Last week my Rubicon colleague Tyler Molinaro and I were at Public Works Expo (PWX) in Seattle, Washington; the largest conference of its type in the United States, and a great opportunity for public works professionals to meet with innovators in this space.

At Rubicon® our mission is to end waste, in all of its forms. In the case of our smart city offering, this includes wasted time, wasted energy, and wasted government resources. During PWX we spoke to how our smart city technology suite is designed to help city governments run more efficient, effective, and sustainable operations, resulting in reduced costs, improved service, and a better quality of life for city residents.

With the PWX exhibition hall spanning an entire floor of the Washington State Convention Center, and displaying everything from waste and recycling vehicles, to street sweepers, to demonstrations on stormwater runoff solutions, we felt right at home with the PWX crowd.

Here are our takeaways from the conference.

RUBICONSmartCity’s Smart Street Sweeper Technology

In February of this year Rubicon began engaging in a smart street sweeper technology pilot with the City of Fort Collins, Colorado.

The pilot, which was profiled in Government Technology, is part of an innovative project to gain visibility into street sweeper activity in the City, as well as to identify the type and frequency of obstacles in the field. One of our greatest takeaways from PWX was the untapped potential of city-owned street sweepers to collect and report back data as the vehicles run their daily routes.

While cities spend tens of thousands of dollars per year to ensure that their Pavement Condition Index (PCI) is up to standard, much of this could be saved by placing smart street sweeper technology in vehicles that are already going up and down every street of a city at least once a week. Rubicon’s smart city technology can help spot potholes, cracks in the road, and more—and as we’ve written previously, keeping city streets clean and clear should be a top priority for any mayor or city official.

Over the three days, Tyler and I had meetings up and down Seattle with innovative cities across the country as they looked for more information about our smart city technology solution, and our national pilot partnership program, which is free for cities that join our program early.

RUBICONSmartCity’s National Pilot Partnership Program

At Rubicon, we’re looking for local government partners to pilot our next-generation technology for improving Public Works Departments and their municipal waste and recycling collection fleets, street sweepers, snowplows, and other vehicles.

Over the last two years we have developed AI and machine learning technology to help cities leverage the power and reach of existing city-owned assets. We offer our technology to forward-thinking local governments (over 35 to date) for free as part of our national pilot partnership program.

If you have any questions for me or the rest of the Smart City team here at Rubicon, or you would like to explore the possibility of taking part in a free city pilot, reach out to us any time at smartcities@rubiconglobal.com.

Tyler and I had a great time meeting with city and government leaders at PWX this year. Many thanks to those who stopped by the Rubicon booth—it was an amazing experience to connect with so many forward-thinking and friendly city leaders.

Interested in learning more about what we can do for you? Get Started today with your initial quick and free consultation.