Three projects have been unveiled to transform the transportation network of Isfahan into a smart system.
During an event on Sunday, urban managers in Isfahan unveiled Automatic Vehicle Location and Automated Fare Collection systems, as well as smart citizen cards, as key elements of a smart transportation network, IMNA reported.
The automatic vehicle location (AVL) system has been linked up to 1,300 urban buses and 300 express buses, providing urban managers with multidimensional and real-time location-based data.
AVL or tele-location system is a powerful tool for managing fleets of vehicles such as service, emergency and public transport vehicles such as buses and trains. It automatically determines and transmits the geographic location of a vehicle.
Vehicle location data, from one or more vehicles, may then be collected by a tracking system to manage an overview of vehicle’s whereabouts.
Most commonly, the location is determined using GPS and the transmission mechanism is SMS, GPRS, or a satellite or terrestrial radio from the vehicle to a radio receiver. A single antenna unit covering all the needed frequency bands can be employed.
Public transportation administrators can now establish an orderly bus travel timetable and regulate headway time.
An automated fare collection (AFC) system is the collection of components that automate the ticketing system of a public transportation network.
Mehdi Behrouzi, secretary of Smart City Headquarters at Isfahan Municipality, said the three projects have been executed by the Electro Optic Sairan Industries Company with an investment of 900 billion rials ($3.6 million) by Bank Sepah.
“Of the budget, 570 billion rials [$2.28 million] were spent on purchasing the required equipment and the rest on installation and five-year maintenance,” he said.
“The equipment include 1,300 driver console devices, 1,300 AVL devices, 80 monitoring devices as well as 650 recharge devices for using payment cards set up in urban public places and bus rapid transport booths.”
Also present at the inauguration event, Isfahan Mayor Qodratollah Norouzi said converting the city into a smart network requires a correct understanding of new technologies and IoT, which is gradually materializing among urban managers.
He described the new initiatives as "a big step toward urban transformation" and expressed hope that other smart city projects will be implemented soon to make life easier for people.
Earlier Efforts in Isfahan
Transforming megacities into more sustainable and livable places with the help of smart technologies and the internet of things has gained momentum in Iran, as the government has invested heavily in smart city projects.
The latest efforts were made in November 2020 in Isfahan when the municipality and a tech center, Isfahan Hub, signed an agreement to boost synergy and utilize the expertise of knowledge-based companies and startups to utilize technology in urban management for shaping a smart city.
Alireza Sadeqian, the municipality’s deputy for planning and human resource development, said acquiring the know-how linked to smart city development, establishing workshops and think tanks, and using the potentials of innovative companies are envisaged by the plan.
This will help the municipality realize the goal of making Isfahan a smart city, he added.
Sadeqian noted that to accelerate the work, Isfahan Municipality has invited startups and knowledge-based companies to present smart solutions and innovative ideas for transforming urban management.
“The municipality and Isfahan Hub will soon start reviewing the ideas developed by the teams and helping them to implement their plans,” he said.
Hashem Kiani, the deputy head of Isfahan Hub, said converting Isfahan into a smart city is a comprehensive project that will not be realized without extensive cooperation between various stakeholders.
Also present at the meeting, Mehdi Abtahi, dean of the Isfahan University of Technology and the head of Isfahan Hub, said the initiative will not deliver the desired result unless all stakeholders back the plan and help transform Isfahan into a smart city.
In line with the agreement, the center will boost acceleration and investment in high potential tech teams to make them more efficient.
Functioning as an innovation factory and startup accelerator, Isfahan Hub is the result of a joint venture of Mobile Telecommunications Company of Iran, Isfahan University of Technology and Isfahan Science and Technology Town.
Smart Tehran
The application of smart solutions and the internet of things technology in urban management first became a priority of urban managers years ago in the capital city of Tehran.
Since then, projects entailing the application of smart technologies have been implemented in Iran, including the replacement of old electricity meters with smart grids to increase the accuracy of monitoring consumption.
Smart power meters send meter readings digitally to energy suppliers via internet to undertake more accurate billing.
Currently, TM and Tehran Traffic Police are using automated smart surveillance systems to identify old and dilapidated cars that are the main source of air pollution in the metropolis.
The installation of online air quality monitoring systems across the capital is one of the technologies used widely since past many years.
Smart parking meters have been installed and activated in Tehran's District 2 in the north-central part of the city. It enables drivers to reserve roadside parking spots and pay online via a smartphone application.
TM's ICT Organization ran a pilot project in Sorkheh Hesar National Park on the eastern flank of the capital in January 2019 to convert it into the country's first smart park.
The initiative envisaged equipping the park with smart security cameras, smart parking lots and a smart watering system which, unlike traditional irrigation controllers that use a preset schedule and timers, controls weather monitor, soil conditions, evaporation and plant water use to automatically adjust the watering schedule to a site’s conditions.
TM has welcomed collaboration with companies and individuals whose products and services can help alleviate problems such as air pollution and traffic congestion.
Besides Tehran, urban experts in Shiraz, the provincial center of Fars Province, and Mashhad in Khorasan Razavi Province are making efforts to utilize smart technologies in different fields such as security, economy, energy consumption, transportation and emergency mitigation.
