Ford and Strawberry Energy Roll Out New Smart Benches Across London with wireless charging

A network of solar-powered smart benches is sprouting up across the capital thanks to a new partnership between Strawberry Energy and Ford for the automotive manufacturer’s City of Tomorrow initiative. The benches provide wired and wireless charging points for mobile devices, plus WiFi connectivity and include a host of sensors for measuring temperature, humidity, air quality, air pressure and noise level.

Since the collaboration between Aircharge and Strawberry Energy began in 2015, Strawberry benches with wireless phone charging capabilities have become a familiar sight in many areas of London and beyond, starting with the first installations in Canary Wharf and spreading to include sites in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and recently expanding into Europe.

The design from Strawberry Energy was chosen as a winner of the 2016 ‘Connecting people and Creating Communities’ competition, organised by the Institute for Sustainability in partnership with the Mayor of London’s Office and supported by EIT Digital.

Now with their partnership with Ford, 20 further locations around London will benefit from the futuristic street furniture which help people stay fully charged and reconnect not just online but with their communities.

Users of the urban pit stops, which are to be located in Islington, Lewisham and Southwark, will also be able to donate to St Mungo’s, Rethink Mental Illness and Macmillan Cancer Support, with Ford Motor Company Fund pledging to match-fund donations up to £10,000. Ford have themselves been long-term proponents of wireless charging, offering wireless charging pads in several vehicles since 2014 including the upcoming 2018 Expedition model.