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SMART kiosk unveiled at Port of Orillia

First unit of its kind in Ontario marks launch of Smart City pilot project
Bell SMART Kiosk launch-June2018
Photo provided by City of Orillia

NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF ORILLIA
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The unveiling today of a digital, touch-screen kiosk at the Port of Orillia signals the first phase of a Smart City pilot project between the City of Orillia and Bell.

“The Orillia SMART Kiosk is the first of its kind in Ontario and only the second in Canada, and showcases that Orillia is stepping things up when it comes to innovation and technology,” said Mayor Steve Clarke. “The digital kiosk will enhance the tourism experience by promoting local community events and businesses to visitors, while also providing new ways of sharing information with residents.”

The kiosk is part of a research partnership between the City and Bell that will leverage Bell’s Smart City platform to collect, organize and centralize data from wireless Internet Of Things (IoT) applications to help the City make better informed decisions on matters like municipal operations and infrastructure moving forward.

Located just outside the Orillia Waterfront Centre, the kiosk includes two 54-inch vertical LCD screens, one on either side of the unit. One screen broadcasts events, community happenings and paid advertisements, while the other provides a touch-screen interface that enables users to browse information about - and find directions to - local events, activities and amenities such as restaurants, hotels and shopping experiences. Kiosk content will be continuously updated and refreshed.

The kiosk also acts as an access point for free Wi-Fi in the vicinity.

Other features will be added and tested on the kiosk as part of the pilot project, including a USB charger for phones and tablets; remotely managed video cameras and related applications; and a 911 emergency button.

Over the next month, other phases of the pilot project will take shape, as a second kiosk will be deployed in the downtown - just outside the Orillia Opera House - and the free Wi-Fi network will be expanded to cover the Downtown Business Improvement Area and the waterfront, stretching from the Port to the Rotary Aqua Theatre.

As well as the customer service benefits, the kiosk and Wi-Fi applications will provide the City with valuable high-level, anonymous data related to where visitors are coming from and gain insights into what they value when in Orillia.

Two other applications, separate from the kiosks and the Wi-Fi, are also being developed in partnership with Bell, and will be rolled out later this year. One will allow residents to monitor snowplow activity and progress while the other will detect ground water infiltration into the city’s sanitary sewer system.

“Today’s launch of the first SMART kiosk in Ontario is a significant milestone on Orillia’s path to becoming one of Canada’s leading smart cities,” said Bell Senior Vice President Gary Semplonius. “We look forward to bringing further benefits of the Bell Smart City platform to Orillia residents, businesses and visitors alike in the coming months.”

In 2016, Council established a Smart Cities Working Group, made up of Councillors Ralph Cipolla, Sarah Valiquette-Thompson and Mason Ainsworth, along with economic development and information technology staff.

The partnership is a one-year pilot commitment with any future commitments subject to future Council approval.

Bell has also committed to invest significantly in Orillia over the next few years to provide fibre connectivity to residences and businesses in the city.

“The pilot with Bell, and their commitment to fibre in the city, moves Orillia to the forefront of communities in Canada in the area of smart city initiatives, and promotes Orillia as an innovative community in which to do business,” said Landry. “This will factor greatly into how we market investment and business opportunities in Orillia moving forward.”

The City of Orillia is a city of 31,000 people in the heart of Ontario’s Lake Country on the shores of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Visit our website.

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