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Boston Trying Out Solar-Powered "Smart Benches" In Parks
An anonymous reader writes Through a partnership with a MIT Media Lab spinoff, Changing Environments, Boston has announced that it will install solar-powered benches in several of its parks that allow you to charge your cell phone. The bench has a USB outlet, and also collects and shares a wide range of data, including location-based information, as well as air quality and noise-levels. "Your cell phone doesn't just make phone calls, why should our benches just be seats?" said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. "We are fortunate to have talented entrepreneurs and makers in Boston thinking creatively about sustainability and the next generation of amenities for our residents."
i did this in my backyard. except with a bar. I build a bar that had a canopy, on the canopy i attached a few panels, enough to power the lighting, a small stereo and a handful of USB chargers build into the bar itself. I dont have a large backup battery yet so its really only useful during the day time right now, however this makes perfect sense to do in parks, small scale solar is great for isolated outdoor areas
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
Considering how much trouble cities seem to have maintaining a bench made of wood I question how long these are going to last. Honestly I give them a month before they're all broken or vandalized.
From the article, "City officials said the first units in Boston will be funded by Cisco Systems, a leader in development of smart city solutions, at no cost to the city."
As for why Boston got them first, rather than other cities around the country, my guess would be because they're a local product. "The high-tech benches were invented by MIT Media Lab spinoff Changing Environments, a Verizon Innovation Program."
NSA, or someone with (even) fewer scruples. It's only a matter of time before people start getting free malware with their charge.
But what wouldn't a benevolent progressive government pay for the ability to collect more data? Especially from the phones voluntarily plugged-in by unsuspecting residents?
From TFA:
The benches also connect wirelessly, using Verizon’s network, to the Internet to upload location-based environmental information, such as air quality and noise-level data.
I don't think they're trying to upload data through your phone without your knowledge, I believe the "cell phone charging" and "connects to the cell network" are unrelated, aside from the fact that both are supposedly powered via the solar panels.
... just use a cheap USB cable from a cheap charger that only has the GND and 5V wires to save costs :)
No data exchange will be possible.
Might still be good to disinfect it after each use.
I apologize for the lack of a signature.
Okay, technically, they're trash compactors, so that they don't have to go and empty them as often:
http://www.cityofboston.gov/pu...
That seems to make more sense to me than a 'solar powered bench' which looks to me to be two seats as the whole middle of it's taken up by a box. (which might be the point -- it'd be less comfortable for a homeless person to sleep on it)
I've seen other solar "urban furniture" that made more sense to me -- things like bus stops w/ solar panels in the roof (to power lighting, up-to-date bus info ... and sometimes advertising).
I've seen other 'solar phone charging stations' that make more sense to me than having it take up 1/4 of a bench:
http://inhabitat.com/nyc/solar...
http://www.gizmag.com/street-c...
http://bostinno.streetwise.co/...
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
So, you have this boxy thing mounted in the middle of the park bench. The promo photo has two attractive people awkwardly trying to look chic sitting next to something about he size of an old-school VCR bolted to the middle of the bench. Of course, you'd naturally stick your 32 oz triple malt latte on it, and any 9 year old with angry daddy issues will beat it with the nearest rock. Meanwhile, it provides no shade at all.
Great idea, utter failure in implementation. Instead:
1) Put the solar panel (even if small) on a pole OUT OF THE WAY so it lets you sit on the !@# seat, and provides at least a modicum of shade. Better yet, made the overhead cover the length of the bench so the shade is usable and you get some protection from light rain.
2) Put the USB charge port under the seat. This provides automatic protection from accidental strikes and also doesn't provide an automatic target for 9 year olds with angry daddy issues.
As it sits now, it's practically a show case example of some bad engineering product a la Dilbert.
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Actually, yes they do!
http://int3.cc/products/usbcon...
A few other places make similar products. Blocks the data pins and just leaves the charging pins bare.
I was about to say if they don't, they should, suggesting all you need is to have ground and VCC connected and D+ and D- left open - but that's not the way it works! You might get 100 mA that way, or you might get nothing, but you'll never get the full 1/2 amp or the extended 1.8 amps that way. You need enough smarts in your "condom" to negotiate the current.
But all is not lost. I second what the AC suggests: LockedUSB. They have done the work and produced a neat little package, and it's worth the reduced price for what it does.
