The city of San Diego unveiled the first of more than 50 brand new kiosks scattered through downtown on Friday, aiming to help people better navigate the area and interact with local businesses.
Known as the Interactive Kiosk Experience, these wayfinding touchscreens have myriad features, encompassing transit, dining, entertainment, safety resources and city services.
The dual-sided kiosks, which are operated by IKE Smart City, can be found in 15 other cities across the country, including Houston, Miami, Atlanta and Baltimore.
“We have been working on this for several years, but this shows that San Diego is ready to be the smart city and provide these services so that people can stay connected,” Christina Bibler, director of economic development, told KUSI at a ribbon cutting on Friday.
San Diego officials approved bringing the kiosks to downtown in June 2023 as part of a collaboration with the Downtown San Diego Partnership, IKE Smart City and the city.
Visitors can scroll through interactive applications on the kiosk — in more than 100 languages — like maps of the area and public transit schedules; a guidebook of local restaurants, shops and upcoming events; and informational tools to connect with city services like shelters.
The kiosks also have 24/7 safety resources, including a button that allows people to contact the Downtown San Diego Partnership’s Clean and Safe Team or get a security escort to a vehicle.
An added bonus: local artists will be paid to exhibit their work on each of the screens.
“This new technology will help guide people around our urban core and find the hidden gems and local favorites maybe some of us know well, but others may not know so much about until now,” Mayor Todd Gloria said.
The installation of these kiosks, Bibler says, comes with no cost to the city, but will be able to generate an estimated $15 million in advertisement revenue and branding opportunities. The guide itself is not generated by these advertising deals.
The first kiosks will be in the downtown City Center, near the Downtown San Diego Partnership’s office at the corner of 1200 Fourth Ave. and B Street.
The remaining kiosks will be deployed over the next two years throughout other parts of the City Center as well as the Columbia District, Marina District, East Village, Cortez and the Convention Center District.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Danielle Dawson, Ed Lenderman
Quelle/Source: msn, 15.11.2024
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