Meet the newest asset in our smart furniture portfolio
Following the great success of our solar Smart Benches, we can proudly announce that the Smart Bench Mini indoor version is coming this winter!
Ever since the first Smart Benches started emerging in cities across Europe, companies and property developers have recognized the opportunity to join the smart city drift, enhance their property investment and deliver the designated brand message to consumers in an innovative, engaging, and meaningful way. Today, our Smart Benches are present in over 50 cities throughout Europe, Middle East, USA and Australia.
Why an indoor version?
It’s not hard to see why companies have often approached us with requests for an indoor version of our popular Smart Bench.
People use Smart Bench to relax, enjoy the public spaces, charge their phones and connect to the free WiFi through the landing page. While they enjoy the benefits of connectivity and power, they also:
- Associate the brand message with something innovative, and beneficial.
- Understand that the company cares, and is interested in giving back to the community.
- See that the company keeps track with the modern technology and new generation’s needs
That kind of message is much harder to transfer with traditional means of OOH marketing.
Now the companies want the same type of benefit for consumers and visibility for the brand, only transferred to indoor spaces. The logic is clear:
If a branded Smart Bench with free WiFi and customizable landing page worked so well at raising the visibility of the brand and engaging people at the city squares and public parks, then it might work even better at places where people are more often in need of power and connectivity: airports, railway stations, big shopping malls, corporate buildings etc.
Love at first sit 🙂
Our new Smart Bench for indoors features all the functionalities of the outdoor version with one difference — there is no solar panel on the seating area.
The design is sleek and modern without sharp edges, smooth, made of high-quality materials. It’s guaranteed to blend in and enhance the interior whether it’s a big hall, corporate lobby, busy railway station or airport lounge.
Smart Bench Mini for indoors is outfitted with two charging slots for cable charging and two wireless charging spots. WiFi connection is fast and stable, and is accessed through a customizable landing page.
Welcome to the era of Digital Street Furniture
Smart Bench Mini indoor version caters to needs of modern citizens.
Busy halls of railway stations are places with very high foot traffic. And just as public phone booths used to be the usual inventory at such places, today, the mobile era has given us all the convenience of being one click away from a call, information and digital social interaction. Think of Smart Bench Mini as the 21st century descendant of an old fashioned phone booth. With branding space for your company’s message. That kind of brand visibility and engagement would be much harder to achieve with traditional OOH marketing.
Smart Bench Mini is the ideal vehicle to bridge the gap between the old OOH marketing and new digitally equipped consumer.
Estate owners and investors are always looking for ways to enhance their properties and distinguish them from the rest of the offer on an over-saturated property development market. By introducing Smart Bench Mini to their estates, they create an added value and make their properties smarter, ready to join the smart city evolution and keep the pace with the ongoing digital transformation.
Airports are the perfect places to showcase the power of Smart Bench Mini. While people wait to board their flights, their usual pass time is a smart phone. Browsing social media, playing online games, messaging friends and family.
The Internet and power are the key. Smart Bench Mini offers both.
In order to connect to the free WiFi, users go to a landing page that brands can customize in accordance to the season, important brand events, offers etc. That interconnection of user’s and brand’s benefit is what makes Smart Bench Mini a winning product.
Smart Bench Mini installed at the shopping mall is a cool hangout and relaxation point where shoppers can take a break, charge their phones, and use free WiFi. The branding on the Smart Bench Mini and customized brand message on the landing page catch the attention of each Smart Bench user and creates the opportunity for companies to post suitable offers and deals efficiently and measure the results.
The same concept can be applied to gyms, sport centers, hospitality locations, and corporate buildings. Real-estate development is a highly competitive industry. Incorporating proptech such as Smart Bench Mini, can have a huge impact on setting the estate apart.
Smart Bench Mini can also be a great addition to a big venue, arena, or even a company event. It’s not only a social interaction point with the benefit of WiFi and power slots, but also a way to show extra care for the attendees in a distinctive and memorable manner.
We’re here to answer any questions! Contact us at info@eliteareas.gr .
