Email with FAQs about Saturday’s event

When:

September 21, 2019 – register here

Where:

CitySpace (address)

What:

Smart Cville is organizing Charlottesville’s third civic innovation day. Community members from diverse backgrounds will gather to consider how technology can help mitigate specific challenges in our community! Our third Civic Innovation Day is an “Internet of Things” focused event.  To learn more about the CID see below.

You are free to work on ANY type of project at the Civic Innovation Day but we will also help form teams around the following tracks.

Track 1) Are you interested in traffic monitoring, safe lighting, hiking trail use, or pollution sensing? Based on your input, we will develop a sensor to address a community issue. We will then build the sensor, interface it to the Charlottesville IOT network, and monitor its inputs. We will document the process so others can build similar sensors. Non-technical users are needed.

Track 2) Build, deploy, and monitor your own sensor to detect temperature, motion, or ambient light on the Charlottesville IoT network. Node, by The Things Network, is the quickest and easiest way to get started with the sensing and the IoT. By the end of the day, you will be collecting and sharing your sensor data. Be sure to bring your own hardware, we will not be selling hardware at the event.

For information on past events see the 2018 and 2017 pages.

Who:

Makers, designers, programmers, citizen activists, technologists, YOU – register here

Code for America has developed an anti-harassment policy for this type of event. We intend to use it as a guide to ensure our event remains positive, welcoming, and accepting.

Why:

We believe that combining technology and human expertise we can improve our community. Central Virginia is home to a highly educated and active citizenry that should be engaged deeply to help make our community a better place to live.

Speakers:

Jason Daniel Jason Daniel, President, TechDynamism
Mr. Daniel will speak in the morning on the importance of civic innovators, citizens using technology to make their communities better.  He will also touch on TechDynamism’s role in the N2Work project that helps people obtain higher wage jobs through training and the breakdown of job market friction.

Dr. Luis Felipe Rosado Murillo, Associate Researcher, Data Science Institute (UVA)
Dr. Rosado Murillo is the editor of the Journal of Open Hardware.  He is dedicated to the study of digital technologies and cultures. His focus is on the development of Free and Open Source software and hardware technologies.  He will speak about his experiences and the work of Safecast, a global volunter-centered citizen science project working to empower people with data about their environments.

Dr. Jon Goodall, Associate Professor, Engineering Systems and Environment, Associate Director, Link Lab
Dr. Goodall will speak during lunch about his successful use of the Things Network in Norfolk, VA as part of a NSF grant.  He led a multidisciplinary research group to pursue research in the management of stormwater and transportation during flood events in Norfolk, Va.


Event Sponsors:

 

Food sponsors:

Bodo’s Bagels, Womble Bond Dickinson, Wegmans

Challenges

Our third Civic Innovation Day is an “Internet of Things” focused event.

“How might we use IoT/sensor technology to improve the quality of life in the region?

All project ideas are welcome but we will be focusing on sustainability and multimodal transit during this event.

Bring your team or create one at the event, a winning idea will receive a $500 prize to fund further work or a prototype.

This event is intended for technologists, makers, citizens, programmers, designers, activists, ANYONE!  There are no imposters here.  Everyone has a skill to contribute.

Does an IoT network exist in Charlottesville?  Yes! Using the Things Network as a backbone, a LoRaWAN IoT network covers most of the City of Charlottesville.  Teams are encouraged to design and prototype using this network.

You can build your own LoRa devices to connect to the network or purchase Things Products.  You are not required to purchase equipment to attend or participate.  You are not required to use the Things Network when prototyping or designing your project.  We will not be selling hardware at the event, please come with your own.

Register today!