The lakeside city of Belo Horizonte in Brazil has followed an increasingly well-trodden path by seeking out Internet of Things (IoT) technology to solve problems. Like many cities before them, Belo Horizonte has chosen to begin their smart journey with street lighting. The network of lights that illuminate roads, sidewalks, and public spaces across all modern cities, provides a good starting point for smart city ambitions, reaching far beyond lighting to bring efficiency, safety, and digital intelligence to the urban landscape. With a population of 2.5 million people, Belo Horizonte is the sixth-largest city in Brazil. It acts as the distribution and processing centre of a rich agricultural and mining region, as well as the nucleus of a burgeoning industrial complex focused on energy intensive manufacturing processes like steel, automobiles, textiles and mining products. Energy efficiency was, therefore, high on the agenda for the municipal government when streetlight upgrades reached the agenda. The project began […]