in addition, in order to increase security, you can match up the card with your most commonly used devices. The technology behind this invention is the multitouch screens available to almost all mobile phones and laptops and where without additional hardware, bluetooth, NFC or any type of connection can the card can be verified. Many companies have problems with the management and administration of thousands of documents stored on their computers. Stela FileTrack is the perfect solution for tracking those documents and classifying those that contain sensitive, confidential or personal information. Through a traceability layer, FileTrack shows online the life cycle of the most sensitive documents owned by a company. The implementation of standards and the development of new cybersecurity technologies allow us to feel more secure There will also be a demo on the function of "honeypot" IoT. This system consists of a series of IoT devices (such as routers, IP cameras, sensors of various types ...) connected to the Internet that when receiving attacks from cybercriminals the automatic systems created by them will collect information about their techniques and procedures, and thus be able to generate cyber intelligence that can detect the actions that are taken on systems in production. The increase in the use of technology, especially IoT, increases the amount of services available to users. The implementation of standards and measures such as those mentioned above or the development of new cybersecurity technologies allow us to feel more secure when integrating these devices in our home or workplace.

What is FIWARE? FIWARE is an open source initiative that works towards building a set of standards to develop Smart applications for different domains such as Smart Cities, Smart Ports, Smart Logistics, Smart Factories and others. Smart Applications require collecting data from different sources about what is going on that is relevant to the application at any moment, what we refer to as “context information”. Current and historic context information is then processed, visualised, and analysed at large scale, thus producing the expected intelligent behaviour. FIWARE promotes a standard that describes how to collect, manage and publish context information, and additionally adds certain elements that allow exploiting collected data. Such standard doesn’t exist today and it would be instrumental in building a Digital Single Market for Smart Applications where apps/solutions can be ported from one customer to another without major changes. It also solves multiprotocol communication in multisensor networks. It offers a solution to the diversity in IoT protocol and languages, and translates the information gathered from the sensors to a common language. FIWARE, a key ally for Smart Cities For Smart Cities this means having a standard about how to collect, manage and publish data describing what is going on in the city at any moment, near to real-time. The processing and analysis of current and historic data will give local authorities very valuable insights enabling them to better control and monitor the quality of the services provided to citizens. Additionally cities are enabled to export and publish part of this information in order to spur third-party developers to build new applications that are useful for citizens, the local economy, and productive processes of the city alike. That is why we say that adopting FIWARE standards, cities will transform into engines of growth. What is the FIWARE NGSI Standard? The standard FIWARE proposes to describe how to collect, manage, publish, and notify about changes of context information is called FIWARE NGSI. A Smart application must be able to understand this context data, process it and react accordingly exhibiting an intelligent behaviour. Context is anything located or happening in the city such as the streets, the city services, the citizens, etc. There is currently no standard API to access context data. Just imagine how powerful it would be that any application running on your smart phone would be able to connect to a well-known endpoint that the city and other data providers export and then it is able to discover what is going on around that is relevant to its user. It would be a game changer. FIWARE NGSI solves this critical gap, providing the required answer. FIWARE has became cornerstone in frontrunner Smart Cities standardization initiatives As indicated in a recently published report by Machina Research, one of the problems around Smart Cities is that there are no standards. According to their analysis, using non-standardized versus standards-based solutions for IoT will increase the cost of deployment, hinder mass scale adoption, and stifle technology innovation for smart city initiatives worldwide. Many cities boast having developed Smart City initiatives in the last years but without underlying standards. Due to this shortcoming, solutions that work for a certain city cannot be deployed in a different city without important adaptation efforts. There is the general consensus that in order to ensure proper Smart City development, a minimum set of standards, commonly adopted by the cities, is required. One of the most significant efforts in this direction is the Open and Agile Smart Cities (OASC) initiative. This initiative, kicked off in 2015, when a group of cities agreed which technologies would be used as common de facto standards. Their goal is develop together a digital single market for Smart Cities where any solution that is developed will be valid for several cities without requiring any adaptation whatsoever. This initiative tries to adopt a very basic set of standards. Basically cities joining the OASC initiative commit to adopt three mechanisms: One single API for managing and access to context data describing what is happening in the city at any moment. The standard of choice was FIWARE NGSI. Commonly defined Data models, ensuring that data and its meaning is equivalent across cities. Mechanisms for publishing and sharing not only historic but real-time datasets as Open Data. The first two mechanisms will allow that apps developed for one city will immediately work for any other city sharing the same API and data models. The third will help both historic and real-time open data to be discovered and tested. The 15 founding cities of the OASC initiative have quickly grown to reach 89 cities in 19 different countries at the beginning of 2016. FIWARE has benefitted from this quick traction of so many cities joining the OASC