IoT in Public Safety: Applications and Challenges

“Government’s first duty and highest obligation is public safety.”

-Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

Just like the Internet, IoT has become the next big thing. Tech enthusiasts have become obsessed with the many applications of IoT and the new wave of technologies that it will usher in. 

 

Public safety and social condition of people’s lives has become an important issue for every country due to urbanization and industrialization which have brought up many natural and social risks.

 

Adoption of IoT has brought a vast difference to the public safety sector. In this blog, you will learn more about IoT in public safety.

 

Also Read | Internet of Everything (IoE): 4 Pillars of IoE

 

 

What is IoT (Internet of Things)?

 

After computers and the internet, the third wave of the world information industry is known as the IoT (Internet of Things). It forges a connection between decentralized devices and the internet. This connection is used for accomplishing some tasks. 

 

Actuators, wireless communications platforms, sensors and domestic appliances are some of the devices which are mainly used. IoT has much potential in many sectors and is an emerging strategic industry. Many countries have begun to give top priority to this endeavor.

 

The area of public safety management can be developed a lot by IoT.

 

Applications of IoT in Public Safety Management

 

IoT has a wide range of applications in many major fields including supply chain, mining, firefighting, building automation, smart city, asset tracking, healthcare, logistics, transportation, intelligent home, smart grids and energy management.

 

Public Safety is another major field where IoT is widely implemented. Safety of the people in health, life, major private and public property and social production is referred to as public safety. 

 

The security of every citizen in the country in all aspects like national defence, social welfare, environment and social security can be included in its definition. Mainly, the security of three aspects are considered : natural calamities, law and order crimes and accidents.

 

For public safety, diverse technologies of IoT have been adopted. The main applications of IoT for public safety (Ma, Ying & Wu, Chen & Ping, Kang & Chen, Hong & Jiang, Changbin. (2018) - Internet of Things applications in public safety management: a survey) management mostly include the points given below.

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Applications of IoT in public safety

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1. Monitoring of environmental safety

 

• Interconnected intelligent sensors are used by the wireless sensor network (WSN) for sensing and monitoring. Thermal, sonar, seismic, radar and infrared signals in the environment surrounding a node can be measured by sensors in WSN. 

 

Parameters like temperature, noise, pressure, object velocity, humidity, light intensity and gas composition can be detected by sensors. 

 

• In urban areas, typical sources of risks can be measured by sensor networks. Therefore, in places where hazardous chemicals are produced, stored and used, IoT is used in disaster management.

 

• A stereoscopic and omni-bearing forest fire detection system based on WSN was developed by University of California, Berkeley. A Firebug system was used for forest fire detection.

 

• In Taihu Lake in China, an alarm system was set up for detection of density of algae, which consists of buoys with cameras and sensor chips. This is an example of environmental protection. ( Source - Remote Sensing Monitoring and Pre-Alarming of Algal Blooms in Taihu Lake - Guang pu xue yu guang pu fen xi)

 

• In Pennsylvania, a system was developed for detection of cracks (Source - Automated Detection and Quantification of Cracks and Spalls in Concrete Bridge Decks Using Deep Learning - Transportation Research Board) in bridges.

 

• Smoke detectors which are installed in buildings are WSN based systems used for detection of fire and smoke. Timely alarms are blared by detecting concentration of smoke in the air.

 

• Gunshots at spot shooters can also be detected by similar systems.

 

 

2. Control in Production Safety

 

• Another type of foundational technology in IoT is RFID. RFID is a communication technology which is short range.

 

• RFID is used in coal mines in preventing fires and for production safety. In mines, collection and transmission of information is done through RFID. This information is used for the workers' safety. 

 

Through RFID tags inserted into the work permit, locations of workers can be easily identified which is helpful in case of fires. This makes the process of evacuation easier.

 

• Japan has developed a new sensor for detecting order intensity. Underground fire  and coal spontaneous combustion can be detected with this sensor and transmission via WSN. 

 

• In oil fields, the process of ground production, water flooding, oil well and transportation can be monitored by a new measurement and control system developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shenyang Institute of Automation.

 

• Earthquakes and hurricanes can be anticipated and their patterns revealed by analytics offered by IoT.

 

• An emergency management system was developed by Zhang and Cai in 2009 which was based on WSN and RFID. This system was used to allocate materials and rescue people during geological disasters.

 

• Wearable devices which are IoT based can be used to monitor field workers. When abnormal vital signs are detected, an alert is generated which helps to provide immediate medical attention to workers.

 

• On bottles of liquefied gases or cylinders of hazardous chemicals, RFID tags are attached which monitors the condition.

 

3. Food safety regulation

 

• Effective handling, accurate prediction and intelligent monitoring and controlling of food and agricultural products production can be done through IoT. Prompt information about food and agricultural products can be obtained fully and accurately via IoT technology, for safety management.

