Biotechnology and Internet of Things for Green

Smart City Application

Pavel M. Gotovtsev, Andrey V. Dyakov

Biotechnology and Bioenergy Department
National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute”
Moscow, Russia
gotovtsevpm@gmail.com

Abstract—This paper gives a breath overview of application of

several biotechnologies in smart city and the ways of its inclusion
in internet of things. Biosensors for environmental control local II. BIOSENSORS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
biological water treatment systems and photobioreactors for
Term “biosensors” can be applied for very large area of
building a discussed as a part of internet of things. Brief overview
of future biotechnology that can find application in green smart different bio-based sensors, from electrochemical sensors their
city conception also presented. biomaterials are main sensing part [13] to genetic modified
Index Terms—internet of things, smart city, biotechnology, microorganism that can gives for example a change of color in
biosensors, photobioreactors, biosensor system integration the place with hazardous materials [14].
The advantages of biosensors are high substrate specificity
I. INTRODUCTION to hazardous organic chemicals and low energy consumption
[13]. This leads to biosensor application as a remote sensors
Biotechnology is the one of the most dynamically system for environmental control. Different electrochemical
developing field of technology today. There are different sensors generate very small voltage or current signal
biotechnologies became a part of today city environment, from corresponded with substrate concentration in medium. The
traditional biological waste water treatment [1] and plants for additional power source is required for both biosensor
oxygen production to photobioreactors in smart building [2]. operation and data transition via wireless local network
Also there are several interesting approaches now under (WLAN) or Low-power Wide-area Network (LPWAN). Figure
development such as biosensors [3] [4], biofuel cells [5] and 1 showing schematic view of biosensor with additional power
biosolar cells [6] [7], bioreactors for energy efficiency [8], source for operation and data transition.
green bioprinting [9], the humidity-driven spore based
actuators [10] and many others. All those technologies are the
one of the first steps of biotechnology in the green city
environment.
Internet of things (IoT) in its turn became a basis for today
smart city conception [11] [12]. To include mentioned above
biotechnologies in IoT based smart city concept it is necessary
to provide a detailed review of its specificity, which includes
but not limited:
• application of different types of biosensors for
environmental control;
• local rain or waste water biological treatment
combined with oxygen production as a systems
engineering approach for smart city;
• local photobioreactors in building and its control and
integration in building environment by IoT;
• electricity free biotech-based devises such as humidity-
driven spore based actuators and its analogs;
• future technologies such as algal bioprinting, that in
future can gives to person ability to print devices that
can influence on home environment.
The goal of this paper is to provide brief overview of
Fig.1. Biosensor with energy source for operation and data
possible ways of application those technologies in IoT based transition via WLAN. A – with Li-ion battery onboard; B –
smart city concept. with biofuel cell.

