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Colorado smart cities lab announces inaugural cohort
Chosen companies are confronting issues in communities across Colorado, including mobility for people with disabilities, climate change, water, and planning.
The University of Colorado Denver College of Engineering, Design and Computing (CU Denver CEDC) in partnership with the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance and Innosphere Ventures has named the 12 companies participating in the inaugural 2023 Smart Futures Lab incubator and accelerator programmes.
The 12 companies selected from a total of 42 applicants are led by people from the New Majority, which includes Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, women and people with disabilities. The partners note that many businesses led by New Majority groups are often left out of the design and implementation of cities and new technology.
More inclusive solutions
This programme seeks to put the New Majority in the driver seat and empower them to imagine more inclusive solutions and build businesses to realise their vision. All of these companies are building technology solutions to issues confronting quality of life in communities across Colorado, including transportation safety, mobility for people with disabilities, climate change, water, and urban planning.
Cohort participants will have access to a new physical coworking and prototyping space at 14th and Larimer featuring a private 5G network for research and development of internet of things (IoT) technologies that will be operational in early May 2023.
“The interest in the programme demonstrates the need for opportunities like this and we’re proud of the diversity represented in the founders and leadership teams of the companies that have been selected”
As part of the programme, they will engage with a custom education curriculum, and extensive partnership networks, among other additional benefits. The Smart Futures Lab is the result of a $2m grant from the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) to support start-ups and entrepreneurs in the civic innovation space.
“The initial Smart Futures Lab cohorts represent a variety of companies at various stages of growth [which] are interested in the civic innovation space,” said Dan Griner, director of design, innovation and strategy for CU Denver CEDC and director of Smart Futures Lab.
“The interest in the programme demonstrates the need for opportunities like this and we’re proud of the diversity represented in the founders and leadership teams of the companies that have been selected.”
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The incubator programme is focused on helping entrepreneurs and companies transform their ideas into proof of concepts ready for real-world demonstration.
The seven companies accepted into the 2023 Smart Futures Lab incubator include:
- Blind Institute of Technology (BIT) will be leveraging the incubator to further develop EdgGuide its indoor micronavigation system for people with visual impairments
- Electrafide is developing a drone to clean solar panels in difficult-to-reach places or in large arrays.
- GlobeWater & Solar Technologies is focused on off-grid solar power to provide water for agriculture, plus drinking water capabilities
- Herculean Feats builds tools that let community members easily interact with infrastructure to get the most out of their experience in the public realm
- Snowbotix develops utility robots for non-road snow removal and off-road vegetation management
- Swap is building a smart and sustainable energy infrastructure and electromobility ecosystem
- Tappy Technogy’s Guide is a smart mobility and transportation solution for people with disabilities and seniors.
The five companies accepted into the 2023 Smart Futures Lab accelerator include:
- AD Knight develops novel technologies to improve traffic safety and traffic monitoring focusing on vulnerable road users based on IoT sensing
- Caliola Engineering is a 100 per cent woman-owned business that provides innovative technical solutions and services for secure and resilient communications
- GridMatrix is a transportation data analytics company that provides cities with a continuous stream of real time, accurate data on vehicular and pedestrian road users, traffic congestion, signalised intersection performance, emissions, and safety
- inCitu is mapping the future of the built environment in augmented reality (AR), to foster collaboration between residents, designers, and city governments in the process of urban change
- Lazarillo Holding is a mapping platform and mobile app that enhances the experience in cities for citizens with and without disabilities, with the goal of making the world more accessible.
The programme partners expect outcomes from this initiative will have a positive ripple effect across the state, including the growth of technology jobs and the development of solutions to key quality of life issues, like transportation, energy, and water.
“Building a company is hard enough; but when your success is dependent on involvement from governments, then the challenge is even bigger,” added Tyler Svitak, executive director of the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance.
“We’re ecstatic to invite these incredible companies into the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance, partner them with innovative local governments across the state, and help them bring solutions to issues Coloradans are frustrated with every day.”
The incubator and accelerator programs within the Smart Futures Lab support goal four of the university’s strategic plan to serve as an anchor institution for an open innovation district in downtown Denver.
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How does the Smart Futures Lab support New Majority-led companies?What technologies are being developed to improve mobility for people with disabilities?How will the 5G network enhance IoT research in the coworking space?What role does the incubator play in transforming ideas into real-world solutions?How do accelerator companies contribute to traffic safety and urban planning?Latest City Profile
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