Why ultra-low-power tech is the backbone of smart cities and the future of IoT

As cities around the world strive to become “smart,” they depend more than ever on deployed networks of sensors, signage, displays, and data-feeds. But one challenge looms larger than many realize: energy consumption. Without addressing power usage, scaling IoT systems across transport, buildings, public infrastructure, and services will be prohibitively expensive, unreliable, or environmentally unsound.

Energy as the limiting factor in IoT growth

• Every “connected thing” needs power—whether from mains, batteries, or harvesting. If power draw is high, maintenance skyrockets; battery replacements, cabling, and infrastructure costs eat into budgets and delay implementation.
  
  
• Smart-city tenders increasingly include environmental criteria: low energy usage, low emissions, sustainability. High-energy displays (LED, LCD) suffer both in cost and in meeting sustainability targets. High energy consumption will be a no go in the near future. 

Ultra-low-power ePaper displays for smart transport, smart buildings, public info & advertising

• Epaper displays only consume power when content is updated—not while just showing. That makes them ideal for public information displays (bus-stops, transit schedules, wayfinding), indoor signage, building directories, and even advertising boards that don’t need high-frame-rate video.
  
  
• We offer  real-time passenger information – open frame EInk modules and indoor ePaper signage (PicoSign), among other products.
  
  
• We also provide ePaper that can be updated via GSM / LTE / WiFi, NFC, etc., enabling remote content updates without constant power draw.
  
  

Integrating solar and NFC solutions for off-grid deployments

• Some urban infrastructure is off the grid or in locations where power is expensive or unreliable. Solar + ultra-low-power electronics is a potent combination. We have solar-powered and no battery solutions and NFC-updated labels and signs.
  
  
• Our products include Pico Label NFC Updated Labels and no battery solutions like the Zifra chair numbers, which are maintained without needing regular battery changes.
  
  

Long lifespan + low maintenance = essential for smart-city budgets

• Cities and municipalities typically have tight, predictable budgets. Replacing or servicing devices is costly—not just parts, but labor, logistics.
  
  
• Ultra-low-power hardware (especially that which only draws power when changing display states) reduces both energy bills and maintenance overhead.
  
  
• We emphasize long-term, reliable products: their timing controllers, for example, permit updates down to –15 °C, with optimized waveforms, built over many years of experience.
  
  

Case studies: EPIS, advertising, super IoT / 6G sustainability

• EPIS (EPaper Passenger Information System): Our EPIS modules are designed for real-time passenger information; they are built to be open-frame, weather-proof, with solar charge controller options, and GSM / LTE connectivity. This kind of system is core infrastructure for transit hubs, stops, rails, etc.
  
  
• Advertising / indoor signage: Moving away from always-on luminous displays to ePaper signage (e.g. PicoSign) for indoor public spaces, advertising, retail environments — enabling sustainability criteria in tenders, while still offering visibility and flexibility.
  
  
• Super IoT EU project / 6G & Sustainability: As networks evolve toward 6G, data rates, device counts, and expectations increase sustainability must keep pace. Ultra-low-power ePaper, long-life controllers, solar and NFC, off-grid solutions, etc., are all building blocks of sustainable large-scale future IoT deployments. MpicoSys has been engaged in this European-level and city-level project, integrating its ePaper solutions.

Conclusion

Ultra-low-power technologies are not a “nice to have” for smart cities, but a requirement. They allow city infrastructure to scale without runaway energy or maintenance costs, to meet environmental and sustainability goals, and to work reliably in diverse conditions. MpicoSys, with decades of expertise in ePaper hardware, solar-capable and no-battery solutions, NFC, and durable components, is providing the backbone infrastructure that modern IoT and smart city projects need.