Skopje Zoo plays an important role in educational, cultural and recreational life in North Macedonia. It covers an area of 12 ha, and has a collection of more than 500 animals. It has an economic part, a workshop, a veterinary clinic, an amusement park for children, an educational center.
Problem Description
Skopje Zoo holds practical classes for students from kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, as well as scientific research. During the walks and classes, there is possibility of powering off the devices (mobile phones, tablets) because of empty battery as well as the problem with the availability of cellular network.
Solution
Thanks to the installation of Smart benches based on solar energy, the visitors of the zoo can recharge their devices; they can connect to a faster Wi-Fi network, which can help them to do their basic and scientific research. Also, Wi-Fi connection through the benches can redirect the visitors to some interesting and inaccessible places among the zoo (tracking and watching the hidden animals in their living places thanks to the installed video cameras).
Client’s success with Strawberry Smart Benches
Smart benches located in the beginning of the zoo among their functionalities offer the access to internet and zoo app, so the visitors can buy a single or group ticket online, which is more than a desired option for the recommended physical distance during the pandemic time. So there is no queue in front of the ticket office (which can be considered as a relieve opportunity in birthday organizations). The project called “Shared knowledge”, enables visitors to scan the QR code on the board placed in front of each animal and get information about it, through articles on Wikipedia related to the animal/s.
Personal quote from the client
“Skopje Zoo is one of the most visited institutions in the country. It brings a lot of smiles to the visitors (especially to the children). We appreciate a lot of having the Smart Benches in our area because people can take an infinite number of photos and videos of the animals (regardless of the battery life of their devices), and because of the option of free WiFi, the Zoo can be promoted on social media by tagging the location. Visitors can discover the colorful and diverse wildlife of Skopje Zoo. Happy pictures can be exposed in the classrooms of the kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, emphasizing the concept of joy and happiness, which will be a challenge for another visit in the zoo.” Skopje Zoo Manager
We’re here to answer any questions! Contact us at info@eliteareas.gr .
Music gives everyone a voice, and making music together can build a harmonious, cooperative spirit of support and encouragement for us all.
Inclusion is about engagement and often the lack of opportunity to get involved can be as significant a barrier as the nature of a person’s disability. The creation of holistic accessible outdoor music spaces, where many of the barriers that prevent a person from accessing music (whatever they might be) can be removed, will allow all members of the community the opportunity to experience live music as both a performer and listener – building shared musical and play experiences and in turn an understanding that will only help inclusion to grow.
After all, that is exactly what inclusive communities should be about: creating opportunities for us to share experiences, learn together, and maybe most importantly to have great fun together!
Music can have a profound effect on anyone, but the rewards of exposing people within the disabled community to live music-making opportunities can be huge. Making music can provide a fun and non-threatening outlet for creative and emotional expression and through the medium of music, many essential life skills can be learned or developed. However, with a severe lack of accessible musical instruments for people with varied physical abilities, people with disabilities are often excluded from making music. We want to break down the barriers of ability in music and aim to make the outdoor musical instruments within our range accessible to as many people as possible.
1. The Duo
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder often find it difficult to look others in the eyes as they find eye contact uncomfortable or stressful. The shape and offset note layout of the Duo allows for close social interaction without forcing close physical proximity. Players can interact with each other in a safe space without the need for direct eye contact, offering the chance for players to explore and experience creativity non-verbally through a shared moment together.
2. Rainbow Sambas
The multi-sensory act of drumming has a unique blend of physical activity, coordination, and musicality. As a set of five, the colorful Rainbow Sambas allows a small group to drum together to help develop social skills. This collaborative and interactive process has a lot of benefits for all children, with or without disabilities. They will learn to share, listen, pay attention, take cues from each other, and take turns. The vibration of the drum lid will engage the tactile system of the player, however, perhaps the most obvious benefit is the ease of expression – an opportunity to drum out feelings without needing to talk about things they cannot or do not want to.
3. Papilio
The wide-span and suspended notes of the Papilio ensure wheelchair users can play and have equal amounts of creative fun, side-by-side with their peers, family, or therapist. Both the height and angle of the notes ensure maximum comfort for up to four players to interact, experiment with sound, and develop mobility skills.
