Contact:
Tyler Svitak
tyler@coloradosmart.city
Cell: 720.292.0360
Executive Director
Colorado Smart Cities Alliance
Showcase and innovation eco-system to fast-track development of smart cities and regions across the state of Colorado
For Immediate Release: Sept 16th, 2019
CENTENNIAL, COLO. – The Colorado Smart Cities Alliance joined with Arrow Electronics, Inc. to launch the Colorado Open Lab – a 9,500 square foot engineering laboratory and showcase designed to accelerate the development of new technology solutions through statewide and cross-sector collaboration.
Thanks to funding from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, members of the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance will have access to this world-class resource to co-develop new solutions to address some of the most complicated challenges facing our growing state.
Located at Arrow’s global headquarters, the Colorado Open Lab houses state-of-the-art engineering facilities in a centralized space for the ideation, creation, testing and validation of innovative IoT solutions. The solutions cross the many aspects of smart cities, including transportation, public safety, housing, health and the environment.
“The growth-related challenges facing Colorado cities today are multifaceted, regional, and gaining in complexity and urgency as Colorado continues to grow,” said Tyler Svitak, Executive Director, Colorado Smart Cities Alliance. “Smart cities recognize that developing solutions will require collaboration between civic, business and research leaders. The Colorado Open Lab will provide the physical space and intellectual and technical assets to begin building smarter communities together. Further, it will establish a new model for public-private collaboration that attracts the global investment, talent and ideas necessary to improve life for all Coloradans.”
Sitting at the intersection of innovation as a global technology solutions provider, Arrow Electronics brings a global perspective and supplier network that Colorado’s cities will now have access to in the form of this innovation laboratory. Members of the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance can collaborate, discover, innovate, test and confidently validate Smart City solutions prior to deployment within their jurisdictions.
Aiden Mitchell, vice president of IoT global solutions at Arrow, is excited by the opportunity to take solutions developed in the lab to city streets. “The Colorado Open Lab is the next evolution in a network of open labs Arrow is launching around the world. Our work with the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance concentrates the stakeholders needed to build smarter communities and provides our suppliers and technology network the opportunity to develop, prove, scale, and replicate smart cities solutions.”
“The realization of the Colorado Open Lab is a milestone for Colorado’s innovation and our continued advancements in smart city development,” said Katie Woslager, Senior Manager of Advanced Industries at the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. “Collaborative infrastructure plays a vital role in linking private industry and the public sector to achieve shared goals. We are proud to support the Open Lab, and we are committed to continuing to fund projects that pair technology companies with public sector leaders to shape a better future for all Coloradans.”
About The Colorado Smart Cities Alliance
The Colorado Smart Cities Alliance is the first state-wide alliance of its kind in the nation, bringing together public, private, federal research, and academic sector leaders committed to advancing smarter communities. With a membership that includes 23 government agencies throughout Colorado, the Alliance is committed to accelerating the adoption of smart cities projects and initiatives throughout the state and creating the first true “Smart Regions.”
