Mayor is electrified by new bench in Titus Sparrow Park.
An MIT spinoff is installing benches equipped with solar-powered phone chargers - and air-quality and noise monitors - in several parks, the mayor's office says.
Changing Environment's "soofa" benches are going into Titus Sparrow Park in the South End, the Common and the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
"Your cell phone doesn’t just make phone calls, why should our benches just be seats?” the mayor asks in a statement.
With any luck, the new installations will last longer than the heart-shaped heart monitors installed last September.
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Comments
What's taking up half the bench?
By Markk02474
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 1:47pm
...between Mahty and the unidentified woman? Will it work on a bench in the shade, or does one have to sit in the hot sun? Having to sit in the open sun is less of an issue for Big Belly solar powered trash cans than people who can get skin cancer or need to drink water and then find a trash bin not full to throw away the empty bottle.
Other than that, its a nice enough looking bench.
Thats the solar pack which
By JeffT
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 1:21pm
Thats the solar pack which will provide the power to I assume batteries which will then inturn charge your phone via USB. So these benches will last as long as no one vandalizes the units on the actual benches.
A happy accident they act as you cant lie here and sleep deterrents.
How about bench warmers?
By Markk02474
Sat, 06/28/2014 - 8:46am
to warm the bench at night for sleeping or melt snow? This thing is another example of technology in search of a problem. I like having people's cell batteries run out - one less annoyance for the rest of us. For criminals, it advertises a cell phone or iPod to steal and a victim who's phone is dead and can't call 911.
Can't sleep where challenge
By Kaz
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 1:31pm
A few pizza boxes on either side and you can sleep right on top of that solar panel.
Photo mix-up
By perruptor
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 3:15pm
Due to an editing error, the wrong photo was used. That's actually, one of the old coal-fired park benches. We regret the error.
The homeless population will
By anon
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 1:24pm
The homeless population will love this. No more hot-wiring street lights to recharge their phones or other electronics.
Good idea, but looks like
By J
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 1:29pm
Good idea, but looks like poor implementation. I think a solar panel "umbrella" would be more effective.
Maybe give it more than a day
By Rob Not Verified
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 3:40pm
Maybe give it more than a day to see?
I prefer this design:
By anon
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 10:58pm
http://inhabitat.com/nyc/breaking-att-and-goal-zer...
Nice idea
By cybah
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 1:32pm
But this will be something else that will break and will sit broken for months before its removed or fixed.
Anyone know if the city will maintain these or will an outside vendor?
Its not a bench
By anon
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 1:35pm
if you cant sit on it, just saying!
So what ever happened with
By anon
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 2:21pm
So what ever happened with those de-luxe public toilet stalls Mumbles installed? Let's not get all high-tech-y when you cant even provide a dumper.
Noise monitors
By Kathode
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 2:53pm
helpful, but only if BPD or someone (Inspectional Services?) plans to enforce noise ordinances.
Are they protected from "juice jacking" ?
By kernelPanic
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 3:04pm
What most people don't realize is that a lot of USB powered "smart devices" are configured to start syncing data automatically when they find the proper connection. This is fantastic when you want to sync at home but ... it also opens up lots of opportunities for bad folks to molest your phone/tablet and potentially compromise it. There are already known/public attacks where malware has been distributed by compromised "charging" systems.
Just remember to practice good USB hygiene and remember that USB does way more than allow for a recharge when you connect it.
Krebs had a good writeup on it and "USB condoms" that allow power to go down the wire but disconnect the pins and leads used for data transfer:
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/06/gear-to-block-j...
Most of these charge only
By gotdatwmd
Sun, 06/29/2014 - 10:44am
Most of these charge only things now only have pins for power and not for data. Look inside the port and you can see
How about the battery pack
By tone
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 3:07pm
How about the battery pack underneath and a solar canopy above the bench.
Hmm...
By whyaduck
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 4:41pm
I feel there is something between us.
Air Quality?
By Suldog
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 4:59pm
Is that another way of saying "If you light up any non-approved substances, we'll know immediately and then dispatch someone to arrest and/or fine you?"
Or is the machine just programmed to say "Oh, man! Who died?" when some poor wino lets off a fart?
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
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