Smart benches unveiled in London

New solar powered benches that can recharge mobiles, tablets and portable music players have been unveiled in several locations in London’s financial hub, Canary Wharf.

Known as the Strawberry Smart Benches, Miloš Milisavljević, CEO and Founder of Strawberry energy–the company that designed the benches–believes that the concept represents reliable and smart city infrastructure made to meet the daily needs of the mobile generation.

The four benches can also track air quality and noise levels and include an emergency call button. More sensors are expected to be added with each bench able to be custom built according to each buyer’s demands. Each bench can charge up to six devices via two built in cables, two USB ports, and two wireless chargers.

Although not cheap, at £5,900 each, the benches have been recognised including winning the ‘Connecting people and creating communities’ competition, organised by the Institute for Sustainability in partnership with the Mayor of London’s Office and supported by EIT Digital.

So far the company has installed smart devices in Serbia, Romania, Slovakia and Bosnia, while new ones are scheduled for Bulgaria and Croatia this month.

“Right now we’re focused on bringing Strawberry Smart Benches all across London, and we’re in communication with several university campuses in the UK,” Milisavljević told Cities Today.

The company is expected to unveil 10 more within London and is in negotiations with boroughs and real estate companies, and is offering a special introductory price.

“We invite Londoners to suggest locations where they would like Strawberry Smart Bench to be installed by tweeting the location with the hashtag #SEBenchLDN, and we will do our best to make it happen,” said Milisavljević.

He added: “We [want] to enhance the smartness of public spaces, and our ultimate goal is to create a network of smart devices all across the world. Our technology is part of a modern smart city that cares for its residents, commuters and visitors.”