Datafication & Edge Autonomy: The Cornerstones of Tomorrow’s Smart Cities and Industries

In today’s digital era, the term datafication has become the cornerstone of how we understand and leverage information. Coupled with edge autonomy—the ability for devices to process data and make decisions locally—this dynamic is reshaping everything from city infrastructure to manufacturing floors.

These concepts will be explored in depth at the upcoming Boards and Solutions 2020 Virtual Conference (13–14 October 2020). The event will bring together industry leaders to discuss how data-driven insights and autonomous edge solutions are accelerating innovation across smart cities, industrial automation, and edge computing.

Datafication: Turning Connectivity Into Insight

Charbel Aoun, EMEA Business Development Director for Smart Cities at Nvidia, outlines the four megatrends poised to transform our lives. He highlights that 8,000 new IoT devices connect every minute, a pace that turns our environment into a continuous stream of actionable data. According to Aoun, "IoT can convert this data into macro‑level decisions that optimize resource use, reduce waste, and boost efficiency." This vision, first articulated by Kevin Ashton in 1999, is now becoming a tangible reality.

Datafication extends beyond the edge into data centers, where Nvidia showcased its new Data Processing Unit (DPU) at the GTC conference, underscoring the need for high‑performance analytics pipelines.

The Scale of Urban Surveillance Data

Smart city initiatives grapple with vast amounts of visual data. Aoun illustrates this with striking numbers: a single 1080p camera recording at 34 fps using H.264‑I can generate about 47 GB per day or 17 TB annually. Human operators, meanwhile, can monitor only 4–16 streams for 30 minutes at a time, meaning that monitoring 100 streams requires roughly six personnel. Major cities illustrate the magnitude of this challenge—Shanghai hosts over a million cameras, London 500,000, Moscow 200,000, Los Angeles 25,000, and Berlin 20,000.

With such volume, AI becomes essential. In his paper, "How AI Can Make Cities Smarter – Powering AI City with IVA", Aoun demonstrates how AI transforms raw data into real‑time decisions that improve citizen quality of life and operational efficiency.

Edge Autonomy: Decision‑Making at the Source

Edge autonomy moves the decision point from the cloud back to the sensor itself. Jim Liu, CEO and founder of ADLINK Technology, explains that since most data is generated at the edge, decisions should be made there to reduce latency and bandwidth costs.

Liu introduces two key dimensions: core autonomy—making a single machine intelligent—and swarm autonomy, which emphasizes collaborative intelligence among machines, people, and utilities. Swarm autonomy enables transparent data sharing across the network, amplifying overall system intelligence and operational efficiency.

Industrial Automation: The Path to Full Autonomy

John Heinlein, VP of High‑Performance IoT at Arm, highlights how autonomous decision‑making is becoming a cornerstone of industrial innovation. In "Accelerating Innovation in Industrial Automation", he outlines three segments—classic automation, industrial IoT, and robotics—and notes a clear trend toward deeper autonomy in each.

He envisions a "journey to autonomous" manufacturing, where data capture and analytics converge to unlock unprecedented efficiencies. No industry will remain untouched by these advancements.

In summary, datafication and edge autonomy are the dual engines propelling the next wave of smart solutions—whether in cities, factories, homes, or beyond.

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For more details about the Boards and Solutions virtual conference on 13–14 October 2020, and to register for free attendance, click here.

Covering three tracks over two days, the Boards and Solutions Virtual Event will delve into trends and products in industrial automation, smart cities, and edge computing. Highlights include:

• Accelerating Innovation in Industrial Automation – John Heinlein, VP, High Performance IoT, Arm
• Embedded Processing Solutions at the Edge: not your Father’s MCU – Philippe Magarshack, VP R&D, ST Microelectronics
• Fundamentals of Success for Industrial Automation Innovation in the 5G Era – Hitoshi Shirakabe, VP Marketing, Renesas
• How AI Can Make Cities Smarter – Powering AI City with IVA – Charbel Aoun, EMEA BD Director, Nvidia
• Evolution of Cybersecurity Legislation Across IoT – Haydn Povey, CEO, Secure Thingz, IAR Systems
• Why Zero‑Touch Onboarding and Provisioning Is Vital for Secure Smart Cities – Bobby Vale, Head of IoT Platforms, Advantech
• Insights into Edge Autonomy – The Future of Edge Computing – Jim Liu, CEO, ADLINK Technology
• AI Edge Streamline Solution into Your Embedded Platform – Gian Claudio Lolli, Sales Director, AAEON South Europe
• Industry 4.0 at the Edge – A Crucial Move for Manufacturing – Jeff Sharpe, Director IoT & 5G Embedded Solutions, Supermicro