Thanks to Engineering Students, ‘Smart Benches’ Are Coming to Boston

Cell phones do more than just make phone calls, so why should benches just be seats? Boston Mayor Martin Walsh has a valid point, and he has some local engineering brainpower to back it up. A few students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed solar-powered benches, called Soofas. This post from Business Insider states: “In addition to offering you a place to sit, the benches will feature plugs to charge your smartphone, and will also wirelessly connect to the internet to provide location-based information, like air quality data.” New York and Chicago are expected to add Soofas to their city landscapes as well.

http://www.businessinsider.com/boston-sets-up-smart-benches-2014-6#ixzz36R4WjdNY