paranoianovel Chapter 81 Smart Cities
Chapter 81 Smart Cities
A week later, Zuo Cheng delivered the smart city plan to Director Zhao's desk.
The proposal is a hefty 80 pages long, detailing every aspect from architecture design and technology selection to deployment plans and operational systems. Its core highlights are threefold: an edge scheduling system to reduce transmission latency, a distributed architecture to lower deployment costs, and a modular design to support on-demand expansion.
This solution was the result of three consecutive nights of hard work by Zuo Cheng, Ma Hao, and Chen Hao. Ma Hao was responsible for the algorithm, detailing the technical aspects of edge scheduling down to the design logic of every line of code, even including screenshots of simulation verification. Chen Hao was responsible for the system architecture, drawing twelve architecture diagrams that clearly labeled each node with interfaces and parameters, from hardware deployment to data flow—so clear that any engineer could start working with just the diagrams. Zuo Cheng oversaw the overall process, translating the technical solution into language that government officials could understand, avoiding excessive jargon and emphasizing cost and effectiveness.
Director Zhao spent an afternoon reviewing the proposal and called the next day.
"Mr. Zuo, I've reviewed the proposal, and I approve of the overall approach. However, there are a few issues that require our face-to-face discussion."
"No problem, we can come anytime."
That afternoon, Zuo Cheng and Han Lu went to the municipal government again. This time, Director Zhao brought three people with him: the technical director of the information center, the budget auditor from the finance bureau, and Deputy Director Wang, who was in charge of urban construction. The meeting room was much more formal than last time; bottled water and laptops were on the table, and the projector was already turned on.
"I have no objection to the technical aspects of the solution," Director Zhao's technical supervisor spoke first. "The concept of edge scheduling is new, but if it can truly reduce latency to 40% of traditional solutions as described in the solution, that's indeed very attractive. The question is, do you have any actual test data?"
"Yes." Zuo Cheng took out a data report from his bag. "This is the result of our internal testing. In a scenario with tens of thousands of nodes and multi-hop transmission, the average end-to-end latency of the edge scheduling system is 12 milliseconds, while the traditional solution is 31 milliseconds, a reduction of 61%."
The technical lead took the report, examined it carefully, and nodded. Having worked in the telecommunications industry for fifteen years, he could tell the quality of data at a glance.
The budget auditor from the Finance Bureau then asked, "Regarding the budget, your quoted price is 28 million, which is 38% lower than Huaxin's 45 million. Can you guarantee that you won't lose money at this price? How will the subsequent operation and maintenance costs be calculated? The biggest fear for government projects is winning bids at low prices and then having to raise prices later."
"We won't lose money," Zuo Cheng said. "Our solution uses a distributed architecture, eliminating the need to build large data centers, thus reducing hardware costs. Maintenance fees are charged annually, at 15% of the annual contract amount, covering system maintenance, software upgrades, and technical support. This rate is relatively low in the industry because we use standardized modules, making maintenance costs controllable."
Deputy Director Wang, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up: "General Manager Zuo, your 402 Technology started with satellite communications, and the Internet of Things is a new field you've just entered. My concern is whether you have sufficient project experience to support such a large project. Smart cities aren't about technology verification in a laboratory; they need to be implemented in real-world urban environments."
This is a very pointed question. 402 does indeed lack experience in smart city projects, which is a weakness.
Zuo Cheng didn't evade the question: "Director Wang is right, 402 is a newcomer in the smart city field. But we have two advantages. First, our core team comes from the Tianqiong low-orbit satellite communication project, and we're already working on a signal processing platform for 100,000 terminals. The scale and technical complexity of the Internet of Things (IoT) are far lower than satellite communication. There's ample technical leeway in scaling up from satellite communication to the IoT. Second, we've established joint laboratories with Huaxia University and Huaxia University of Technology, and our technical reserves in sensor networks and IoT security are already well-developed."
He paused, glancing at Director Zhao: "Moreover, Director Zhao said we could take a pilot approach. We'll start with a pilot program in one district. If it works, we'll let the data speak for itself; if it doesn't, we'll accept the loss. This is much less risky than spending 4500 million on a potentially unsuitable plan."
Deputy Director Wang glanced at Director Zhao, who nodded.
"Then let's start with a pilot program," Deputy Director Wang decided. "Choose Xihu District, keep the budget under 800 million yuan, and expect results in three months. If it meets the criteria, you'll be given priority consideration for citywide rollout."
Zuo Cheng felt a surge of excitement, but remained calm on the surface: "Okay, deliver it within three months."
Director Zhao added, "President Zuo, during the pilot phase, we will conduct third-party evaluations of the system, and the data must be open and transparent. Are you ready?"
"We are ready to accept third-party evaluations at any time," Zuo Cheng said.
Leaving the municipal government building, Han Lu was somewhat excited: "President Zuo, if this 800 million yuan pilot project goes well, the total value for citywide rollout will be at least 5000 million yuan! And with government backing, it will be much easier to secure projects in other cities."
"Don't get too excited yet," Zuo Cheng said. "The pilot project needs to show results in three months, so time is tight. Go back and immediately assemble the project team. Ma Hao will be in charge of the algorithm, Chen Hao will be in charge of the system architecture, and Zhang Lei will be in charge of hardware selection. All the newly recruited people should also be involved. The graduate students from Yu Ying's joint laboratory can also participate; we need manpower for sensor deployment and calibration."
"Will Yu Ying agree?" Han Lu asked.
"She's even more anxious than I am," Zuo Cheng smiled. "The results of the joint laboratory need to be validated by projects, and there's no better testing ground than smart cities."
"clear."
After Han Lu left, Zuo Cheng sat in the car for a while. He opened the system panel and glanced at the current status.
Points: 145. Three branches, two fused leaves. The synergistic efficiency of the interconnected branches is increased by 30%, and each of the two fused leaves provides an efficiency bonus of ×1.2. Behind these numbers lies 402's confidence in competing with giants in the IoT field.
But Zuo Cheng knew very well that the technology tree provided capabilities, not guarantees. For the project to be implemented, it still depended on the team. He needed to maximize the value of everyone involved to deliver a satisfactory result to the government within three months. This was 402's first battle in the IoT field; they could only win, not lose.
He started the car and drove towards the company. The setting sun shone in the rearview mirror, bathing his face in a golden glow. Autumn had arrived in Hangzhou, the third phase of the Sky Dome project had officially begun, and the first battle of the Internet of Things was about to commence.