Great IoT Developments in Spain

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.