AI and 5G leading Fourth Industrial Revolution

THE FOURTH Industrial Revolution (4IR) is led by two particular streams of technology that will considerably transform our world: artificial intelligence (AI) and fifth generation (5G) telecom technology.

One of the promised advantages of 5G is that it will work seamlessly with wireless Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, vehicle-to-vehicle communication technologies, smart traffic lights, smart energy grids, augmented reality, mobile wearables, smart home devices and other cutting-edge technologies.

Since IoT applications typically need to gather huge amounts of data from a large number of devices and sensors, the technology necessitates an efficient and fast network for data collection, processing, transmission, control and real-time data analytics. 5G’s high speed, lower cost, flexibility and (eventual) ubiquity make it a strong choice for IoT networking.

But when 5G technology with mobile internet speeds up to 20 times faster than today’s speeds is combined with the fast-advancing technology of AI, it leads to a new potentially game-changing era of technological development or “Fifth Generation Intelligence”.

For instance, AI together with 5G, has the potential to make smart cities a reality. 5G’s high speed and ultra-low latency is vital for supporting smart city applications like public transit scheduling, smart street lights, realtime crime detection and reporting, and IoT sensors that monitor things such as parking spaces, traffic flow, air quality, water use, sewers and trash collection.

Yinchuan, an isolated Chinese city on the outskirts of the Ordos Desert, is China’s example of their ambitions to lead the world in 5G technology.

Since 2017 Yinchuan has implemented high-definition cameras capable of facial identification. With the benefit of AI, the city also deployed smart street lighting with integrated electric-vehicle charging and advertising, and smart traffic lane management on the city’s highways.

But it is Yinchuan’s facial-recognition-enabled payments for public transport and their smart trashcans that really catch one’s imagination. Through the use of AI and 5G, facial recognition makes the convenience of ticket-less travelling possible and prohibits illegal travelling on public transport, while constantly monitoring the security of the commuters.

The smart trashcans are just as innovative. As with many other cities in China, Yinchuan had a problem that deserted buildings were often used as trash stations where residents dumped their garbage.

These unofficial trash stations became a serious health hazard since they were mostly overflowing. This is why the city developed smart trashcans. The moment the trashcans are full, they send a signal to the municipal authorities, and municipal workers promptly turn up in a truck to clear the waste.

At the heart of Yinchuan’s vast efforts is a municipal government command centre with continuous data streams from numerous sensors and CCTV cameras spread across the city. This data is filtered, sorted, analysed, prioritised and then acted upon and emphasises the importance of big data analytics in the era of the 4IR.

The success of the smart city of Yinchuan is significant and is probably due to the joint ventures between the government, city and private telecom firms.

China is well known for the close ties between authorities and technology companies since technology is central to China’s future strategy. But the extremely fast implementation of 5G intelligence could also be ascribed to low levels of land-use regulation, easy access to capital, and a strong manufacturing industry.

Due to the ever-growing population and traffic in cities, AI and 5G are expected to particularly make a difference in the integration of a smart transportation infrastructure, a network built on the ability of multiple devices and sensors to communicate with each other quickly and efficiently in real time.

Ubiquitous connectivity, fast transmission speeds, and low latency of 5G technology, as well as AI automation technology are crucial for the implementation of a smart transportation system that allows faster and smarter commutes.

5G would allow vehicles to communicate with other vehicles and even traffic signals in real time, facilitating driverless cars, pedestrian and cyclist warnings, and real-time re-routing to avoid accidents or traffic congestion. It is generally expected that such an intelligent system will significantly reduce road accidents, as well as save commuters time, fuel and money. The lower probability of road accidents will in turn lead to much lower car insurance rates.

However, the most important contribution of a smart transportation system using AI and 5G will be to help employees get to work faster. Unfortunately, many transportation systems in cities rely on outdated schedules (often due to unavailability of reliable data) and old technology, resulting in poorly timed lights, which causes a longer commuting time, higher costs, and a loss of productivity.

AI and 5G technology could really make a difference to the flow of traffic by providing real-time information to modern smart traffic lights about current traffic patterns as detected in real-time by CCTV cameras and IoT sensors dispersed throughout smart cities.

Traffic lights could thus be more reactive to the real traffic situation, keeping traffic flowing and reducing unnecessary stops at red lights. A study on smart traffic light systems by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh yielded a 40 percent decrease in traffic stops, a 21 percent drop in emissions and a 26 percent reduction in travel time.

Professor Louis Fourie is the deputy vice-chancellor: knowledge and information technology – Cape Peninsula University of Technology.