Smart cities and 5G networks: An emerging technological area?

Abstract

The term “smart city” has recently become greatly widespread in academic and political discourse. Nevertheless, this is rather a marketing term that unites a number of technological (and other) areas: Internet of Things (IoT), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), communication networks. The latest generation of networks is essential for the development of digital ecosystems of smart cities. It has been assumed that the smart city and 5G networks form an emerging technological area. The goal of the work is to study the structure of the development and implementation of new technologies for the urban environment on the sample of 5G-based technologies. For the analysis of new technologies in the selected subject area, a study of patent landscapes and scientometric analysis of the topic field has been conducted. The object of the scientometric analysis is the study of citation patterns. The use of the patent landscape is based on the information systems and databases of patent information developed by patent offices and commercial companies and consists of visualizing the logical connections between various indicators of patent activity, on the one hand, and technological and market trends, on the other. Together, the scientometric and patent landscape show the most promising areas of technological research. The results of the study can be used in further theoretical and applied research, in the formation of government policy in research and development, as well as in decision-making in the field of urban management.