Wifi Kiosks — Google’s City-Fixing ‘Sidewalk Labs’

By | April 8, 2023

Last Updated on April 8, 2023 by Craig Allen Keefner

 

Nearly a year after launching, Google’s urban-facing initiative has hired a team and is getting to work.

Source: www.wired.com

What is Google doing with the data I wonder?  Meanwhile, the LinkNYC project is rolling forward. More than a dozen “links” are active along Manhattan’s Third Avenue, with another dozen coming soon. The plan is to expand to 7,500 within a few years. The kiosks don’t just spew WiFi like an open hydrant shoots water; they also gather intelligence on what’s happening around them—traffic patterns, noise levels, and air quality. “No static study will match that kind of tool,” Kaufman says. And cities around the world are interested in setting up similar networks.

 

Author: Craig Allen Keefner

Craig Allen Keefner is an industry analyst, content strategist, and longtime authority on self-service kiosks, digital signage, unattended payment systems, and interactive technology. He manages content and industry strategy for Kiosk Industry and The Industry Group, with a focus on kiosk software, hardware-software integration, accessibility, payment compliance, healthcare kiosks, restaurant self-service, and emerging AI automation. Craig has covered the self-service and kiosk industry since the 1990s, tracking how public-facing terminals move from concept to field deployment. His work combines industry research, vendor analysis, operator conversations, standards tracking, trade show coverage, and practical experience with the real-world constraints of kiosk deployments. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiosk