Introducing the Isabelo Smart Bench … the latest and greatest in connective technology.
The bench has four arms for you to get comfy on. The arms lead off a central upright pillar and is solar powered, making it the most environmentally friendly bench in the city.
Louise Meek, the entrepreneur and founding director of Public Access Consulting, the company that created and developed the bench, explained that the product name isabelo is taken from the Zulu word ‘to share’.
“The smart bench is all about sharing – sharing a seat, sharing public spaces and sharing content online,” she said.
“What we love about it is that people can sit down, charge up and freely access information and share ideas online.”
On top of being powered by the sun, the bench also has four USB charging points so users can power up during their lunch breaks or while waiting for transport. It may still be in its prototype form, with the first bench popping up in the Maboneng Precinct, but it has been well received by the public. Plans to install other benches in major centres in the city are underway.
All you have to do is sit down and connect to the Isabelo free Wi-Fi with your smartphone to get networking.
Meek, who was one of eight finalists to receive funding from The Green City Startup in March this year, said that one of the objectives of the bench was to commercialise free Wi-Fi in a sustainable way “so that businesses can add value and unearth insight on how people in location-specific areas feel on certain issues.We do this by running digital market research off the Wi-Fi hotspot”.
Details: www.isabelo.co