in barely one year and a half. Another relevant initiative is the Smart City program run by TM Forum. This organization offers thought leadership and strategy to service providers such as telcos. Recently, TM Forum has created a program targeted to establish a vision and strategy for Smart Cities. TMForum has partnered with FIWARE and promotes NGSI as the first standard cities can adopt in order to access a greater ecosystem. TM Forum and FIWARE have also jointly developed a number of enablers to be published in the last release of FIWARE which, relying on TMForum’s Business APIs, working to create an economy of data. The White House shows interest in FIWARE Last September the White House announced the creation of an international workgroup led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) which has two goals: study successful Smart Cities initiatives around the world to extract a set of best practices Identify successful standards that can be adopted as pivotal points of interoperability for Smart Cities. Relevant standardization bodies and initiatives have been invited to participate in this workgroup which is expected to publish its results next summer. FIWARE is one of the invited parties as a key player in Smart City standardisation efforts around the world. The attention gained thanks to the OASC initiative and the partnership with TM Forum, is now reinforced with this new recognition by the NIST’s invitation to join the workgroup. As a result, FIWARE becomes the most relevant and attractive open source initiative in the Smart City scene. FIWARE belongs to no one, FIWARE belongs to everyone. It will be free, forever These accolades make cities that are considering FIWARE and other platforms (some of them proprietary) opt for FIWARE over other options. It also allows partnering with expert players – like Telefónica – with proven results deploying solutions based on a FIWARE-compliant Smart City platform. Cities that opt for FIWARE benefit from tested standards and protect their investments, while joining other cities in an even greater market. This attracts developers that build new solutions that many cities can benefit from, creating a more sustainable ecosystem around Smart Cities. Looking towards the future, Telefónica, Orange, Engineering and Atos have taken a big step and decided to turn FIWARE into a Foundation with headquarters in Germany in order to protect the brand and achieve neutral standard status for FIWARE unlinked to vendors. It will belong to no in particular and everyone in general. It will be open for other organizations that wish to join the initiative. FIWARE is also proving useful in other IoT markets such as Smart Agrifood or Smart Industry (Industry 4.0) where standardization can play a major role. The EU Commission issued its digitization recommendations last April and pointed FIWARE out as the platform organizations should plan their strategy around. We believe in breaking traditional barriers that treat Smart solutions - Smart Cities, Smart Industry, Smart Home… - in separate silos and begin to consider Smart services as a end-to-end continuum that affects people and companies alike.

Parking is one of the most repetitive and time consuming activities we carry out in life. We spend on average up to 106 days in our life, finding parking spaces. Technology wears the red jacket to save our day again. There are basically two trends in parking systems and a widespread standard is yet to be established: Sensor-powered parking systems Data-driven reservation systems Let’s see an overview of both as well as pros and cons that decision makers need to evaluate when choosing between both systems Sensor-powered systems take the burden away from drivers. They use robust sensors buried under parking spaces that need to be both resistant against mechanical impact and powerful enough to broadcast status information to outdoor beacons that collect nearby sensor data and relay it to a central system that manages space availability and informs drivers how to get to unoccupied spaces. The initial cost is higher as space needs to be literally dug-out of the ground to insert sensors. Once the beacons and sensors are in place the operational cost is low. It is easier to use for drivers, less distracting that depending on an app installed on our smartphone and is as durable as the life of the sensors and beacons. [IN SPANISH] Data-driven parking systems, allot and allocate parking spaces to users and are normally app and BigData driven. The user requests a parking space, gets one assigned, confirms being parked and is charged for the usage of the parking space within city parking regulations. It is easy to deploy, requires very little initial investment (app development, mapping of available parking spaces and signs that clearly delimit and identify each parking space to make it easy for drivers to find the space and for parking regulators to control that allocated spaces are used for the assigned time and not more. It requires constant connectivity as it is a reservation system that works ahead of using. It can be deployed not only within cities but also within companies with large premises that usually require an administration overhead to assign parking spaces to employees and visitors. There is no clearly perfect solution as every solution offers different results in terms of initial cost, maintenance costs, operational glitches and considerations, etc. Cities have options and have to determine whether sensor-powered or data-driven models suit their long term plans better. In both cases occupation levels can be controlled in real time and can easily enforce parking space policies for people with special mobility needs, or special type of vehicles (electric plug-in cars, shared vehicles, buses, etc.) Santander and Málaga in Spain are two showcase cities for sensor-powered systems, whereas Madrid, Santiago and Oviedo, three other Spanish cities, have also been solid testing grounds for data-driven parking pilot projects. More than just a private time saving feature So why is it absolutely strategic for Smart Cities to streamline outdoor Parking? Shouldn’t that be a private issue that affects each and every citizen and not public authorities? It is strategic and by no means should it not be priority for Smart Cities. There are three powerful reasons: First and foremost the purpose of Smart City services is to improve citizens’ lives and this has a direct and measurable impact on their quality of life Efficient city traffic and cutting on extra unnecessary mileage has a positive impact on keeping city pollution within manageable limits and therefore helps cities maintain their emission levels within standards that are becoming tightly regulated and controlled Reducing commuting time has a huge impact on productivity and therefore helps local economy flourish. Drivers and commuters caught up in traffic jams are away from their work places and are tied up to consume and visit shops and businesses

