It's indisputable that everyone is feeling the effects of global warming today. It's so prevalent worldwide that experts determine the world has only 11 years left before the damages of global warming become irreversible. The report was from 2019; it's 2024 now, and time is ticking closer to catastrophic environmental, economic, and social disasters.
Global warming is one of the primary reasons every smart city aims to be sustainable. Many smart cities, such as Abu Dhabi, aim to go fully green by 2030. On the frontlines of this mission for smart city sustainability is AI expert and smart city developer Prasanth Sasidharan. This article covers his expertise in AI, transportation, and engineering, and the worldwide blueprint for sustainability in smart cities.
The Emissions of Megacities
Climate change is a byproduct of global warming and its catastrophic effects, and there's a good chance you've started to experience these effects in your city. However, there’s a good chance that your city is contributing to the problem. Megacities are becoming more common worldwide as people move into more urbanized city centers, hoping for a better life. As more of the population moves into these cities, energy needs continue to rise, and the world is emitting 35 million tons of emissions annually to address these needs. Most of these emissions come from megacities such as Tokyo, New York, and Abu Dhabi. These emissions are the primary reason for global warming, and different pioneers are looking into various ways to reduce emissions from their respective cities. One aspiring pioneer who aims to make one of these megacities greener in the coming years is Prasanth Sasidharan.
Prasanth's Approach to Sustainability
Prasanth is a veteran electronics and telecommunications engineer with more than 17 years of experience in AI-based technologies across various industries, such as transportation and smart city infrastructure. His vision has always been to "Enable cities to accelerate towards their sustainability and security goals with data and innovation." With this in mind, Prasanth's approach to sustainability makes smart cities like Abu Dhabi more sustainable and safer for future residents.
Passenger vehicles are estimated to emit about 4.6 tons of carbon dioxide per year. In a megacity like Abu Dhabi, there are over a million registered cars, which equals about four million tons of emissions annually. And those emission numbers don’t account for public transportation and logistical vehicles traveling in the city. Cities need to understand vehicle emission levels to craft actionable solutions. Prasanth’s tech company, Ashraya, was founded to tackle cities' needs for more effective vehicle maintenance and carbon emission monitoring.
Ashraya developed an AI-monitoring platform that can be used by fleet management companies for monitoring various authority KPIs from its vehicles on the road. One of the KPIs which is measured from the vehicles on the road is its emission. If a car exceeds the emission threshold, the platform schedules it for maintenance. This process ensures that every car in the company’s fleet is up-to-date with its vehicle care without the hassle of putting every registered car for routine emission testing.
Prasanth believes that AI should be essential to decision-making in every smart city. With AI's ability to analyze, monitor, and distribute data meaningfully, Prasanth believes AI can be critical in helping leaders make the right decisions, especially during vital moments of growth within the city. Lastly, he believes that future sustainable goals for cities like Abu Dhabi lie in efficient energy distribution. Prasanth aims to achieve this by studying how energy consumption works in cities and using this knowledge to create an AI platform that optimizes and distributes energy efficiently. This project can help reduce energy waste, one of megacities' leading contributors to carbon emissions.
Prasanth's approach to sustainability utilizes modern technologies, such as AI, and puts them at the forefront of managing smart cities. As stated earlier, one of his most outstanding achievements is creating Ashraya to monitor carbon emissions from vehicles. The same technology he built in Ashraya can monitor homes, factories, and other buildings that emit carbon emissions daily. The technology can help mark structures that are producing too much emissions. The software can then schedule the designated structures for investigation or even maintenance. The same program can warn citizens if emissions have reached a critical level in their city. Furthermore, the application can help leaders make the right decisions when creating sustainable policies within the city. Such an approach can increase awareness among the residents of smart cities, helping them make informed choices that can lead to a more sustainable tomorrow.
The Future Sustainability Goals of Every Smart City
Sustainability should be the goal of every smart city. Following Prasanth's approach to sustainability, smart cities should aim to improve AI systems and use them to monitor contributors of high emissions within the city. Only some cities may have high emissions from transportation, and others may have high emissions due to energy production and more. That's why it's vital to have AI monitor these contributors so that decision-makers can address them effectively.
Other sustainability goals of a smart city should also center around creating a safe and secure living area for its residents. A safe, smart city can ensure sustainable growth for its population without thoroughly exhausting its resources. Moreover, it can ensure these residents become influential leaders and advocate for a more sustainable future.
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Quelle/Source: San Francisco Examiner, 09.04.2024
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