Pedestrian counting, augmented reality newest projects in NYC ‘smart city’ testbed program
New York City Chief Technology Officer Matt Fraser on Monday announced two new pilot projects to be led through the NYC Smart City Testbed Program.
The city plans to focus on enhancing street and infrastructure safety, and will include experiments with a pedestrian counting technology and an augmented reality platform hoped to inform the design of a new recreation center in Queens.
The urban-tech accelerator, which the Office of Technology and Innovation kicked off in 2023, gives city agencies, private companies and academic institutions a chance to pilot technologies that solve urban challenges. Last year’s cohort used artificial intelligence to help the parks department automatically assess conditions at certain facilities, and a lidar tool that helped the Department of City Planning analyze industrial traffic.
The city said that in the coming weeks, its transportation and technology bureaus will work with a company that offers a pedestrian-counting technology to test the accuracy of sensors used to measure (anonymized) crowd sizes. They also plan to capture the approximate length of time people dwell at six locations in the city, such as plazas, open streets and holiday markets. Collecting this data, according to a city news release, will help the officials to better understand how the public uses these areas, and more precisely gauge the amount of staffing and resources needed to maintain them.
The second pilot, a partnership between the city’s technology office and Department of Design and Construction, will use an augmented reality and community engagement platform to share the design of the upcoming Roy Wilkins Recreation Center in St. Albans, Queens. The city said visitors will be able to scan QR codes posted near the new recreation center and view a 3D rendering that “will adapt on screen based on the user’s perspective.”
Fraser, the city tech chief, said in the news release said program’s two new pilots are representative of Mayor Eric Adams’ commitment to expanding and improving the use of technology. Adams’ term ends at the end of the year, and Zohran Mamdani will take over Jan. 1.
“The Adams administration has delivered a safer, more affordable city for New Yorkers thanks to its willingness to tackle seemingly intractable challenges in fresh ways,” Fraser said in the release. “The NYC Smart City Testbed Program embodies our mindset that there are no failures, only learning opportunities. The cutting-edge pilots announced today demonstrate our commitment to developing forward-thinking partnerships and solutions needed to better serve our residents.”
