By SB Kang, Director of Strategic Business Planning, Yungchang

The Open Connectivity Foundation is sharpening its focus on smart cities.

OCF Korea Forum member, Yungchang Co., Ltd., supported by ETRI, has developed smart bus shelter and smart crosswalk solutions using OCF standards. Following successful development, the solutions are set to be installed in cities across Korea through a series of government contracts.

Enhancing the public transport experience and improving road safety

Yungchang’s smart bus shelter aims to encourage public transport use by enhancing the user experience, improving the urban landscape and ensuring passenger safety. The smart LED powered bus shelter uses Artificial Internet of Things (AIoT) technology to display real time arrival information. Other features include air conditioning and purification, and heated seating. The bus shelter is also equipped with safety features, including intelligent alarm systems that provide passengers with voice guidance from a control center in the event of an emergency. These features combine to ensure passengers can easily access transportation information, enjoy adjustable temperature controls and receive immediate support in the event of an emergency.

 

The smart crosswalk aims to prevent traffic accidents, promoting both driver and pedestrian safety through features such as flashing road studs and floor lighting to ensure the crossing is immediately visible to pedestrians. A CCTV system is also included to detect vulnerable pedestrians needing more time to cross, this will automatically trigger an extension in the signal time to ensure adequate time for safe crossing.

A limitless choice of IoT devices

Yunchang applied the OCF specifications to generic IoT devices used in smart bus shelters through a process of converting the data received from a generic device into the virtual OCF protocol.

This means the time spent on equipment selection has been reduced. Specific devices requested by customers can also be controlled and managed as IoT devices, and the advantages of the OCF specifications can be applied.

 

 

 

Ensuring secure development

OCF’s ISO/IEC specifications enable secure IoT communication over Internet Protocol (IP), offering a holistic approach to the management and optimization of urban infrastructure. Using the OCF Secure IP Device Framework, designed to enable secure end-to-end implementations that encompass device-to-device, device-to-cloud and cloud-to-cloud, made it simple for Yungchang to apply the OCF specifications to both the bus shelter and crosswalk.

In the case of these two solutions, comprehensive security measures were required specifically for the lightweight, low-powered IoT devices used. The OCF standard is ideal in this scenario, guaranteeing security and stability even with lightweight devices.

Thanks to traceable links between security legislation, and the standard’s compliance to both national and international legislation, the implementation will comply with legislation not only in Korea, but worldwide.

By using the OCF standard, solutions will continue operating seamlessly in future as the standard will evolve with changing industrial communications standards. As the OCF standard is also independent of any consumer ecosystem, the infrastructure and associated data for the two solutions can be controlled, managed and regulated according to local Korean requirements.

The open and interoperable nature of the standard also gives solution developers the ability to control multiple smart city projects within an integrated platform. This enables information from multiple projects to be aggregated and additional services to be provided.

Implications for the wider IoT industry

With new IoT technologies being created at speed, the wider industry is rapidly evolving. Top of mind for IoT developers is the need for devices to connect with the cloud to control numerous devices and utilize data effectively. In their efforts to resolve this challenge the variety of IoT devices and applications will increase, making a rise in the number of low-power IoT devices inevitable. With this in mind, the benefits of truly open IoT standards securely supporting these low powered devices cannot be understated.

Yungchang’s smart bus shelter and smart cross walk solutions demonstrate the benefits the OCF specifications bring to the development of smart cities and are a step towards the OCF becoming the standard of choice for infrastructure in the smart city environment.

Learn more about how the OCF Secure IP Device Framework can enable secure end-to end IP communication securely and swiftly.