Smart City & Infrastructure

Semiconductor solutions form the technological backbone here. Capable microcontrollers, edge-AI processors and energy-efficient sensor ICs enable decentralised data processing right at the network edge. Power semiconductors play a key role in the electrification and efficiency of energy and transport systems, while secure communication chips create the basis for scalable IoT architectures. What matters is the combination of high energy efficiency, reliability and connectivity, qualities that are essential for large-scale use in critical infrastructures.

They are reaching ever more GOPS (Giga Operations Per Second) and TOPS (Tera Operations Per Second) per watt, so the processors can perform ever more arithmetic or logical operations per second. The resulting, ever more capable edge-AI solutions reduce latency, save energy and increase data security. Low-power MCUs for IoT nodes play a key role here: they combine minimal power draw with AI capabilities, for instance through integrated neural accelerators or proprietary solutions. Such architectures are used in intelligent street lighting, parking management, environmental monitoring and traffic control. The semiconductor industry continues to push this development forward, offering scalable MCU platforms that range from always-on sensing to complex edge inference. The trend is towards heterogeneous computing structures in which specialised coprocessors and RISC-V architectures complement classic CPU cores. This makes the smart city not only more connected but also more autonomous, and with falling energy demand per data point.

While LoRa and NB-IoT are used above all for long-range, low-power IoT applications in smart metering and environmental monitoring, 5G and Wi-Fi enable low-latency data transmission at high bit rates for real-time applications such as traffic-management systems or video surveillance. BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) is used mainly in local applications such as smart lighting or access-control systems, where short ranges are required at minimal energy consumption. BLE is also increasingly used to determine positions precisely in indoor and urban spaces via “Channel Sounding”. The growing integration of these technologies into compact, high-performance semiconductor chips makes it possible to build complex sensor networks cost-effectively and at scale, a key factor for the digital transformation of urban infrastructures. Studies emphasise that the coexistence of different wireless standards and the development of multi-mode chips in particular will be decisive in future for ensuring interoperability and energy efficiency in smart-city ecosystems.

The market for data converters in the smart-city environment is growing dynamically, driven by increased investment in digital infrastructures and the need to integrate existing systems seamlessly. Three technology trends currently shape the development:

• Growing integration of data converters directly into microcontrollers (MCUs) to create more compact and energy-efficient solutions.
• Standardisation of interfaces, which eases exchange between legacy and new systems and so enables migration paths.
• Intelligent, adaptive converters that adjust automatically to changing data streams and protocols – a key to resilient smart-city networks.

The market for such applications is growing dynamically: driven by rising demands on energy efficiency, traffic management and resilient supply networks, studies forecast a marked increase in IoT- and cloud-based smart-city projects by 2030, particularly in Europe and North America. Three technology trends dominate here:

• Integration of edge computing with a cloud connection to minimise latency and strengthen local intelligence.
• Use of AI-capable semiconductors that enable analysis directly at the sensor or in the cloud.
• Improved security architectures at chip level that guarantee trustworthy data transmission and processing.

A concrete example of this development is EBV’s cloud solution Avnet IoTConnect, a central building block in the portfolio for smart-city and infrastructure applications. The platform offers customers a scalable end-to-end solution for developing and optimising IoT networks, including device management, data analysis, secure connectivity and AI functions. In energy management in particular, Avnet IoTConnect enables real-time monitoring at the edge as well as cloud-based analysis and visualisation through interactive dashboards. AI plug-ins let intelligence be placed both at sensor nodes, meters or inverters and in the cloud, an approach that increases grid stability, lowers the risk of outages and allows more precise consumption forecasts. The platform also supports tailored mobile apps, for instance to show energy consumption in buildings or to locate EV charging stations and free parking spaces. The offering is rounded out by reinforced security mechanisms at the edge that protect against tampering, for example in billing systems for micro-generation plants or at charging stations, and so safeguard financial transactions.

Key to this is the development of ever more energy-efficient solutions: sensors with lower consumption make genuine low-power sensor nodes possible for the first time, working autonomously for months or years, ideal for widely distributed measuring points in urban areas. At the same time, sensor technology is moving towards higher integration and better performance in products and applications. New sensor technologies aim for smaller designs, lower energy demand, more readings over longer periods and higher sensitivity and accuracy, in innovative housings and form factors that integrate seamlessly into street lamps, traffic-management systems or façades. MEMS-based approaches and integrated signal processing fuel these trends while ensuring scalability for smart-city infrastructures.

Targeted energy-efficiency measures in urban infrastructure can unlock savings potential of up to 20 per cent, a significant driver for the further development of power-electronics solutions. Efficient semiconductor solutions for power management are therefore gaining in importance. Wide-bandgap materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) are widely used here, enabling higher switching frequencies and lower losses, ideal for compact power supplies in intelligent street lamps, charging stations or building automation. International studies underline the relevance of SiC and GaN technologies for sustainable energy concepts in urban areas. They are complemented by classic power discretes and power modules, which ensure robust voltage and current regulation in distributed infrastructure. Integrated power-management ICs (PMICs) bundle several functions into the smallest of spaces and control sensor networks or IoT nodes energy-efficiently, for example. In connected systems in particular, Power over Ethernet (PoE) is increasingly taking hold: dedicated PoE ICs allow end devices to be powered over the Ethernet cable, from surveillance cameras to 5G small cells, and so noticeably reduce cabling effort and operating costs. Accordingly, various current market analyses confirm that demand from smart-city projects and modern energy infrastructure will drive marked growth in the power-semiconductor segment over the coming years.

The global market for positioning systems is growing rapidly and, according to analyses by The Insight Partners, will rise to around 348 billion US dollars by 2031, driven by demand for intelligent, connected city concepts. Manufacturers’ current semiconductor solutions increasingly rely on multi-system capability: modern GNSS modules integrate several satellite-navigation standards such as Galileo, GLONASS, GPS and BeiDou in a single chip or module. This increases availability and accuracy even in difficult environments such as densely built-up urban areas. Three technology trends currently dominate:

• Sensor fusion, in which GNSS data is combined with inertial sensors to provide precise positions even when signals drop out.
• Multi-frequency and multi-band processing, which improves interference resistance and accuracy through the simultaneous use of several frequency bands.
• Integration of real-time kinematics (RTK) and augmentation systems (SBAS), which enable centimetre-accurate positioning for demanding infrastructure projects.