astronomy

Smarter Planet

Smarter Planet is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Smarter Planet rather than just read about it. In short: Smarter Planet is a corporate initiative of the information technology company IBM. The initiative was formed to encourage the ideas of business, government, and civil society leaders worldwide towards their path of achieving economic growth, near-term efficiency, sustainable development, and societal progress.

Key takeaways

Smarter Planet belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Smarter Planet to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Smarter Planet from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Smarter Planet is a corporate initiative of the information technology company IBM. The initiative was formed to encourage the ideas of business, government, and civil society leaders worldwide towards their path of achieving economic growth, near-term efficiency, sustainable development, and societal progress. Examples of smarter systems include smart grids, water management systems, solutions to traffic congestion problems, greener buildings, IBM's goal and strategy is to use the capacity of these technology and process management capabilities and, outside the realm of technology, to advocate for policy decisions that, according to the IBM's management, could "make the planet smarter.

History Smarter Planet was officially formed in November 2008, when IBM's Chairman, CEO, and President Sam Palmisano at the Council on Foreign Relations presented a new agenda for building a "smarter planet". In his speech, he emphasized how the world's systems and industries are becoming more interconnected and intelligent, and that leaders and citizens can take advantage of this state of affairs to improve these systems and industries. In January 2010, Sam Palmisano gave a follow-up speech to the Chatham House called the "Decade of Smart". He highlighted dozens of initiatives in which leaders created smarter systems to solve the planet's most pressing problems. The speech aimed to inspire others to follow the leads of these innovators by helping to create a smarter planet. Smarter Planet's goal is to use the technology and intelligent systems in order to create smarter power grids, food systems, water, healthcare, and traffic systems.

Advertising campaign In 2008 and 2009, IBM ran a series of marketing campaigns in newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Each of these "op-ads" featured an essay about a system or industry that IBM claims can be made "smarter" through the application of technology. In January 2010, a display at Epcot's Innoventions was installed. Its goal is to showcase how using technology can solve world problems "from reducing road traffic and city crime to improving food safety and local water supplies." A video that plays on a 12-foot globe in the exhibit was created by Christian Matts and edited by Ben Suenaga. Smarter Planet's advertising campaign is also supporting TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Talks.

Smarter cities

In 2009, IBM launched the Smarter Cities Challenge. Its goal is to aid major cities worldwide to run more efficiently, save money and resources, and improve the quality of life for their citizens. To date, Smarter Cities Challenge serves thousands of cities around the world in all areas of management including public safety, health and human services, education, infrastructure, energy, water, and environmental. IBM Smarter cities also include citizen participation through People4SmarterCities.com, so they can be part of the technological advances transforming their cities. Examples of major cities around the world using IBM Smarter Cities technology:

In 2015, Surat, India implemented an emergency response solution using IBM Technology to be an advanced technological city. In 2010, Peterborough, UK, visualised the city systems using data to accelerate collaboration and better decision making. In 2013, New Taipei City Police, implemented an IBM solution to enhance police productivity and ensuring public safety. In 2013, Tucson, Arizona, implemented a water conservation solution with IBM focused on smart metering and water leak detection. In 2013, Digital Delta transformed Dutch water management system using Big Data.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Smarter Planet

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Smarter Planet claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Smarter Planet before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Smarter Planet ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Smarter Planet

In research: Smarter Planet appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Smarter Planet in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Smarter Planet is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics IBM, Internet of things, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Smarter Planet outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Smarter Planet in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Smarter Planet means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Smarter Planet out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Smarter Planet in simple terms?

Why does Smarter Planet matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Smarter Planet?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Smarter Planet.