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Fig.2. Electrochemical biosensor with light diode indication
(A) and biosensors with optical effect (B).
Whole system requires around 50 mW power source for
operation, which can be supplied by Li-ion battery (Fig.1A). As
an alternative power source it is possible to use combination of
biofuel cell and Li-ion battery in case of biosensor application
in the environment that nave enough organic for powering
microbial biofuel cell (Fig.1B). For example, such systems can
be applied for water quality monitoring in surface water (rain
water collectors, lakes, rivers etc.). Microbial biofuel cells is
the fuel cell there microorganism using as catalyzers and
provide organic compounds consumption with electrical
current generation [5]. But today output power of microbial
biofuel cells is up to several mW [13] and its application is
possible as an additional power source to provide long time
operation with minimizing of energy consumption from grid
for battery recharging.
As a lower power alternative, the light diode can be used in
case of biosensor detected hazardous material. The light from
diode can be detected by centralized video control system as it
shown in fig. 2A.
Another promising type of biosensor is microorganisms that
Data to WLAN
Flow rate,
turbidity and flow
speed sensors
Water flow
Fig.3. Wireless sensors network for rain garden concept as an element of green smart city
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can provide some optical effect, like color change, in surface
where those microorganisms were applied. For example, it can
be yeast colony with capability to grow on oil spills. These
sensors require video control system as in case of
electrochemical biosensors with light diode, as it shown in fig
2.B.
Obviously both systems presented at fig.2 require software
that capable automatically detect visible changes during those
biosensors operation. This software should detect biosensor
operation by data received from cameras. This task is very
typical for pattern recognition method that capable to recognize
difficult pattern on data sets [15] [16].
III. LOCAL BIOLOGICAL WATER TREATMENT AND OXYGEN
PRODUCTION
Application of systems for both biological water treatment
and oxygen production is one of the green city concepts for
sustainable water management [17] [18]. Those concepts
include several technologies such as rain gardens [17] and
green streets [19].
Water management itself requires wide sensors application
to control flow rates and water quality parameters. Also it is
possible to control several water quality parameters for
example turbidity that can be useful for rain or storm water. To
control plant growth is also require because that is main part of
rain gardens and green street concepts.
Figure 3 illustrates basic conceptual scheme of wireless
sensors network (WSN). This WSN includes remote sensors on
different position of water flow and measuring several
parameters in each position. Video control system is common
for modern smart city conception can be used for plant growth
control. Periodicity of plant growth is very low and equal to 1
time per day. Also, oxygen and CO2 sensors can be applied for
carbon fixation in plants control.
One of the goals of the system presented in Fig. 3 is
detection of misconduct of water flow system operation. In
case of abnormal changes in water flow detected by flow rate
sensors, cameras of video control system focusing on the place
of misconduct and sending data to the IoT cloud and municipal
services.
Data to WLAN
Plant growth Municipal video
control control system
Data to WLAN
Flow rate,
turbidity and flow
speed sensors
 IV. PHOTOBIOREACTORS AND ITS INTEGRATION IN BUILDING
ENVIRONMENT BY IOT
Photobioreactors for microalgae cultivation today became a
part of smart green buildings [8]. In comparison with plants,
those photobioreactors has a two main advantages [2]:
• higher rate of O2/CO2 exchange per 1 m3 of
building space;
• large amount of water in photobioreactors can lead
to its application in thermal regulation of building.
There are a lot of technological parameters should be
controlled for photobioreactor stable operation. All those
parameters can be divided on two groups:
1. Input parameters from environment;
2. Parameters of microalgae medium.
First group of parameters includes inside and outside
temperatures, humidity, O2 and CO2 concentrations in air inside
building, natural luminosity and artificial luminosity from
lamps. All these parameters should be monitored to maintain
second group of parameters that influence on photobioreactor
operation regimes.
Climate control system in building can be independent and
operates based on data from photobioreactor control system or
joint with photobioreactors. First case is possible for existing
buildings their climate control system is already exist, second
for new buildings with photobioreactor. Both cases require
smart WSN for effective operation. Schematic view of this
building IoT for first case as an example is presented at figure
4. There are three sources of information is necessary:
1. Data from outdoor WSN that gave direct information
about weather parameters;
2. Data from internet about weather forecast;
3. Data from room WSN about climate parameters inside
buildings.
The climate control system operates based on those data
and sending commands to photobioreactor control system, to
maintain operation regimes. For example, water flow through
panels of photobioreactor can be controlled depending of
required temperatures in rooms.
This photobioreactors is more depended from ambient
weather parameters because they operate with living
microorganisms. It is necessary to much more gentle to control
temperature than in usual climate control system. Also, light
became one of the main parameters. All this leads to constant
data transmission between WSNs, Internet and control system
for effective energy-saving operation. This means that IoT
concept can became a basis for future wide application of this
type of biotechnology on green smart cities.
V. PERSPECTIVE BIOTECHNOLOGIES AND IOT
There are many researches in the field of biotechnology that
can find application in future green cities. In this paper, will be
discussed several of them, that looks very close to the
application.
In paper [10] shown possibility to create electricity free
humidity-driven spore based actuators. Strain of Bacillus
subtilis with mutations in genes responsible on outer protein
protection layer appearance was applied as a humidity driven
part of actuators. The spores of this strain are able to change it
volume depends of ambient air humidity. Authors fixed those
spores on thin films and designed several types of actuators
including stripes that can be applied as a part of building
climate control. This film should be very light to maximize
actuator movement that leads to problem with usual hard
electronic control elements application. To receive information
about actuator placement is possible by video system in case of
it availability inside building. Obviously, this video system
should have numerous other tusks also. Also it is necessary to
mention that recent progress in materials for organic electronic
ca can make possible to develop light and flexible electronic
devices that can be applied in humidity-driven actuators in
nearest future [20] [21].
Microbial biosensors with optical effect also have very

Fig.4. Schematic view of application of photobioreactor and IoT in green building

544
perspective future because it is possible in future to make
microorganisms to move with chemicals that they are
detecting. This ability is looks like simple version of group of
robots behavior and firstly was shown in paper [22].
Very interesting work is development of electronic plants,
presented in paper [23]. Integration of conductive polymers in
higher plant vascular system can lead to possible application of
plants for energy harvesting for low powered biosensors.
3D Printing is the one of most dynamically developing
technology today and based on this technology bioprinting also
developing very fast. As small part of bioprinting is algal
bioprinting there printing material is gel or hydrogel with
microalgae [9]. In case of application of photobioreactors in
buildings algae became a low cost and common material in
every house. This leads to possibility than people can for
example print oxygen production system by algal bioprinting.
In this example bioprinter should send information to control
system about quantity of algae used for printing, Climate
control system should change its operation modes with
received information and information from O2/CO2 sensors.
This is just a possible example how human using this
technology can change system abilities in O2/CO2 exchange.
VI. DATA HANDLING CHALLENGES
Additional WSN for biotechnological systems mentioned
earlier generates large amount of different types of data. For
example, it is necessary to analyze data from video cameras of
municipal video control system for determination of plant
growth speed or detection of operation of biosensors with
optical effect. Also, this data will be used for another municipal
need such as traffic control, security etc. Biosensors that
capable provide data transmission via WLAN can sent data
from each second to minute depending on measuring
parameters. Photobioreactors and local biological water
treatment system also includes number of sensors to control its
operation. From one hand, all this data is required for effective
operation of local technical systems from the other hand it is
necessary to storage some part of this data in long-time period
until the several years. This long-time period of data storage is
required due to optimization of biological systems in
dependents of change of seasons. Thus, application of
mentioned above biotechnology require next implementation of
next data processing approaches:
- big data processing; biotechnology will lead to
increasing of amount of data both for storage and
processing;
- data availability; from one hand, most of received data
will be used in many city systems, from another
biotech approached like photobioreactors is require to
receive data from another systems. This means also
application cloud data bases for data storage and cloud
computing for data processing;
- machine learning; as mentioned earlier machine
learning approaches such as pattern recognition is
necessary to control efficiency of biotech applications
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like higher plants in streets or biosensors with optical
effect.
VII. CONCLUSION
Interdisciplinary in research and technology became more
and more prominent. Biotechnology today can give new
possibilities for sustainable world and this leads to its wide
application, especially in green city. IoT in smart city also can
help to make city more sustainable [11] [24]. In this paper was
shown the several biotechnologies that can already became a
part of IoT of smart city. Joint effect of application of IoT and
biotechnology can give new advances for green cities to make
them sustainable and create comfort environments for people.
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