Smart cities to boost A/V spending
Published: MEA
UAE: A report from InfoComm International states that Smart Cities will help to nearly double the region’s spending on government-related audiovisual technology by 2016. There is an increasing number of Smart Cities in the Middle East including the UAE’s Dubai Smart City and Masdar City, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s four Economic Cities, and Qatar’s Lusail City.
By leveraging sensors in objects connected to citywide networks, Smart Cities often focus on connected benefits across daily life like transportation, utilities, and healthcare. At the same time, megaevents such as Dubai World Expo 2020 and 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, and large-scale infrastructure projects, are driving Smart Cities to deploy high-end security systems, including CCTV, control rooms, and conferencing systems.
As a result, infrastructure developments across the Middle East and Africa are in part boosting government and military spending on audiovisual solutions. This, according to InfoComm International, is projected to grow by 74 per cent from US$441 million in 2012 to US$722 million in 2016.
‘Technology will be the foundation for Smart Cities of the future – from securing smart grids, to control technology, and environmental sustainability,’ said David Lim, project director, InfoComm Asia Pte Ltd. ‘Security is vital in Smart Cities of the near future, and collaboration solutions are necessary to make split-second decisions between control rooms and on-the-ground security personnel. No two Smart Cities are alike – each one requires world-class customised control systems that can evolve to meet the needs of professional audiovisual applications.’
The organisation believes InfoComm MEA will assist government agencies source the audiovisual solutions that meet their security needs. InfoComm MEA 2014 returns for a fourth year from 13-16th October 2014, and will be co-located at Gitex Technology Week 2014 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.