Introduction to Special Issue on Smart Systems Facts, Challenges and Technologies

Abstract

The University of Bahrain Smart Cities event has been organized in collaboration with the IET-EMEA (IET Europe, Middle East and Africa Regional), IET, (The Institution of Engineering and Technology), UK. Smart Cities relate to the employment of smart technologies and data as the means to solving cities’ sustainability challenges and prospering in the future world. We are on the edge of an explosion in cities transforming themselves to be smarter. This can be achieved while relying on and using data and technology to improve a number of sectors. The main purpose of the event was creating awareness about the future prospects of Smart Cities. The event served as a platform to exchange ideas, prototypes and systems in an international setting. The event’s objectives were also to emphasize the role of the University of Bahrain in promoting a smarter kingdom via its consultancy, intellectual forums, publications and innovative solutions. In addition, the event also focused on networking opportunities for research and development related to smart cities. The symposium offered an excellent opportunity for scientists, innovators, and engineers to interact, share experiences and present their latest research with peers in a multidisciplinary engineering background. The symposium venue was at University of Bahrain, and was run for two days, (22- 23 April 2018). The symposium involved both invited speakers (talking about the need for and benefits of smart cities), in addition to academic peer-reviewed papers published by the IET digital library, IEEE Xplore digital library, and indexed by SCOPUS. This special issue of the International Journal of Computing and Digital Systems (IJCDS), focuses on smart systems research and technologies, and publishes selected papers from the Smart Cities Symposium, whose main theme was “Solutions for a Smarter Economy” (22- 23 April 2018, Manama, Bahrain). The symposium had eight different tracks that cover important aspects related to electrical, computer and electronics engineering. Three members of the technical program review committee reviewed each paper, and the accepted papers were presented during the symposium, only four papers were accepted as extended versions in this special issue. The papers included here offer in-depth discussion and informal exchange of ideas, concepts, and experiences in a wide range of topics related to smart cities, Engineering, IT, AI and other related solutions for future smart cities.