Free, pervasive wi-fi is a pretty big goal for this generation to figure out. Thanks to Virgin Media, one UK town gets to experience what it’s like to have free high-speed wireless under their feet and at their fingertips at all times. The conglomerate partnered with Chiltern District Council to outfit the town center in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, with Smart Pavement.

The Smart Pavement modules are waterproof resin squares that rest in the sidewalk alongside the regular concrete squares. They connect directly to Virgin’s fiber network, providing free wireless to the homes, businesses, and visitors in the area. According to Virgin, people are seeing speeds of up to 166 Mbps – or about seven times the average UK broadband speed.

The concept of integrating wireless technology into the cityscape is being considered all around the world. As internet access grows in importance, it seems that many are turning their eye toward treating it like a municipal utility – just like water or natural gas. Chesham is a grand experiment in keeping people connected even when away from home and cutting down on their mobile data usage. Installing little wifi modules could (and probably will) become a matter of routine in cities of the future.

The post High Tech on the High Street: UK’s First WiFi Sidewalks first appeared on Gajitz.

Finding a place to charge your phone or tablet when you’re away from home often involves ducking into a café or carrying a supplementary battery around with you. Israeli company Sologic created a truly lovely way to capture natural solar energy and provide free charging stations to the public.

The chargers are called eTrees because they look like high-tech futuristic trees. Their “leaves” are solar panels which are always grabbing energy from the sun. Their trunks are brown to simulate the look of real trees.

The first eTree was installed in a nature reserve in Israel. At its base are USB ports for charging gadgets and benches for taking a few minutes to relax. A small amount of lighting beneath the tree provides a bit of illumination for finding the charging ports.

Sologic sees the eTree as a public sculpture that promotes the use of sustainable energy. Its ready availability to the public is a great resource that is not only useful but helps cut down, however slightly, on the amount of non-renewable energy used to charge mobile gadgets every day.

The post Public Phone Chargers Are Artificial Solar-Powered Trees first appeared on Gajitz.

Projection-based interactive flooring is getting to be a more common sight with every passing year. Today, plenty of buildings like banks, museums, zoos and restaurants feature these moving, responsive underfoot phenomena. A company called EyeClick takes the concept a bit further with their EyePlay series: a bunch of interactive games that encourage kids to move around without making a big deal of the fact that they’re getting exercise.

The EyePlay system comes with games that let kids (and adults, too!) kick around a soccer ball, pop bubbles, play a piano, defend birds’ eggs, stomp naughty mice and a bunch of other fun activities. The only equipment needed is the EyePlay projector, which turns any open floor space into a game area.

There are some educational games too, like the one installed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center visitor center. Up to 15 players can participate on the EyePlay game surface at once, making for a pretty wild gaming experience. The system has already been installed in public places like hospitals, airports and department stores all over the world, making us feel kind of cheated that this type of thing didn’t greet us in boring waiting rooms when we were kids.

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As much as we love dogs, there is a very messy, smelly drawback to our canine companions: their, ahem, biological waste. In large cities where lots of residents have dogs and even more pups run around owner-less, the poo can quickly cause a disgusting problem. This is apparently the case in some parts of Mexico. According to the video below, the streets and sidewalks are positively littered with dog waste. Internet company Terra has launched a rather inventive way to combat the problem: by offering free public wi-fi in exchange for doggy doodoo.

In a promo video that is clearly meant to be at least somewhat humorous, the plan is laid out for dog owners and concerned citizens alike. Terra offers weighing stations and wi-fi hotspots in public parks. When a deposit is made into one of the receptacles, a wi-fi hotspot is activated for everyone in the area to use. More poo gets you more time. The video doesn’t explain where the dookie goes after it’s dropped into the bin, but there are some things that it might be better not to know.

The post Bizarre Public Service Exchanges Free Wi-Fi for Dog Poo first appeared on Gajitz.

Maybe we would all get out of the house a bit more if outdoor spaces were a little more conducive to our tech-heavy lifestyles. This strange but kind of wonderful concept would put green electricity, combined with new lounging spots, in public spaces.

The Savannius Wind Turbine, designed by Hirotaka Matsui, is a small wind turbine that harnesses the natural power of the wind to electrify the public. The top part of the device turns to generate electricity and the bottom is a clever plastic seat that allows several people to sit down and take in the scenery.

On the base of the Savannius are three electrical outlets that let visitors plug in laptops, phone chargers or whatever other gadgets they happen to be hauling around.

According to the designer, the purpose of the Savannius is to create a social space that is also functional. This definitely seems like the way of the future, given the fact that most of us are never without our gadgets for very long. Putting charging stations in public spaces is a logical step, and the fact that this design features clean, green energy is a huge bonus.

The post Getting a Spark in Public: Green Turbine Charging Stations first appeared on Gajitz.