Local community members attended the Collaboratory Innovation Experience on October 12 to explore the Collaboratory’s next phase of innovation: advancing tech-focused solutions to the Greater Phoenix Metro area.
Since 2020, the Cox Connected Environments Collaboratory at ASU has delivered on its promise of advancing smart solutions across the university. The Collaboratory’s work aligns well with ASU’s Enterprise Technology, which emphasizes scalable, sustainable support for our ASU community.
Now, the Collaboratory is building upon this promise by taking their engagement to the local community.
At the Collaboratory Innovation Experience on Wednesday, October 12, the Collaboratory team showcased its current Neutral Host Network connectivity project, which allows private and public parties to use the same network, managed by a third party service provider (Cox). Additionally, the team shared the Collaboratory’s new high-level operating model and announced it will expand its reach from the campus to the community.
The event was hosted at the Collaboratory’s lab space on the ASU campus at Skysong, where ASU faculty, students, local government and community members had the chance to meet the teams at Cox and ASU, find out more about current and past projects and discover the Collaboratory’s value – on and off campus.
“Advancing smart solutions and improving people’s experiences is at the core of what we do at the Cox Collaboratory,” said Barak Weinisman, Vice President & General Manager for Cox2M and Smart Communities. “Now that we’ve laid a foundation for what is possible on the ASU campus, we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead in the greater Phoenix area and beyond.”
More communication, less silos
During the event, attendees had the chance to hear from local experts and members from Cox to learn more about opportunities that the Collaboratory can address in the community, as well as challenges they have experienced in trying to implement a connected, smart city approach. The panel included:
- Bianca Lochner - CIO, City of Scottsdale
- Josh Utterback - Economic Development Program Manager, City of Scottsdale
- Brett Yacko - Director of Sales, Enterprise Cox Business
- Ben Williams - Program Manager, The Connective
- Jeffrey Abbott - General Manager, Cox ASU Collaboratory (moderator)
One theme that emerged from the panel discussion was the importance of opening lines of communication amongst institutions, corporations and government. This would ensure that innovation isn’t held up by siloed projects when all can be working together for the good of the community.
Advancing smart solutions across the university
During the last two years, the Collaboratory has completed a number of forward-thinking projects for the ASU community, including:
- The Collaboratory’s partnership with ASU’s Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services (SAILS) office to design a system to better track the transportation used in the DART programs and an interface and mobile app that improves the customer experience.
- Working with ASU’s Facilities Management and operations team to kick off a smart fleet project that will help the university reduce vehicle inventory and eventually have an all-electric vehicle fleet.
- Testing new network options to best serve the ASU community and beyond.
“We are grateful for our partnership with the Cox Collaboratory, and the innovative projects that we’ve been able to complete together for ASU students, faculty and staff,” said John Rome, Deputy CIO at ASU. “We look forward to exploring how to create more human-centered, tech-focused solutions beyond the ASU campus and into the community.”
Looking ahead
The Collaboratory’s mission is to accelerate new ideas that deliver on the promise of human-centered smart solutions for our communities — the Collaboratory Innovation Experience solidified that for all to see.
“Finding solutions that address the challenges, needs and opportunities from the ASU campus and bringing them to the community allows us to create smart solutions that can be scaled to make an even broader impact,” said Jeffrey Abbott, General Manager of the Cox Connected Environments Collaboratory. “Now, we’re ready to broaden our reach even further into the greater Phoenix community and are excited for what’s to come.”