Challenge
Telensa, a leader in smart street lighting and smart city applications, asked us to develop the mechanical and aesthetic design for their multi-sensor pod as part of the Urban Data Project.
The pod uses a range of sensors and cameras to map how people use a city, the traffic mix on the roads, the hyper-local air quality, and noise levels. This data is incredibly valuable for designing better city infrastructure, delivering more efficient city services, and making everything more transparent to empower citizens.
Plextek had previously worked with Telensa to create their proof of principle prototype of the multi-sensor pods. The next stage was to rapidly realise a final product that could be exhibited at Moblie World Congress.
A key challenge was to take a bulky prototype with many complex components and create a device that was perceived by the public to be friendly and helpful rather than intrusive such as a speed camera or CCTV device. This was particularly difficult as the device included two cameras and also needed to provide shade from a luminaire above it.