Boston to have new green mobile charging stations.
Parks in Boston will soon have solar powered benches which will be called the ‘Soofa’ . Starting this week, the new high tech benches will provide solar powered charging stations. The new bench technology has been developed by the MIT Media Lab along with the Rose Kennedy Greenway and the Mayor’s office of New Urban Mechanics. The incoming units will be subsidized by Cisco Systems.
The Mayor of Boston, Martin Walsh in a statement said, “Your cell phone doesn’t just make phone calls, why should our benches just be seats?”
The statement added that they are fortunate to have talented entrepreneurs and makers in Boston who think creatively merge sustainability and technology.
The charging station will provide for two mobile phones to be charged at a time, however, users will have to carry their own charging chord. The bench has a solar panel and two ports for USB connections. Apart from charging, the bench will also help to collect and share information about noise levels and air quality in the surroundings.
The new ‘Soofa’ will be positioned in parks like the Boston Common, Rose Kennedy Greenway and Sparrow Park. The new Soofa was first introduced to the White House Maker Fire in Washington DC and are currently rolled out at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Babson College.
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