'Playable' streets £30,000 IoT challenge
We’re running a two-phase competition for innovative companies to explore how we can use our new Things Connected IoT network to re-imagine our city centre. (Closed 27 July 2018.)
Over the last decade our city centre has been transformed with major public and private sector investments in shops, cafes, offices, and in the very fabric of our public space. In many streets we’ve invested in new lights, footpaths and street furniture.
We want to rethink city infrastructure to better understand the needs and desires of the citizen. We also want people to be able to engage with and explore our city in fun and innovative ways – we want a 'playable' city.
If your company is interested in creating new IoT devices that could help with this ambition then we'd love to hear from you. Here's some ideas that you might want to work with us on:
- Helping us to measure changes in footfall, traffic and parking as new offices, shops and apartments are being developed
- Helping with way-finding for tourists, shoppers, and our city centre student population
- Helping to create interactive cultural experiences at specific events (eg) during Culture Night, Arts Weekend, Castle Street Fair
- Or help us keep our streets looking great by finding ways to alert/deter graffiti or littering
Along with free access to the network, you will get practical support from Ulster University in technology design, IoT cloud analytics and business development.
During phase one we expect your company to build at least one proto-type IoT device gathering data for at least three weeks on the Things Connected network (beginning August 2018). And, if you want to develop an interactive experience, we'd love you to present a demo during Culture Night on 21 September 2018.
If your ideas makes it through to Phase 2 then you can access more funding to take it further.
To get started, join the Things Connected network here.
To express your interest, register here.