Startups get hands-on intro to the smart city space
shapecharge/Getty Images
The Smart Futures Lab in Denver provides a physical and digital community where participants can hone their technology and find government partners.
A Denver-based smart city accelerator and incubator launched this week to help local entrepreneurs leverage emerging technology for traffic safety, accessibility or climate change.
Housed at the University of Colorado’s College of Engineering, Design and Computing, the Smart Futures Lab aims to provide a physical and digital community for entrepreneurs, cities, businesses and mentors and also encourage workforce development for under-represented talent in critical tech industries.
Companies can apply to either the incubator or accelerator programs. Successful startups applying to the incubator program will receive access to a makerspace with 3D printing equipment and a private 5G lab that includes an indoor and outdoor CBRS network for research, development and testing. Participants will get help with understanding and using 5G and learn to design, develop and test concepts.
More mature ventures applying to the accelerator also will also receive guidance on design and innovation methodologies, requirements development, testbed orientation and smart cities opportunities.
To encourage workforce development, both degreed and non-degree seeking students can complete a virtual curriculum and earn a smart city certificate.
The Smart Futures Lab also emphasizes working with government and will help participants with procurement processes, government partnerships, pilot programs and privacy regulations.
“Working with government can be a major barrier for companies, so our aim for this program is to have the government inform both the problem and the solution with these companies in partnership,” said Tyler Svitak, executive director of the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance, a partner in the Smart Futures Lab.
For companies that have technology ready to test, the lab can help identify a government partner willing to co-develop a pilot to test their solutions in the real world, he said in an email. “Our goal for the companies admitted into the Smart Futures Lab is to give them access to governments in Colorado experiencing the issue they are trying to solve to seek input, feedback, user experience and other advice from them as the companies develop and grow.”
The Smart Futures Lab is funded by a $2 million federal grant from the Economic Development Administration and is expected to create more than 200 jobs.
Virtual information sessions are being held on Dec. 14 and Dec. 16, and applications will remain open until Jan. 20.
