Distributed intelligence for IoT-based smart cities: a survey

The remarkable miniaturization of Internet of Things (IoT)-based systems and the rise of distributed intelligence are promising research paradigms in the design of smart cities. IoT and distributed intelligence are conjoined. On the one hand, IoT provides a digital connection to everyday physical devices, and on the other hand, distributed intelligence allows these connected devices to work together in a distributed environment to solve complex problems through learning and reasoning. In this article, we investigate and report the recent premier advances in distributed intelligence for IoT-based smart cities. We use bibliometric techniques which provide essential insights into many studies to evaluate the literature including publication year, type, and citation status on distributed intelligence and its variations published between 2013 and 2023. We categorize and classify literature by devising a taxonomy based on essential parameters, technologies, approaches, applications, and implications with respect to distributed intelligence. Moreover, we provide recent ongoing advancements in distributed intelligence and IoT such as sustainability, blockchain, 5G technologies, AI, edge computing expansion and IoT expansion. We also highlight some of the use cases which include traffic management, energy management, waste management, public safety, and healthcare. We provide core layers and services for implementing distributed intelligence in IoT-based smart cities and present several research challenges and issues. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2024.