New York City is on a mission to build a better payphone for the digital age.
A few months ago, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a design challenge with the Reinvent Payphones initiative. The goal: crowdsource ways to revitalize and upgrade the city's 11,000 payphones.
Just last night, the city announced the six winning prototypes. Some of the submissions imagined payphone kiosks with air pollution sensors, solar-powered cell phone chargers, and screens controlled by hand gestures and voice commands.
The city judged the prototypes based on connectivity, creativity, visual design, functionality, and community impact.
New York City's contracts for its payphones expire in October 2014. The winners of the Reinvent Payphone Design Challenge aren't guaranteed contracts, but the city will take those designs into consideration when determining what to do with New York's payphones.
Already, the city has converted some payphones into Wi-Fi hotspots. And in November 2012, it replaced 10 booths in Union Square with touchscreens for maps, public service announcements, and entertainment listings.
NYFi's prototype serves more as a public information kiosk than an actual payphone
The NYFi would consolidate a bunch of city apps and services into one kiosk. For example, we could buy metro cards, access information about local businesses, and use it as a Wi-Fi hotspot.
NYFi won the award for connectivity.
NYC Loop created a way to morph a traditional payphone into a multi-functional kiosk
NYC Loop's prototype walked away with the Best in Creativity award.
On one side of the kiosk, an interactive image projector could display information and even art on a sidewalk. On the other side, the team envisions an electric car charging station, a bench and garden, or even bicycle parking.
Inside, people would be able to make phone calls without much interruption, as it features sound harmonizing technology to block out some of the outside noise.
Here's another look at Loop's reinvented payphone
Here, it highlights the booth's Wi-Fi capabilities. Additionally, it envisions piezoelectric pressure plates to convert kinetic energy into electric energy, effectively powering the Loop.
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