Can smart light poles help stop the spread of the new Covid-19 virus?

  According to overseas SmartCitiesWorld reports, based on case studies from around the world, a new industry report highlights how a new generation of smart light poles can help cities around the world respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.

  The report cited cases in cities such as Barcelona, Copenhagen, Los Angeles, London, Munich, and Singapore, which operated well. It showed how smart light poles can quickly read body temperature to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.

  The latest smart light poles provide various functions far beyond traditional street lighting for personal temperature detection. In addition, it can also integrate equipment as video surveillance, air quality perception, digital signage, 5G and wifi, etc. The Barcelona City Council has developed a camera-based solution that is installed on light poles to prevent the new epidemic.

  There are already more than 400 smart street lights in Los Angeles, equipped with charging piles, and plans are underway to integrate air quality sensors, fire detectors, gunshot locators, and earthquake sensors on a pilot basis. Los Angeles has not directly used smart light poles to prevent and control the new crown virus. But the city's street lighting department believes that smart light poles can be used for body temperature detection.

  James Quigley, senior engineering manager at the Los Angeles Street Lighting Bureau (BSL), said: “People gather where they shouldn’t be. How many of these people have abnormal body temperature? Temperature sensors installed on light poles can easily answer.”

  There are 326 million street lights in the world, and a quarter of them have been replaced with LED lights. More than 10 million already have smart lighting.

  Richard Perry, Director of Smart City Business Development at Lucy Zodion, said: "The COVID-19 pandemic has highly revealed the improvements we need in terms of smart city infrastructure to increase efficiency."

  "The main conclusion of the report is to find that street light poles have many huge untapped potentials. We have seen London, Barcelona, Copenhagen, and other forward-thinking cities take the lead in this regard. And we are only tapping the usual "nothing". For a small part of what "eye-catching light poles" can provide, you can imagine the potential that other cities can show. In this new alliance of partners, we learn and discover the role that light poles can play in urban restoration. "

  "We don't know when we will finally get rid of the new crown epidemic. By using existing infrastructure, local authorities can make street lighting assets smarter, this makes public places safer and healthier. And it will save electricity bills-usually by more than 50%."

  Graham Colclough, the founding partner of Urban DNA, leads the European Union's Humble Lamppost project. He added: "This report highlights the advanced cities that are ahead in the use of smart technology to deal with the new crown epidemic, and also highlights the technologies that have been implemented. However, smart light poles still have a lot of unused potentials. Help with the recovery difficult after the epidemic has slowly passed.

  "The real opportunity comes from larger cities. You can choose to upgrade street light poles to save electricity bills, and make these light poles more "smart" to meet the needs of fighting the epidemic and helping recovery. Our report shows how they To achieve the best results."