Boston’s solar-powered benches charge your phone while you’re one with man-made nature

By Williams Pelegrin June 30, 2014

bostons solar powered soofas charge phone become one man made nature benches — Image: The Boston Globe Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’re someone who’s tired of having your phone die on you while you’re watching your kid or feeding the pigeons, Boston’s pilot program might interest you. The city is installing solar-powered benches, which allow certain smartphones and other devices to charge while you become one with man-made nature, as reported by The Boston Globe.

In addition to charging your phone, the benches, called “Soofas,” connect wirelessly to Verizon’s network, relaying location-based environmental information to you, such as air quality and noise-level data. Boston will be installing Soofas in several parks over the next week, which include Titus Sparrow Park, the Boston Common, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

Recommended Videos

The Soofas were created by Changing Environments, a spinoff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab and a Verizon Innovation Program. “We are fortunate to have talented entrepreneurs and makers in Boston thinking creatively about sustainability and the next generation of amenities for our residents,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh.

The first units will be funded by Cisco Systems, though Boston officials are asking residents what other parks the Soofas should be installed at. Residents can also recommend what the name of the Soofas in each park should be. Submissions must be entered by July 11.

Topics

Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

Cars

The UK’s Wayve brings its AI automated driving software to U.S. shores

wayve ai automated driving us driver assist2 1920x1152 1

It might seem that the autonomous driving trend is moving at full speed and on its own accord, especially if you live in California.Wayve, a UK startup that has received over $1 billion in funding, is now joining the crowded party by launching on-road testing of its AI learning system on the streets of San Francisco and the Bay Area.The announcement comes just weeks after Tesla unveiled its Robotaxi at the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California. It was also in San Francisco that an accident last year forced General Motors’ robotaxi service Cruise to stop its operations. And it’s mostly in California that Waymo, the only functioning robotaxi service in the U.S., first deployed its fleet of self-driving cars. As part of its move, Wayve opened a new office in Silicon Valley to support its U.S. expansion and AI development. Similarly to Tesla’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) software, the company says it’s using AI to provide automakers with a full range of driver assistance and automation features.“We are now testing our AI software in real-world environments across two continents,” said Alex Kendall, Wayve co-founder and CEO.The company has already conducted tests on UK roads since 2018. It received a huge boost earlier this year when it raised over $1 billion in a move led by Softbank and joined by Microsoft and Nvidia. In August, Uber also said it would invest to help the development of Wayve’s technology.Just like Tesla’s FSD, Wayve’s software provides an advanced driver assistance system that still requires driver supervision.Before driverless vehicles can legally hit the road, they must first pass strict safety tests.So far, Waymo’s technology, which relies on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), is the only of its kind to have received the nod from U.S. regulators.

Cars

Aptera’s 3-wheel solar EV hits milestone on way toward 2025 commercialization

Aptera 2e

EV drivers may relish that charging networks are climbing over each other to provide needed juice alongside roads and highways.

But they may relish even more not having to make many recharging stops along the way as their EV soaks up the bountiful energy coming straight from the sun.

Cars

Ford ships new NACS adapters to EV customers

Ford EVs at a Tesla Supercharger station.

Thanks to a Tesla-provided adapter, owners of Ford electric vehicles were among the first non-Tesla drivers to get access to the SuperCharger network in the U.S.

Yet, amid slowing supply from Tesla, Ford is now turning to Lectron, an EV accessories supplier, to provide these North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapters, according to InsideEVs.