Review on Development of a Smart Electric Pole with Integrated Security and Communication

Abstract

Urban areas face growing challenges in energy consumption, safety, and infrastructure management. Conventional street lighting systems rely on fixed schedules, often leading to unnecessary power wastage and high operational costs. This study proposes a Smart Electric Pole system integrating solar energy, IoT technology, Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs), motion sensors, and smart surveillance cameras to optimize energy use and enhance urban security. The system ensures automatic lighting control by activating lights only in low-light conditions or when motion is detected, thereby reducing energy wastage significantly. Smart cameras provide real-time monitoring of public spaces, while an emergency switch allows citizens to trigger alerts in critical situations, improving responsiveness. IoT connectivity with cloud storage enables remote access, data management, and continuous monitoring. By combining renewable energy, intelligent automation, and security features, the proposed system promotes sustainable urban development, cost efficiency, and public safety, contributing to the broader vision of smart cities.

Introduction

Urbanization and industrialization have increased demands on public infrastructure, with street lighting playing a crucial role in safety and urban functionality. Traditional streetlights, operating on fixed schedules and grid power, are inefficient, costly, and lack adaptability. To address these issues, Smart Electric Poles have emerged as multifunctional urban infrastructure, integrating solar energy, IoT, automation, motion sensors, LDRs, and surveillance systems to optimize energy usage, enhance public safety, and enable remote monitoring. Features like motion-triggered lighting, emergency alerts, and cloud connectivity allow for energy conservation, real-time security, and centralized management.

Smart poles also align with sustainable development goals by reducing electricity consumption and carbon emissions, and their modular design allows deployment in diverse urban areas. Compared to conventional poles, smart poles provide multifunctional benefits, combining illumination, safety, and communication for smarter, safer, and more sustainable cities.

Problem Identification:
Conventional systems suffer from high energy use, lack of automation, limited safety measures, inefficient maintenance, dependence on grid power, and absence of IoT-based communication.

Literature Review:
Studies highlight energy savings through solar integration, motion detection, and IoT automation. Smart poles enhance public safety via surveillance, emergency alerts, and environmental monitoring. Challenges include high initial costs, cybersecurity, interoperability, and scalability. Research gaps exist in combining energy efficiency with comprehensive safety, real-time alerts, and multifunctionality in a single system.

Research Methodology:
The study focuses on designing and implementing a Smart Electric Pole system with solar panels, sensors, IoT modules, and surveillance cameras. Performance is evaluated for energy efficiency, lighting response, security effectiveness, and scalability. Data collection through IoT platforms ensures operational monitoring and supports sustainable, cost-effective, and safe urban infrastructure development.

Conclusion

The Smart Pole system integrates renewable energy, IoT, and automation to enhance urban infrastructure. By utilizing solar power, motion sensors, LDRs, and smart cameras, it ensures energy-efficient lighting and improved security. The IoT-based monitoring system allows real-time data transmission, enabling remote access via a smartphone application. This intelligent system reduces energy wastage, minimizes manual intervention, and enhances public safety through automated surveillance and emergency alert features. The combination of smart technologies makes it an ideal solution for smart cities, parking areas, campuses, and industrial zones. Overall, Smart Poles contribute to sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and urban modernization, paving the way for a more secure and energy-efficient future.

References

[1] R. K. Mehra, S. Banerjee, and A. Iqbal, “Adaptive Solar- Powered Street Lighting with LDR and Predictive Motion Control,” J. Urban Energy Syst., 2023. [2] L. Fernandez, H. Cho, and M. R. Khan, “IoT Architectures for Smart Poles: Scalability and Security Perspectives,” IEEE Smart Cities Rev., 2022. [3] A. S. Prakash, B. Li, and J. Müller, “Sustainability Assessment of Solar Smart Poles in Urban Contexts,” Renew. Urban Infrastruct. J., 2024. [4] N. R. Gupta and E. Santos, “Motion-Triggered Lighting Algorithms: Trade-offs Between Comfort and Energy,” Int. J. Light. Res. Technol., 2021. [5] S. Alvarez, K. O. Mensah, and Y. Li, “Integrating Video Analytics into Smart Poles for Public Safety: Privacy and Performance,” J. Urban Surveill. Ethics, 2023. [6] T. Nakamura and R. H. Silva, “Maintenance and Fault Detection Techniques for Distributed Smart Pole Networks,” Maint. Asset Manag. J., 2022. [7] M. O. Adeyemi and P. R. Singh, “Economic Models and Financing Strategies for Smart Pole Rollouts,” Urban Policy Finance Rev., 2021. [8] J. Becker and H. Rahman, “Interoperability and Standards for Urban Smart Pole Ecosystems,” Standards Smart Infrastruct., 2022. [9] E. Rossi and C. K. Wang, “Human-Centered Design in Smart Pole Deployment: Community Acceptance and Equity,” J. Urban Des. Technol., 2024. [10] P. Dutta and A. H. Karim, “AI and Edge Computing for Low-Latency Smart Pole Applications,” Edge AI Syst. J., 2023.

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Mr. Manoj B Maurya, Aastha Wankhade, Sayali Borkar, Bhagyashree Khawashi, Rowban Raeney, Ayush Bhujbatkar. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.