Colorado Governments Select Innovative Technology Solutions in Fourth Annual Connected Colorado (C2) Challenge
The most recent C2 Challenge from the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance celebrates two new winning solutions while educating more government staff than ever before
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Denver, CO [January 23, 2025] – Two cutting-edge companies emerged as winners in this year’s Connected Colorado (C²) Challenge, earning the opportunity to implement their innovations with the City of Colorado Springs. CITYDATA.ai will deploy technology to analyze visitor traffic patterns, while Snowbotix will introduce autonomous robots for maintenance operations. The Challenge, run annually by the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance (the Alliance), creates a streamlined pathway for global innovators to connect with Colorado’s state and local governments, helping jurisdictions discover, evaluate and acquire breakthrough solutions.
The 2024 C² Challenge, which launched in June of last year, sought ways new technology could help address four specific problems faced by Colorado communities: Missing Middle Affordable Housing, Infrastructure Asset Analysis, Public Park and Open Space Usage, and Crime Prevention. The following are detailed descriptions of the winning solutions and how they will be demonstrated in partnership with the City of Colorado Springs:
CITYDATA.ai | City of Colorado Springs
CITYDATA.ai’s CITYPARKS.ai solution will empower the City of Colorado Springs to measure and understand visitation trends and movement patterns across any park, trail, open space, or any custom-defined geofence to answer questions such as: How many people are visiting? Where do they come from? How long do visitors stay? What are the demographics and density heatmaps for these visitors? These are the key insights required to understand how facilities are being used, allowing proactive identification of maintenance, accessibility and security issues.
Snowbotix | City of Colorado Springs
Snowbotix‘s “Integrated Inspection and Maintenance Management of Infrastructure” solution is designed to tackle the complexities in analysis and maintenance of infrastructure assets using autonomous robots for detection and response. Colorado Springs plans to test in several areas including airports for snow removal and parking garages for sweeping.
Photo courtesy of Smart Futures Lab | Pictured: Dr. Sasi Prabhakaran, founder of Snowbotix, with a Snowbotix self driving snow removal robot at a deployment in south Denver at Arapahoe Libraries.
The winners will now work to co-develop a demonstration project that will test how the solution can be applied to specific issues being faced in the jurisdiction that selected them. Each project will have its own unique deployment timeline and scale to be defined over the next few months, with deployment expected this year.
“Our participation in the C² Challenge exemplifies our commitment to leveraging innovative technology to improve community outcomes. By engaging in the Alliance’s Challenge based procurement process, we were able to find multiple solutions that we might not have found otherwise,” said Mary Weeks, CIO of City of Colorado Springs. “This collaboration not only drives efficiency but also empowers us to make more informed decisions that benefit our residents and visitors alike.”
Other jurisdictions who reviewed applications as part of this year’s C² Challenge Deployment Board include: Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), City and County of Denver, Arapahoe County, Jefferson County, City of Aspen, City of Centennial, Commerce City, City of Greeley, City of Lakewood, and Arapahoe Libraries.
Tyler Svitak, the Alliance’s Executive Director, believes Colorado needs to continue exploring how technology can improve issues impacting people across our state, “Our local and state government leaders are looking for new ways to solve everyday challenges facing their communities. We are proud to help source the world’s best innovators to help improve our local governments and the infrastructure we all use.”
There were many compelling solutions selected as finalists who had the opportunity to interview directly with participating jurisdictions, receive feedback, and further refine their offerings. Finalists from the Alliance and University of Colorado Denver run Smart Futures Lab incubator and accelerator program included Addazu, GridMatrix, InfraSmart, Lazarillo, N5 Sensors, Taro AI, Tiami Networks, as well as a winner, Snowbotix, proving the program’s success at preparing cohort companies to collaborate with the public sector.
One of the selected finalist proposals that enticed reviewers interest was N5 Sensors, a unique technology and sensor system for wildfire detection that alerts to potential emergencies within minutes of the incident, allowing for quick response to protect people, infrastructure, and assets.
Additional winners may be identified, but they are not ready to be announced at this time.
The C² Challenge is the nation’s only statewide initiative that unites multiple governments to source and implement smart city technologies. The Alliance also recently launched its inaugural Library Innovation Challenge, borrowing the C² Challenge’s structure to find solutions for Libraries. This one-of-a-kind collaboration, pioneered by the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance, fosters a unique model for public-private engagement. Each year, the Alliance hosts a challenge centered on distinctive problems identified by participating communities, offering the multi-billion-dollar smart cities industry a platform to showcase cutting-edge solutions to interested government partners. Simultaneously, it empowers governments to reimagine their approach to community challenges through innovative and transformative ideas.
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The Colorado Smart Cities Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, 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. The organization aims to enhance quality of life in Colorado by fostering sustainability, equity, resilience, and humanism in urban environments. Through partnership development, education, and capacity-building, the Alliance has facilitated some of the most innovative government technology projects in the state.
Contact
Chelsea Barrett
Colorado Smart Cities Alliance
chelsea@coloradosmart.city
