New Technology Aims To Power The Cities Of Tomorrow

Totem Power, a company intent on pushing the boundaries of technological innovation, think they have the answer to the future of smart cities.

Their answer coms in the form of a unique invention that looks like a useless rain shield or simply a new and quirky design for a street lamp.

But the team at Totem Power will tell you that it’s so much more than that.

The company has aptly dubbed it the ‘Totem’, and it is a platform that combines solar energy and energy storage, WiFi and 4G communications, electric vehicle charging, and smart lighting into a single, powerful product that weaves these capabilities directly into the built environment.

Totem Power Founder and CEO Brian Lakamp describes the Totem platform as a product which combines a renewable, resilient energy foundation with an advanced communications platform in a beautifully-designed and highly scalable product.

“The combination of features and form creates an exciting, groundbreaking platform for modern cities,” he said.

“Totem’s smart city infrastructure will be to communities as the smartphone is to the consumer, a powerful and extensible platform built atop core battery and communications capabilities.”

Lakamp said Totem is set to digitise energy and provide clean power and sophisticated smart city services to communities.

Each Totem unit has five elements:

• A solar array on the canopy

• battery storage

• communications nodes for WiFi and 4G connectivity

• EV charging module, and

• lighting

Totem's self-sustaining smart nodes are the first to combine solar energy, energy storage, energy management, advanced communications, EV charging and smart lighting into a single platform for companies and communities.

The platform’s design allows it to provide its various services in various locations such as city streets, schools, corporate campuses and retail settings.

The Communications services provided respond to the future of energy networks, enabling greater connectivity. It’s Electric Vehicle Charging (EV) functionality is intended to become the groundwork for a fundamental shift in transportation infrastructure that could include EVs and autonomous vehiclesEvery aspect of the platform, from its energy supply to communication enabling, works together to enable self-sustaining, resilient nodes for maintaining critical services during wider grid and network disruptions.

What also makes these platforms revolutionary is its ability to provide critical energy and communications services in the face of large-scale disruptions to both the electric grid and communication networks. With onboard generation and storage, Totem’s energy foundation is self-sustaining and capable of maintaining critical services.

How will the smart city benefit?

“Totem will serve as the platform for the energy, transportation, communications and autonomous transformation that is needed to improve the efficiency, sustainability, connectivity, health and security of the cities of tomorrow,” Lakamp said.

“Totem’s platform provides clean power, expands access to internet and wireless networks, enables electric vehicles and autonomous fleets and provides intelligent lighting, that can do more than just turn on and off, in an integrated, visually stunning product.”

“It stands as a symbol for the limitless possibilities of smart cities by simultaneously tackling key aspects of infrastructure modernization.

“The platform presents an integral tool for companies and communities seeking to bring sustainability and smart utility front and center in operations and interactions with the public,” he said.

“It is a critical entry point for communities that want to enable cleaner and more capable lifestyles.

Kohn Pedersen Fox Director Jeffrey Kenoff, by 2020 the construction industry has the potential to comprise over $10 trillion, including the largest number of green projects in history.

“Despite vast regional distinctions, we all share the desire for smarter and better designed energy solutions,” Kenoff said.

“Totem is one of the first to unite design, infrastructure, and community in a single as well as exquisite platform.

“It’s hard to imagine a major project or public space that it would not transform.”

The first Totem model is slated for release in 2017.