When you're resorting to sleeping on benches, there's not a lot of people willing to hire you.
Or let you take a shower.
Or clean your clothes.
And people talk about you like you have a choice in the matter.
They put spikes and dividers on the benches so you can't sleep.
Have you ever tried to find a job when you haven't slept comfortably for god knows how long, haven't had a solid meal, haven't been able to clean yourself up?
Have you ever once, for a moment, stepped outside of your privilege and thought about what it actually means to be in that position, and what it honestly takes to get out it?
Take a nap.
Didn't you RTFA? They were built by Cisco.
Who did _you_ think was paying for them?
Also, did you know that you can charge your phone faster by enabling debug mode over USB? I read that on a flyer taped to one of those new benches in Boston...
I guess I don't understand how sleeping on a public bench is leaching off others when the bench is made available to anyone who wants to use it. Homeless people have to sleep somewhere, and if you don't provide accessible sleeping areas, humans are going to do what humans do naturally. And it's a bit presumptuous to talk about homeless people getting a job. Many homeless people have jobs, but the pay often isn't enough to afford a place to live. This is a problem created by urban fascism, such as city ordinances that prohibit new homes being built that are less then x,xxx square feet, zoning restrictions that prohibit small affordable apartment buildings from being constructed, or economic restrictions such as outlawing subletting. In many cities it can cost $10k to $20k just in permit fees and mandatory professional services before construction on a new home can even begin. Some homeless are lucky enough to own a car to sleep in, but cities crack down on this as. Police routinely drive homeless out from under bridges as well.
In the 1960's we declared war on poverty. Today we are raging war on the poor. The powers that be hate homelessness, not out of concern for the well-being of others, but because the existence of homelessness suggests that there is a problem, something fundamentally wrong with our economic and political systems. They have poured massive resources into programs and campaigns to convince the population that we have freedom of enterprise, that the invisible hand of the free market will correct any problems of supply or demand, that wages paid are always fair, that hard work is enough to earn a living and secure a retirement, that labor unions are communist surrogates, and that state intervention on behalf of the poor or working class will always result in disaster, while subsidies, tax cuts, and special protections for private businesses will trickle down to benefit all of us. The perpetual and growing phenomenon of homelessness suggests that we need to re-open our mental institutions, fund our community mental health programs, government jobs in areas where the private sector is not hiring, job training programs where needed, and worker protections that keep qualified individuals from getting jobs, such as employers checking credit reports to make judgments on employee reliability, or excluding candidates with arrest records but no convictions.
Homelessness also exposes the unfair way in which the market for housing is manipulated to boost profits for landlords and developers at the expense of citizens with little or no financial leverage. At the urban level cities are run like fascist corporations rather than communities of residents, with city officials spending lavishly to cater to private businesses that imply that their ventures will directly or indirectly increase tax revenue in the area in which they operate.
Then you get welfare, and go to the homeless shelter. Duh! Free money and an address where you can receive mail, shower, sleep, etc. Homeless people who *want* to get better can get better. I know because I did it.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
People are going to have to be smart (I know, it'll never happen) and use charge-only cables with the data lines physically disconnected.
It is the data lines that convey the information to the device that it is on a charger and may draw whatever current it needs. This is one of the biggest headaches of USB charging, when a company uses one method of signalling "charger" and another uses a different one. E.g., a resistor to ground or +5 on one of the data lines vs. a resistor of a certain value vs. a resistor of a different value.
Then there are oddball companies who decide they won't charge at all via USB unless they can negotiate a current from an active host (Sony, you know who you are), or won't charge if they CAN negotiate with the active host (Galaxy Tab3).
Then you'll have to trust whoever makes those.
It's pretty trivial to modify a standard USB cable to lose data connectivity. Every cable I've pulled apart, the power is red and black. Don't cut the red or black wires. Do cut the others. Then see if your device still charges before you take it to the bench to charge it there.
What will be interesting to see is if anyone comes up with a USB plug that has a 5 Ohm resistor attached between power and ground. Plug it in at dusk and the solar powered battery should be dead by the morning. (Use a cheap/dead USB stick for the connector.)
Aqualung will be pleased.
If a public bench have a fleshlight attached, would you put your dick into it?
No?
Well, then don't put your USB into the digital equivalent.