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37
magazine
Internet of Things
Anyone who has walked down Upper
Street in Islington recently may have
noticed a new style of rubbish bin
currently being trialled by councils
up and down the country, from
Rugby to Chester and from London to
Coventry.
Bigbelly bins, which can also be
found in Times Square, New York,
combine a number of technologies
that bring new levels of flexibility and
intelligence to waste management.
The main components are:
n
an integrated solar PV module
powering a 12v battery;
n
an internal, battery-powered
compactor that exerts 1,200 pounds of
force to crush rubbish to one eighth of
its normal volume, so that each Bigbelly
can hold eight times as much litter as a
standard bin;
n
cloud connectivity and sensors within
the bin that when triggered send a text/
email to the council advising that it
needs emptying; and
n
smart cloud-based tracking and
reporting, which allows councils to
locate bins on a street map and view
their status.
The combination of these
technologies should reduce the number
of collections needed and enable
councils to schedule collections more
intelligently, reducing carbon emissions
and the amount of traffic on the road.
Their extra bin capacity in a footprint
not much larger than a standard bin
makes Bigbelly bins particularly useful
for busy intersections where bins fill up
quickly, and should help maintain cleaner
streets and aid pest control.
In the last issue we looked at how the internet of things was helping to
keep traffic moving on the UK motorway network. Here, we examine how
it has the potential to revolutionise waste management
Sun rises on a new age
for waste collection
Two thirds of Internet of Things (IoT)
apps are already generating revenue,
and developers expect the proportion to
increase to 80% by 2018, according to an
international survey of app developers
conducted by Progress and Harbor
Research.
The primary industries for IoT apps and
the ones generating the most app revenue
are currently smart homes, wearables,
automotive and sports/fitness.
When asked which industries would
generate the most revenue in three to
five years time, the top three cited were
healthcare (14%), smart city (13%) and
automotive (12%).
The top challenges developers face when
designing, deploying and monetising IoT
apps include security & personal privacy, data
privacy and protection.
Beecham Research recently unveiled an
IoT Threat Map highlighting key weak points
in IoT security, claiming that the only reason
there had not been serious IoT breaches to
date was because the IoT had not yet been
deployed on a scale to attract attackers.
Professor Jon Howes, Technology Director
at Beecham Research, said: “Traditional M2M
(Machine to Machine) applications are very
focused, using specific edge devices, a single
network and custom platform, making it
relatively easy for security professionals to
secure to the acceptable level. But the IoT
cuts across different sectors and embraces
multiple devices and networks, from satellite
to cellular, along with a growing number of
IoT platforms and Big Data systems, which
presents threats on many different levels
and fronts.Wherever there is a new interface
between devices, networks, platforms and
users, there is the potential for a new weak
link.”
He added: “The benefits of IoT by
definition rely on lots of data with high levels
of searchability and analysis, but this also
means that the data must exist in plain text,
which presents multiple threats – not least
from insider attacks from sysadmins and
authorised users.”
Matt Crisp, MD of Bigbelly Solar UK,
said: “We are aiming to transform one of
the least efficient and resource-intensive
industries on the planet – public waste
collection and on-the-street recycling.”
However, he adds that Bigbelly bins
have much broader applications, as
they create an infrastructure that can
be enhanced with additional sensors,
for example to monitor noise, footfall,
temperature or air quality.
“The best way to envisage the
Bigbelly units is to regard them as real
estate that is powered and connected
to the cloud. Over the last 10 years
we have established that the waste
efficiencies and savings generated are
unquestionable, but there is a lot more
we can now do. Think of Bigbelly as
self-powered, smart and connected, on-
the-street real estate capable of hosting
other technologies that can improve the
lives of people living nearby,” he said.
“The pace of technology innovation
is allowing us to combine processes,
data analysis and a network of sensors
and devices, with an overlay of the
needs of individuals or benefits that will
produce real improvements in people’s
lives. Throughout the UK, investments
in the Bigbelly system are being made
to deliver services through a connected
infrastructure that provides substantive
benefits like cleaner, safer streets.”
IoT apps earning money but security still a concern
