Seven Innovative Technologies Selected as Winners for Deployment by Local Governments Across Colorado Through Alliance’s C² Challenge
Jurisdictions will partner with technology companies to test innovative solutions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Denver, CO [October 31, 2023] – Seven new technology innovations will be used to improve quality of life issues across Colorado as a result of the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance (Alliance)’s 2023 Connected Colorado (C²) Challenge. Winning solutions include using AI to repair our roads, improve traffic, and increase bicycle safety; mapping technology to help people with disabilities better navigate public spaces; and robots to improve snowplowing for pedestrians.
This year’s C² Challenge, which launched in June, sought innovative smart cities solutions that address three specific problems faced by Colorado communities: accessibility, safe streets and public safety. 11 jurisdictions across Colorado participated in a rigorous evaluation process of 75 proposals, which resulted in 35 solutions being selected as finalists. Seven of the final solutions were selected as winning solutions for scoping and demonstration in Colorado communities.
Colorado Smart Cities Alliance Executive Director Tyler Svitak believes Colorado needs to be exploring how technology can improve issues impacting people across our state, “We all use technology to improve our daily lives – our local governments should, too. By defining a problem instead of the solution, we allow the world’s best innovators to help improve our local governments and the infrastructure we all use.”
The C2 Challenge is the nation’s only statewide program bringing together multiple governments to procure smart cities technologies. The following solutions are winners of this year’s challenge and will be demonstrated in partnership with the jurisdiction that selected them.
Safe Streets
CityROVER | Arapahoe County & Commerce City
Using in-vehicle AI cameras, CityROVER revolutionizes road and infrastructure inspections by identifying deficiencies, streamlining operations, and prioritizing maintenance tasks.
Clovity | City of Greeley
An AI and IoT solution that can identify and help cities plan for safer streets in the cases of bike and vehicle collisions, wildlife and vehicle collisions, accidents due to weather conditions and other factors.
ITC – Intelligent Traffic Control | City of Greeley
5G-based traffic management with state-of-the-art computer vision and machine learning algorithms that predict traffic patterns and prevent jams before they start to accumulate.
Numina | City of Aspen
A privacy-by-design approach to measuring how things move in streets, Numina uses a proprietary c computer-vision based sensor to detect the presence and paths of pedestrians, bicyclists, different types of vehicles, and other objects in streets and public spaces.
Accessibility
Lazarillo | City and County of Denver at Denver International Airport
A game-changing mapping platform and mobile app that revolutionizes navigation with a focus on accessibility for people with disabilities.
Snowbotix | Arapahoe Libraries
Self-driving snow removal and maintenance robots that can help improve the clearance of sidewalks, bike paths, and other hard-to-service areas.
Qwally | Commerce City
Business engagement software that automates the process of matching new businesses with the right government resources and guidance to save time, create connections, and deliver better customer service to the business community.
This model for engagement between the public and private sectors in Colorado is unique to the Alliance and their network. The Alliance hosts a challenge each year focused on unique problems sourced from participating communities. This allows the multi-billion smart cities and technologies industry the opportunity to showcase their solutions to potential government partners, and it provides a rare opportunity for governments to think differently about how to approach community issues with innovative ideas.
“The City of Greeley is proud to participate in the Connected Colorado Challenge as one of eleven jurisdictions from across the state responsible for reviewing and providing feedback on the solutions that were submitted,” said City of Greeley Public Works Deputy Director Will Jones. “We continue to be impressed with the opportunities for collaborative innovation offered through the solutions we review each year. We’re grateful that the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance provides this unique platform for communities to demonstrate new technologies.”
Each of the winners will now work to co-develop a demonstration project that will test how the solution can be applied to a specific issue 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 in 2024. We expect additional solutions to be demonstrated as a result of this Challenge, but they are not ready to be announced yet.
On Thursday, December 7 from 9 – 10:30 am, the Alliance will host a virtual celebration for the Connected Colorado (C²) Challenge, highlighting the partnerships that resulted from the Challenge, with a focus on the winning solutions.
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The Colorado Smart Cities Alliance is the first statewide non-profit organization of its kind, bringing together government, businesses and allied organizations to improve life for all Coloradans. The organization accelerates civic innovation in Colorado through partnership building, research, education and consulting. The Alliance has over 70 public and private sector members, all of which are interested in collaborating to test new solutions to pressing challenges in our communities.
Contact
Chelsea Barrett
Sr. Communications and Marketing Manager
Colorado Smart Cities Alliance
chelsea@coloradosmart.city
720-213-8238
Note: This release was amended to announce seven Challenge winners. One of the winning solutions was no longer able to move forward.