 

• A sensor network was proposed by Doinea in 2015 that collects data about all factors during the entire lifecycle of food and agricultural products that may affect the chemical composition.

 

• RFID tags are used in some European Countries in drug management in order to ensure that patients receive certified medicines.

 

• Pharmaceutical logistics management system and medical implantable regulatory system has been established in China.

 

4. Social safety regulation

 

• With the help of cameras and sensors installed in the field, analysis can be done and aggregating alerts can be issued which helps organizations to identify and respond to incidents quickly.

 

• A building monitoring system was developed by Stanford University for long periodical tests and monitoring extreme events. This technology is based on WSN.

 

• A comprehensive blueprint for a smart city was presented by Jin in 2014. The city is to be built on IoT and aims to increase public safety.

 

• A city management platform based on IoT was proposed by Peng which will be able to achieve public safety management.

 

5. Expanding library services

 

• Since libraries are community centers, a secure environment is of the utmost importance. Library services can be improved by the application of IoT.

 

• Availability of resources and facilities in a library, such as temperature and humidity, fire and security systems, public health, lighting, can be signaled with IoT taking the environmental factors into account.

 

• A  comfortable library environment can be provided with the help of intelligent sensor networks that can monitor environmental factors. Elimination of potential safety risks and control of energy consumption can also be achieved by this.

 

• Even existing libraries can be turned into modern libraries by adopting intelligent sensors.

 

Also Read | 11 Benefits of IoT in Public Sector

 

 

Challenges and Suggestions to improve IoT in Public Safety

 

Challenge and Problems

 

Even though IoT provides huge advantages to the field of public safety by information accuracy, efficiency enhancing and incident predictability, there are major issues too. It is a hyperconnected world and relying on it can cause problems in government, industry and academia. 

 

The main issues of IoT are observed in interoperability, security, standardization and privacy. The most common challenges faced by IoT are given below.

 

1. Standards for IoT

 

Support of unified standards are required for the development of IoT to improve efficiency. But creating one common standard around the world is difficult. The general architecture of IoT is not agreed upon by industry, organizations and academia. Therefore, the progress for creation of standards is slow.

 

2. Security and privacy issues

 

Even though IoT has generated tremendous social and economic development, the serious ethical and security issues caused by it cannot be sidelined. Consciousness and capacity of artificial intelligence will bring up many security problems. 

 

A huge amount of personal information is collected and obtained by sensors which increases risks of information leakage. Sensor nodes security breach and unauthorized access by RFID makes the personal information vulnerable.

 

3. Laws and regulations

 

Since IoT is still an emerging field, the laws are not well developed. With the rapid development of IoT, many ethical issues will arise and public laws will face new challenges. Chaos have been caused in the development of IoT due to missing rules and laws. Laws and regulations are also needed to curb these chaos.

 

4. Device management

 

Management of devices has also caused some problems in this area. Since the application of IoT needs many devices, mobility of these devices is a must. Management of so many heterogeneous devices needs new laws.

 

Also Read | Green Internet of Things: An Overview

 

Suggestions for Improvement

 

Many measures can be taken up which will take the future of IoT in public safety to new heights. Some of these are given below.

 

1. Security Law for IoT

 

Cybersecurity needs some attention in the development of IoT. New legislation for IoT security is required. Privacy, confidentiality and security are the key things which should be considered while laws, policies, regulations, technical standards and strategic plans are set up. 

 

The Government should clarify the responsibility of safety to enterprises. Safety standards should be set up. Emergency warning and disposal should be set up to deal with security issues.

 

2. Urban management platform

 

An integrated urban management platform will help to establish cooperation between different levels of government regarding public safety management in urban areas. 

 

These platforms will help to ensure effective monitoring, decision making and prevention, improve unity and coordination of stakeholders, and avoid inconsistency, fragmentation and congestion of information.

 

3. IoT technology innovation

 

Providing supportive policies and training technology talents will help to innovate IoT technology in public safety. This will attract research and development institutions and independent researchers related to IoT.

 

4. Standardization and innovation

 

Standardization is of critical importance for the development of IoT. Use of scientific research capacities of research institutions and universities, system testing, advanced microelectronics, modern communication, privacy protection, programming enhancement, new energy, new materials and setting up of public service platforms related to IoT at the state level are some innovations in the application of IoT.

 

5. Reform of public safety management

 

Update and reformation of existing public safety management is required. The new technical characteristics and architectural features brought forward by IoT will help to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public safety management.

 

Also Read | IoT in Food Industry

 

Applications of IoT have developed quite quickly in recent years and secured many achievements. Networking has influenced every aspect of our lives and automated homes, environment monitoring, and smart health are some of the many ways in which intelligent objects improve our daily lives. IoT can also provide a lot for public safety, but its full potential is yet to be explored.