Skip to content
Demo
‹ Back to IndustriesIndustrial IoT

Why Does the US Rank so Low in Smart Cities

The United States ranks lower in the adoption of smart city technologies compared to other regions. Despite the increasing presence of smart cities and devices globally, the US adoption rate remains surprisingly low. This raises questions about the potential future leaders in smart city development.

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Industrial IoT teams put it to work with AI Visibility (GEO).

By Ruari McCallion · · City PlanningEuropeInfrastructureSmart City
Share
Why Does the US Rank so Low in Smart Cities

Key takeaways

01

The US has a surprisingly low adoption rate for smart city technologies.

02

Other regions are better positioned for leading future smart city developments.

Free workspace

Turn your Industrial IoT expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

Question: Why does the US rank low in the worlds top smart cities? What areas of the world are in prime position for the smart cities of the future? We know that smart cities and smart devices are become increasingly common, but the United States still ranks surprisingly new in terms of our adoption of this technology. Why is that? And what parts of the world are in prime position for the smart cities of the future? For answers, we turned to Ruari McCallion, host of All Systems Go, to give us his thoughts.

Tune in and subscribe to more content from MarketScale.com, as we share thought leadership on the most important issues and opportunities in your industry.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale

Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Industrial IoT starts with a company putting its controls engineers, plant-floor specialists, and integration partners on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Plant and controls buyers research deep before contact, and your engineers get to shape that research.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

RM
Ruari McCallion
B2B Weekly

The week in Industrial IoT, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Industrial IoT: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Industrial IoT buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Book a Demo →Talk to Sales

Free Trial

You just read one Industrial IoT expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your controls engineers, plant-floor specialists, and integration partners into the articles, video, and social content Industrial IoT buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

Book a Demo →Try it Free

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Industrial IoT Insights

Arch Systems brings full factory AI to FedRAMP High via Knox

Arch Systems brings full factory AI to FedRAMP High via Knox

Arch Systems' factory AI platform, including its Data Foundation and AI agents, can now run inside Knox Systems' FedRAMP High cloud for defense manufacturers. Controlled data can flow in. Arch previously served defense plants only at the edge, so buyers now need to vet Knox's shared-responsibility terms and how new AI agents enter the authorized boundary.

  • 01Arch has worked in defense plants for years, but only at the edge; the Knox deal opens the layer that ties machine data to MES and ERP records, and lets controlled data flow into it.
  • 02Knox’s FedRAMP High (Class D) boundary lets Arch run without its own standalone authorization, and Knox’s marketplace listing says hosted apps inherit a substantial portion of required security controls.
  • 03Before signing, ask how Knox's Shared Responsibility Matrix maps to a manufacturer rather than an agency, and how new AI agents get added inside a continuously monitored boundary.

Nov 14, 2026

Rockwell’s PanelView Pro targets HMI upgrades that keep FactoryTalk View ME apps

Rockwell’s PanelView Pro targets HMI upgrades that keep FactoryTalk View ME apps

Rockwell Automation's PanelView Pro, with availability beginning in the fourth quarter of calendar 2026, runs existing FactoryTalk View ME applications and shares cutouts with PanelView Plus 7 Performance terminals. For those sites, the HMI upgrade starts to look like a hardware swap. Separate display and logic modules also change how plants stock spares, and more configurations follow through 2027.

  • 01For a plant on PanelView Plus 7 Performance terminals, the pitch is that the panel cutout stays, the FactoryTalk View ME application stays, and future repairs happen one module at a time.
  • 02Plant standards for the new terminal are worth writing around what ships in Q4 2026, since additional modules and configurations keep arriving through 2027.
  • 03The easy migration path is a path to staying on Rockwell's FactoryTalk platform; plants already planning to leave FactoryTalk View ME won't see the reuse savings.

Nov 14, 2026

BMW's 1,700 new ABB robots share one controller in Munich and Tiexi

BMW's 1,700 new ABB robots share one controller in Munich and Tiexi

More than 1,700 ABB robots are going into BMW body shops in Munich and Tiexi, China, to weld, glue, rivet and assemble Neue Klasse car bodies, with every unit on ABB’s OmniCore controller. The order spans three models across two related families that share components and a common footprint, which ABB says supports flexible installation and changeouts. ABB’s "up to 20%" controller claim and "up to 30%" robot-family claim use different baselines and shouldn’t be treated as the same number.

  • 01ABB's up to 20% energy figure compares OmniCore with its predecessor controller. The up to 30% figure for the IRB 7710/7720 family already includes that controller regeneration, so the two shouldn't be added together in a business case.
  • 02For plants that move stations between payload classes, a shared footprint and standardized components across robot sizes belong on the spec sheet next to payload and reach.

Nov 13, 2026

Explore More Industrial IoT Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Industrial IoT.

Browse Industrial IoT Hub

About the Expert

RM
Ruari McCallion

Host, All Systems Go

For Industrial IoT teams

See how Industrial IoT teams use MarketScale →

AI Visibility (GEO)

Explore Channels

Industry news, analysis, and expert perspectives

Professional AV›Engineering & Construction›Education Technology›Healthcare›Energy›Software & Technology›Retail›Business Services›Industrial IoT›Sports & Entertainment›Transportation›Sciences›Building Management›Food & Beverage›Architecture & Design›Hospitality›Marketing Tech›
Keep exploring

More from Industrial IoT

Industrial IoT hubMore expert Industrial IoT coverage.Explore →AI Visibility (GEO)Be the answer AI tools cite.Explore →Aligned Data CentersInfrastructure at scale.Explore →State of GEO & AI VisibilityHow B2B brands get cited by AI search.Explore →

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Industrial IoT and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512