Wi-Fi finds its way into park bench
Designer sketches solar-powered urban wireless seat
A designer’s inked plans for a hi-tech park bench boasting solar panels, Wi-Fi and broadband.
Designer Owen Song's Solar Inside bench, with Wi-Fi
Boston-based Owen Song’s Solar Inside concept bench would have a layer of solar panels integrated into its seating surface, which would presumably be used to power the Wi-Fi access point.
The bench’s body would be partly constructed from recycled plastic – another plus for eco-minded tech lovers.
A Wi-Fi park bench is a definite plus in our books, but Reg Hardware can see one potential problem.
If several people sit on the bench at one time then its solar panels won't gather much sunlight, which would compromise the bench’s power supply to the Wi-Fi connection.
Fortunately, Owen's thought of that: the futuristic urban furniture contains a battery, fed by the solar panel, and ready to keep the wireless link tinking over at night and when the panel's obscured. ®
COMMENTS
@Michael
You didn't finish your comment- it should have read "How long before it gets hacked apart by some drunkard with an axe?".
Could be a good idea somewhere like a corporate campus- you'd have access to a decent internet connection nearby, many corporate places already have wireless- so this could be repeated rather than running a cable / fiber out to the bench, and it'd be relatively safe from vandalism. Plus there's only a few times of day when it's likely to be fully occupied.
Its reputation as a todger tadpole toaster are wholly unfounded- the power requirements would be tiny if the WiFi was just covering a couple of meters. Given that it's fixed infrastructure, its backhaul coud even be directional, lowering power requirements further. And even if it was a couple of watts of power, it's not like the affected areas don't have sufficient surface area to dissipate that energy. Not that I'm bragging or anything!
Pointless...
My friend's local council had a bit of a problem with hooligans in one of their parks. In an effort to improve facilities for the local residents, they refurbished the park. They put in several tennis courts, done up small bridge over the stream that runs through the park and replaced all the lighting with state of the art lighting.
A rumour said they spent about £250,000 doing it..
Within two weeks every light was smashed. This bench, if it were to be introduced, would go the same way,
Re: "Reg Hardware can see one potential problem..."
Er, you missed the fact that it'll also slowly roast your testicles while you are sitting on it.
I hope that...
...they're well bolted down. I've never had the desire to steal a park bench until I saw those ones!
If they made the seats
in the same way as the kinetic dance floors you get in clubs, you could kill 2 birds with one stone.
http://www.interactivearchitecture.org/eco-dance-floor.html
Especially with the increasing mass of the average westerner...