A few months back we published a whitepaper regarding the disruptive changes in the connectivity ecosystem. The paper stressed the role of low power narrow band wide area networks (LPWA) as the long term solution. While the different proposals for new (radio frequency) technologies reach the market and technological maturity, some connectivity technologies that had stopped being used, were seriously declining in popularity, or were doomed to disappear are receiving a blow of fresh air and a second life by repurposing their original use. 2G or Bluetooth are two excellent examples of repurposed technologies. Today we will talk about the latter. Bluetooth is a protocol for wireless communication originally developed by Ericsson that works over unlicensed frequency. It was conceived for personal area networks (PAN) in order to transfer data wirelessly. Bluetooth however has some design shortcomings: it requires pairing devices (normally through a setup procedure) its energy consumption is very high (not optimized for battery-powered devices), and the range is normally limited to the room’s perimeter. To overcome these limitations an evolution of the original protocol was developed. This new standard Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE or Bluetooth LE) was redesigned by Nokia and is now a core feature of modern smartphones and next generation wearable devices like smartwatches, health bands and others. Bluetooth LE devices consume very little energy (extending battery-life up to 2 years). Besides the wearables and personal device market, one of the main uses for BLE is using the technology as beacons. They take their names from traditional lighthouses and in a similar manner are installed at fixed locations from which they broadcast their presence and exchange information in a 70 metre range in order to provide information like temperature, movement, sound, etc. Beacons are in general static elements designed to be installed in Smart Cities and other typical IoT settings with moving BLE-geared smart receivers. The scenarios however do not require the beacons to remain static nor the receivers to be in movement so there is not a single workflow and many use cases are being developed that range from Smart Meter Reading to Connected Car on board features or Smart City information points. Looking towards the future, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) recently published its “2016 Technology Roadmap” with exciting new features for the new Bluetooth Smart specifically designed to enhance the features that make it attractive for the IoT: improved range (4x), increased robustness for indoor and outdoor use, 100% increase in speed, without affecting the energy consumption at an improved responsiveness and lower latency. Bluetooth Smart devices will be able to interconnect in networks that cover a whole, house, building or factory opening new applications for this technology You can read in-depth information about current Bluetooth LE and other disruptive connectivity technology in our “The response of the CSPs to the IoT burst” whitepaper published a few months ago which provides complete insight of the IoT state of affairs moving forward in a complex ecosystem of key technology players and a combination of existing and emerging technologies.

The city of the future will provide citizens with a more comfortable life thanks to M2M technology. Some advances are already making their way into our urban environments and many others will come soon. We have highlighted ten features that the city of the future will have. You can see many others in our web-section about Smart Cities. Smart parking. There will be systems that will alert drivers when there is a free parking spot. Citizens will no longer waste their time looking for a place to park and the city will be less polluted. Did you know that by reducing the average time required to park a vehicle from 15 to 12 minutes can reduce CO2 emissions by 400 tonnes in a city such as Barcelona? Intelligent transport system. You probably won’t have to wait to take advantage of this feature. Many public transport systems are already interconnected. This allows for different public transports to be coordinated and to provide information in real time. Tele-care. Some medical consultations will no longer be necessary. There are monitorization systems for patients which keep their doctor up to date when something such as a rise in blood pressure or sugar occurs. Traffic management. Monitoring road systems will inform drivers about which route is best at any given time. Also, it will automatically manage the traffic lights in order to reduce congestion to the minimum taking into account the traffic volume at certain times of the day. Smart grids. They will provide the necessary amount of electricity depending on the demand. This way the power efficiency will be maximized. There are some cities that are testing these systems, as Málaga, for instance. Smart urban lighting. Why waste energy if nobody is on the street? Smart urban lighting will adjust the intensity of the light depending on the people who are around. Waste management. Not all places generate the same kind or the same amount of waste. With smart containers and a good fleet management system, the routes can be tailored to any situation. Thanks to this kind of solution, the efforts in waste collection will be much more efficient. Smart city maintenance. Citizens will now be able to rely on systems to notify the City Council of any damages in the urban elements through their smartphones. This way things will be repaired faster. Smart taxi. Taxi fleet will be connected and customers will be able to book a taxi with an application. The localization system will notify the closest one without the need of human interaction. There are already some mobile applications for taxis, such as My Taxi. Digital-signage. Urban ads will be tailored to each citizen and advertising will provide services. Whereas now we see many concert posters around the city, in the future the customer will have the chance to actually buy the ticket via the billboard.