Asian cities are expected to become safer and smarter, as municipalities turn to technology to achieve further administrative efficiency, said Derek Yang, General Sales Director for Asia at Hikvision Digital Technology, in a recent interview.
Asian cities are expected to become safer and smarter, as municipalities turn to technology to achieve further administrative efficiency, said Derek Yang, General Sales Director for Asia at Hikvision Digital Technology, in a recent interview.
According to Yang, the region’s rapid urbanization is a key growth driver for safe city projects in Asia. “Over the recent years we’re definitely seeing an inflation in population. For example, over the last decade Singapore’s population grew from some 4 million to 5 million now. Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok also experienced a 15 to 20 percent population growth over the last 10 years,” he said. “At the same time, young people keep moving into cities, making them even bigger and more populated.”
Asia safe city status
According to Yang, China now is the most advanced and progressive in terms of safe city projects among regions in Asia. “Currently in China, safe city projects are deployed in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen; second-tier cities such as Shenyang, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, and Wuhan; as well as third- to even fifth-tier cities,” Yang said.
Among them, the first-tier cities have entered the so-called “third-generation safe city status,” whereby all devices are interconnected, all images are high-definition, and all parts of the cities are covered, leaving no blind spots.
“What this means is that, for example, when you walk on the street, you leave a trail that will all be recorded in the system. And, as these video data are high-definition, your physical traits can be recognized and analyzed,” he said.
Other cities in Asian that have begun implementing safe city projects include Tokyo, Taipei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, and others. But Yang pointed out that smart city initiatives in these municipalities are at least two generations behind China, which has strong support from the government to make safe city projects widespread.
Hikvision safe city solutions in Asia
Hikvision’s safe city solutions are deployed throughout the region to help city administrators meet various objectives. For example, its road monitoring solution is deployed in Korea to help monitor traffic and track suspicious vehicles. Singapore’s Esplanade Theater is another place where Hikvision solution is seen, helping administrators manage the overall visitor flow. Malaysia’s international airport sees over 200 pieces of Hikvision 5MP high-resolution network cameras to secure key spots. Finally, Hikvision designed an integrated IP video system for Singapore’s public housing to keep residential places safe.
Safe city future
Right now, most safe city projects are aimed at securing citizens. Yet, according to Yang, the future trend is such that these projects will move towards management and energy savings that enhance the quality of life of citizens.
“Safe city projects go through a natural progression. In the first phase, security is used primarily for keeping people safe. In the second phase, where you have tens of thousands of sensors in place, they can be used to control traffic and enhance traffic flow. In the third phase where you have even more sensors, you can use them for energy conservation purposes – for example keeping streets lights off late at night unless a vehicle is passing through,” he said.
Most cities in Asia are still in phase one, with some major cities transitioning to the beginning stage of phase two, Yang said. As for phase three, it will take some five years, but “that is definitely the direction we’re moving towards,” he said.