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Denver, Panasonic unveil 'smart city' tech projects at CES

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Denver and Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Co. plan to make parts of Denver International Airport and a nearby development an example of cutting-edge solar energy use, in-home tele-medicine technology and video used for traffic management and security.

The city and company on Tuesday announced some details of the “smart city” infrastructure planned at DIA and a neighboring development called Peña Station NEXT, where the off-shoot of Tokyo-based Panasonic is putting its U.S. sales and engineering hub.The company and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock revealed the projects Tuesday at the giant CES show in Las Vegas, the annual consumer electronics convention that this year has “smart city” technology as a focus.

“Panasonic is delighted to have this opportunity to partner with the city of Denver on providing the technology to help meet their sustainability and smart goals, said Joseph Taylor, chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corporation of North America. “At Panasonic, our approach is never about developing technology for technology’s sake, but instead about how we can enable technology to improve the quality of peoples’ lives.”

Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Co. is a division of Newark, New Jersey-based Panasonic North America. The Denver projects announced Tuesday include a solar energy collection and battery storage carport system built with the help of utility company Xcel Energy.

Panasonic Enterprise Solutions, in partnership with developer L.C. Fulenwider Inc., plans a network of programmable LED street lights and on-street cameras, and video analytics technology for parking, traffic and security management in the Peña Station NEXT development off 61st and Peña Boulevard.

Residential parts of the development will have access to Panasonic’s On4Care system providing in-home bio-metric reading and tele-medicine capabilities allowing residents real-time interaction with their doctors. Partnering on such technologies will make energy and transportation more efficient and help people there be better connected, the city said.

“That real-time information will work to enhance Denver services while creating more equity, freedom and access to choices that will allow our community as a whole to live better, easier lives,” said Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.