4. Tubular Bells
Music is felt on a physical level by everyone – including people living with sensory impairment. When arranged in a horseshoe formation, the Tubular Bells create a wonderful surround-sound effect you can ‘feel’ with noticeable vibrations for anyone standing or seated in the middle of the shape. Players with sensory loss can use the vibration of the instrument to help them touch the sound they create which intensifies along with the level of movement and strength of the ‘strike’. Sound is vibration and vibration is tactile. You can ‘feel’ sound by touch and this combination of mobility and tactile stimulation, vibration, and music, make the Tubular Bells a powerful tool for cognitive and movement therapy.
5. Large Babel Drum
The easy-on-the-ear pentatonic scale used on our Babel Drum means you can play the calming, peaceful notes in any order to create a pleasing melody. Each note will seamlessly flow together in harmony, making it a great instrument and wonderful tool for finding inner peace, with their pleasant and relaxing sounds creating a calming restorative environment. Occupational therapists, music therapists, and child behavioral therapists find these drums to be beneficial in their practice. Playing them can help improve coordination, overcome physical difficulties, promote self-expression, and instill a greater level of confidence in the player’s abilities. Furthermore, their soothing sounds make them an excellent choice for children and adults with auditory processing difficulties.
There is no right or wrong in music, but the harmonic pentatonic scales used on most of our outdoor musical instruments allow the players to feel safe to experiment with self-expression. This leads to a sense of achievement, increased self-esteem, and confidence which can be transferred to other areas of their lives. Through playing the instruments, players can express their emotions, develop a sense of rhythm, support their physical development, develop communication skills, and benefit from auditory and tactile stimulation.
Don’t move out of the city yet! Things are changing!
Can you give a quick YES or NO, answer to this question:
Do you think that big cities like Los Angeles, Paris, Sao Paolo or Hong Kong, will still be the places where people would want to start a family 50 years from now?
If your answer is NO, then what would it take for them to become more livable, to take care of everybody’s needs?
Free public transport? Complete transition to renewable sources of energy? A U-turn in traffic and overall infrastructure development?
There is really only one correct answer: They need to become SMART CITIES.
Here are top 5 ways smart cities can enhance the quality of people’s lives:
1. Smart cities are data-driven — traffic data, weather conditions, transportation routes, congestions, all data is processed in a centralized city system and citizens are informed of the best options to avoid delays or problems during their daily commutes and routines.
2. Smart cities are people centered. They include real people’s habits and mobility in decision making. This helps city planners in creating the best possible solutions to reduce crowds, prevent high energy consumptions and plan more green spaces where necessary. Traffic jams, garbage disposal, city parking, are all better monitored if smart city technology is implemented, and it can ultimately help citizens manage their routines and tasks in the most efficient way.
3. Smart cities are sustainable — They encourage and explore options for sourcing renewable energy and lowering carbon footprint in urban areas: energy-efficient buildings, air quality and noise level sensors, electric vehicles, they are all part of the city wide solutions for sustainable development.
4. Smart cities are safer — IoT and other smart city technologies can help first responders in getting critical information on an incident faster and with more reliability. Smart street furniture like Smart Benches, smart bus stops, can be connected to emergency services network and provide an easily accessible S.O.S. call. Possibilities are endless and there are many ways in which smart city technology like IoT can increase residents’ safety.
5. Authorities get faster and better feedback from citizens — Well connected and informed citizens are more likely to be involved in current city issues, to engage in the local community and report problems. When city authorities provide apps and smart IoT systems that enable faster and easier feedback, more citizens are inclined to report the local problems and engage, which leads to better insights in real and pressing problems of the people living in certain area.
We see smart urban street furniture as an integral part of smart city development. Our solar Smart Bench networks already help local governments and companies in more than 23 cities to make better decisions about public places, promote their brands and deliver important info in a sustainable and interesting way.
We have a very developed and vibrant partnership network, contact us if you are considering expanding your portfolio!
To improve your company’s CSR, have a look at our most popular street solar furniture and contact us to get a specially tailored, affordable offer!
We’re here to answer any questions! Contact us at info@eliteareas.gr .
