Page 14 - A U4SSC deliverable - Accelerating city transformation using frontier technologies

The objectives of this report

The main objective of this report is to provide a general overview of the impact of frontier technologies in
cities. It underscores six frontier technologies and their implementation value to assess the contribution
of each technology in making different city services or operations more efficient and sustainable. The
six frontier technologies explored in this deliverable are: artificial intelligence; Internet of things; digital
twins; unmanned aerial vehicles/drones; wearable technologies; and virtual reality / augmented reality.

It is important to note that the
concept of ‘frontier technology’
represents a convergence of different
interconnected and interdependent
technologies. No single frontier
technology can exist in a silo (i.e.
in isolation). For example, the
technological development of drones
depends on the progress of IoT and
AI. The rise of digital twin technology
is also related to IoT since sensor
technology promotes mapping
between physical and digital entities.
In a similar context, virtual reality
headsets can also be classified as
wearable technologies.

Based on the current implementation practices of frontier technologies, this deliverable will also
provide a few illustrative cases associated with each technology and its value proposition in smart
sustainable cities. To this end, this deliverable will sketch-out how frontier technologies can upgrade
and facilitate smart city transitions without attempting to define any specific technology, except within
the context of its utilisation.

4 Accelerating city transformation using frontier technologies | A U4SSC deliverable