Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.
David Ihrie of the Center for Innovative Technology holds a flood sensor unit in Stafford.
The ‘smart poles’ at Stafford’s government center campus are equipped with LED lighting and Wi-Fi.
Fiberoptic cable runs along pavement under a hardened compound made by TRAXyl, a Gainesville-based company, that’s sharing their product with the Virginia Smart Community Testbed in Stafford.
WATCH: To check out the smart poles system being
tested in Stafford, point your smart–phone camera at the QR code, then tap the link.
When the Virginia Smart Community Testbed opened its doors almost a year ago in Stafford County, former Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball called it an asset to the entire state.
“What we want from this testbed, what our goals will be: that every community can participate, come to this to exchange ideas, explore new technologies and work together to face, address and resolve the common challenges we all face,” Ball said.
Located at 2143 Richmond Highway, the testbed was created as a site for entrepreneurs to test emerging technologies in public safety, data security, 5G technology, broadband expansion and more on the grounds of the county courthouse campus.
Mostly funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, researchers at the testbed have dabbled in many experiments not only for the government, but for the general public.
David Ihrie is the chief technology officer of the Richmond-based Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, which was formerly the Center for Innovative Technology. Ihrie said companies are developing products that everyday citizens and community leaders can “see, appreciate and understand,” like monitors that detect distant wildfires, poor air quality, heavy traffic or high water on roadways.
VIPC is one of the primary partners in the testbed endeavor and Ihrie said much of the technology being tested there deploys sensors and other electronic devices to monitor and capture data. That data is then used to better manage community resources and services.
Already in place throughout the state are about 100 flood sensors that alert authorities when high water becomes a safety issue on roadways. Locally, 14 of those sensors are monitoring flood-prone areas along the Potomac and Accokeek creeks, as well as the Rappahannock River and elsewhere.
Michael Cannon, Stafford County’s chief technology officer, said in early April the county began receiving notifications when local flood sensors triggered alerts and automatically sent email notifications to emergency management, public works and utilities teams. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management, which oversees all of the high water monitors throughout the state, is also alerted.
“The nice thing about these email alerts is we can essentially include any emergency staff we need,” Cannon said. “It has resulted in us closing down roads when there’s been a flood situation. Now we’re beginning to see how these can improve public safety and the well-being of our citizens.”
Ihrie said another technology being tested and evaluated at the testbed is a “smart pole,” and he said this latest experiment is the first of its kind in North America.
Unlike a standard wooden utility pole, the smart pole comes with a single high-intensity, energy efficient LED light manufactured by the Netherlands-based company Signify that provides excellent nighttime visibility and security. About midway up the pole is a device that carries a strong Wi-Fi signal for people to connect to high-speed internet in places they’d ordinarily not have a signal.
“It makes a whole Wi-Fi network out of all the poles in an area,” Ihrie said. “It can provide access to the internet outside, or in a parking lot, in parks, that kind of thing.”
Ihrie said smart poles “talk to each other” through a sophisticated mesh network. Ihrie said that connection provides a consistent high level of Wi-Fi signal throughout the pole network.
He said there’s not only been interest in the smart pole system by several jurisdictions within Virginia, but by the Department of Defense as well as government officials from the United Kingdom and Australia.
“I’m certainly excited about this one,” Ihrie said. “There’s a lot of buzz about smart lighting going on.”
The experiment at the Stafford testbed features three smart poles positioned close to the Stafford County government center. The pole installed on the north side of the site was hardwired directly into the existing internet service already available at the government center without digging a trench to bury the fiber-optic cable.
Ihrie said TRAXyl, a Gainesville-based company, developed a fast-drying compound that’s applied directly over fiber-optic cable that’s pre-positioned on top of the pavement using a special technique. After the protective compound has cured, the tough bond protecting the cable subtly blends in with existing pavement.
“That ability to have those painted fiber connections on the roads has gotten a lot of interest from even one of our overseas partners,” Ihrie said.
Ihrie said smart poles are also relatively easy to install because there’s no need to pour a concrete base and wait several days for the concrete to cure. A special mounting plate at the base of the pole developed by Helicore, a Connecticut-based company, cuts the installation time of each pole to about five hours.
Ihrie said a similar Wi-Fi concept recently caught the eye of Fredericksburg city planners, who deployed utility poles with Wi-Fi capability at the Riverfront Park along Sophia Street.
“So for a city manager, for somebody who is looking to install public broadband capability or outdoor Wi-Fi access, those features are really a pretty compelling package,” Ihrie said.
The Center for Innovative Technology and other partners worked with Fredericksburg planners to help design and prototype the electronic gear associated with the project, as well as assist with the installation of the fiber-optic cable.
Ihrie said some of the other projects in the testbeds’ immediate pipeline include setting up experimental servers in a simulated cybersecurity operations center within the testbed to monitor how the system will protect other experimental sensors throughout its network.
But Ihrie said not every project coming up at the testbed is quite as complex as smart poles or cybersecurity.
“One of the things that we’re starting to look at is a little robot lawnmower,” Ihrie said.
For more information on the Virginia Smart Community Testbed Center, visit virginiaipc.org.
Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.
I spent 23 years in the Navy in media relations and as a reporter. Prior to coming to The Free Lance-Star in 2019, I volunteered with a local non-profit that helps formerly incarcerated people transition back into society. I'm also an avid motorcyclist.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Spotsylvania County Public Schools Interim Superintendent Carol Flenard announced Thursday morning that she is leaving the school division eff…
A man killed Friday night in a crash in Spotsylvania has been identified as county resident Albert P. Gregory III, said Virginia State Police.
Three North Carolina men were arrested following a chase early Tuesday that started after they were caught stealing catalytic converters in Fr…
Charges against a man arrested following a March 5 brawl and shooting outside a Spotsylvania County bar were dropped following a preliminary h…
The Spotsylvania County School Board on Monday voted against creating a policy that would allow parents to opt their children out of being abl…
Fredericksburg police are investigating an armed robbery that occurred early Tuesday in the 1700 block of Lafayette Boulevard.
A Stafford man who fired shots at a stranger last year in Fredericksburg was ordered Monday to serve 14 months in prison.
A former area teacher was ordered Thursday to serve six months in jail after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor for having sex with a teenage student.
Ongoing shortage hits home, and long-term care facilities, as there aren't enough workers to fill positions.
A man whose molestation of two young girls came to light after he sent an apology note to their mother pleaded guilty to three felony charges …
David Ihrie of the Center for Innovative Technology holds a flood sensor unit in Stafford.
The ‘smart poles’ at Stafford’s government center campus are equipped with LED lighting and Wi-Fi.
Fiberoptic cable runs along pavement under a hardened compound made by TRAXyl, a Gainesville-based company, that’s sharing their product with the Virginia Smart Community Testbed in Stafford.
WATCH: To check out the smart poles system being
tested in Stafford, point your smart–phone camera at the QR code, then tap the link.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.