New technologies selected for testing in Toronto’s First Smart City Pilot Program

TORONTO, May 24, 2018 /CNW/ – UPPlift: Toronto today announced the winning innovators selected to pilot their smart city technologies in test-beds across the city, through the first-ever Urban Pilot Program in Toronto. The program, launched earlier this year, focuses on bridging the gap between emergent smart city technologies and building and infrastructure operators seeking innovations to enhance the city’s liveability.

“Through UPPlift: Toronto, we help resolve challenges in the built environment. Toronto’s innovation community has an abundance of solutions to enhance the city’s existing infrastructure,” said Mikele Brack, CEO of Urban Living Futures and creator of UPPlift: Toronto. “Our winning innovators are now able to participate in the city’s first living lab to deploy ‘smart’ and resource-efficient technologies to address those challenges.”

The smart city innovations will be piloted in test-bed properties owned by QuadReal Property Group and the City of Toronto starting this month. These solutions leverage emerging technologies including Internet of Things (IoT), advanced sensors and artificial intelligence, to enhance facility efficiency or improve the citizens’ experience of the built environment. The selected innovators will receive technology support, and expertise from Microsoft and Intel, and a Start-Up Program legal service package from Fasken. Qualifying solutions will also benefit from $25,000 from the IESO (Independent Electricity System Operator) to cover pilot costs.

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“We are thrilled to see excellence in local innovation shine through in the UPPlift: Toronto program,” said Michael Kolm, Chief Transformation Officer for the City of Toronto. “Toronto is looking forward to piloting ground-breaking new ideas and smart city solutions to drive improvements in the city’s connectedness, efficiency and sustainability. These solutions have the potential to make city living easier and more inclusive.”

The first UPPlift: Toronto technologies selected to pilot at QuadReal Properties are:

1. ArgosAI: Digitized data stream activated through video cameras and used to count people, manage space usage, assess advertising impact, automate parking spaces, and manage individual parking spaces without sensors. ArgosAI is deployed through its parent company Premise.
2. Binners Junk Removal: Junk removal app focused on continuously organizing and simplifying item removal and sustainable disposal.
3. VSETA: Smart facility software, sensors and solutions that enable real-time building and facility monitoring through a private wireless sensor network independent of Wi-Fi or wiring. 
4. Spark EV: Charging stations and a network management platform that allow commercial, retail, and residential building owners and property managers the convenience of implementing and managing a network of EV chargers across a portfolio of buildings via an innovative and secure cloud-based dashboard. Spark’s ‘billboard’ style hardware not only deliver professional charging capabilities but also presents custom branding and advertising opportunities unique in the marketplace. 
5. Eddy Home: Intelligent leak protection and water monitoring through smart products that protect, control and conserve water. Installed directly on the water main, the IoT technology provides real-time readings of water consumption, leak detection and remote water shutoff. When leaks are detected, the system automatically shuts off the flow of water to prevent damage.

The City of Toronto has also selected:

1. Infranovate: Leading-edge products in infrastructure space, including a solar-powered smart bench that provides analytics, Wi-Fi and mobile charging, as well as recycled materials focused on greening and improving urban environments in order to help address climate change. 
2. Intuitive Robotics: Smart AI modules which help detect and accurately route disposal of items into the correct waste category. They create cost savings for facilities by providing them with access to real-time waste analytics.
3. Spark EV: Charging stations and a network management platform that allow commercial, retail, and residential building owners and property managers the convenience of implementing and managing a network of EV chargers across a portfolio of buildings via an innovative and secure cloud-based dashboard. Spark’s ‘billboard’ style hardware not only deliver professional charging capabilities but also presents custom branding and advertising opportunities unique in the marketplace. 

A group of 20 smart city innovators were invited to participate in the inaugural UPPlift: Toronto program, which launched in January 2018. Successful entrants participated in workshops and received mentorship and professional support from partners including QuadReal Property Group, Microsoft, Intel, the IESO, Fasken Law, and Build in Canada Innovation Program, a Federal Government initiative. Ten innovators were short-listed earlier this month.

About UPPlift

UPPlift is an urban pilot program (UPP) designed and delivered by Urban Living Futures Inc. The program endeavors to identify innovations and facilitate live demonstrations of technologies aimed at resolving challenges in the built environment, ensuring asset owners and managers achieve cost savings, improved operations and enhanced experiences for their users. The process creates a living lab in the host city, attracting and retaining an innovator ecosystem, and facilitating deployment of “smart” and resource-efficiency technology into the city’s infrastructure & built assets. For more information, visit upplift.co.