Integration of Data Driven Technologies in Smart Grids for Resilient and Sustainable Smart Cities: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

A modern-day society demands resilient, reliable, and smart urban infrastructure for effective and intelligent operations and deployment. However, unexpected, high-impact, and low-probability events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, and hurricanes make the design of such robust infrastructure more complex. As a result of such events, a power system infrastructure can be severely affected, leading to unprecedented events, such as blackouts. Nevertheless, the integration of smart grids into the existing framework of smart cities adds to their resilience. Therefore, designing a resilient and reliable power system network is an inevitable requirement of modern smart city infrastructure. With the deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities' infrastructures have taken a transformational turn towards introducing technologies that do not only provide ease and comfort to the citizens but are also feasible in terms of sustainability and dependability. This paper presents a holistic view of a resilient and sustainable smart city architecture that utilizes IoT, big data analytics, unmanned aerial vehicles, and smart grids through intelligent integration of renewable energy resources. In addition, the impact of disasters on the power system infrastructure is investigated and different types of optimization techniques that can be used to sustain the power flow in the network during disturbances are compared and analyzed. Furthermore, a comparative review analysis of different data-driven machine learning techniques for sustainable smart cities is performed along with the discussion on open research issues and challenges.

An Exploration of Emerging and Disruptive Technologies for Improving Disaster Resilience in Smart Cities: An Urban Scholar’s Perspective

“…UAV path planning is envisioned to find the shortest and optimal path with the minimum energy consumption and optimal resource utilisation [82]. Drones have the capacity, responsiveness, and portability to increase cellular coverage and bandwidth for disaster relief efforts, and criminal surveillance, etc., and they are often considered as a timely solution during disaster rescue missions when regular wireless networks are disrupted [83]. Information about disaster-affected areas through aerial images from UAVs helps faster evacuations and the delivery of supplies through safe routes, even to inaccessible locations [84].…”