Contactless Technologies for Smart Cities: Big Data, IoT, and Cloud Infrastructures

Intelligent systems are enhancing city environments and improving their overall performance in all possible aspects. Innovations in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the proliferation of big data, internet-of-things (IoT), and cloud (BIC) infrastructures revolutionize the existing agile city ecosystems while effectively addressing customers and citizens needs. In this paper, we address the technology-driven applications that are capable of influencing the existing city infrastructures during their transformation towards smart cities with contactless technologies. We present applications, design principles, technology standards, and cost-effective techniques that leverage BIC for contactless applications and discuss user interfaces deployed in smart city environments. We further discuss state-of-the-art sensing methods and smart applications that support cities with smart contactless features. Finally, a case study is reported on how BIC can assist in efficiently handling and managing emergency situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.