Share this Post
Those big black boxes popping up around Downtown are a big win for Raleigh.
Making good on the promise that not all who wander are lost are the newly installed digital wayfinding kiosks in DTR. Like your own adventure concierge, IKE Smart City kiosks are complete with interactive multilingual touch screens to activate the pedestrian experience.
Need a proximal bite or bev? Check. Retail fix or a place to rest your head? Yup. Event finds? You bet. Real-time transit info? In progress. Addiction recovery services, safe shelter, critical social services resources and emergency call system (plus future real-time emergency messaging from the city)? Indeed. Even a built-in photo booth (selfie, who?). Have a need or craving? Essentially these big black boxes you see popping up around Downtown—and already utilized in 16 U.S. cities—have you covered.
“In 2016, I was on a ski trip to Denver [and] used an IKE kiosk to help me determine when the train was coming,” said Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin at the mid-November ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It helped me pick out a restaurant for dinner, and it also showed some of the fun things going on in Larimer Square—which we all decided, yeah, let’s walk over there and see what’s happening. … And I said to myself, ‘Why can’t we have this in Raleigh?’ And lo and behold [IKE] was looking at Raleigh. And that’s when the conversation started.”
With over 3.5 million unique visitors to DTR and a core bustling with locally owned retailers (~90%) and restaurants (~80%), our storefronts are essential to the Raleigh experience, said Downtown Raleigh Alliance President Bill King in his ribbon-cutting speech. “One of our challenges is businesses are scattered around and not always easy to navigate,” he added, and “we want to make sure Downtown is the best experience it can be. Bringing digital wayfinding is a critical tool to helping our many visitors, residents and workers be able to support and patronize our locally owned businesses and give Raleigh this distinct feel of community and home.”
But this super-cool city communication platform is about so much more than where to stay and play. “It’s not just about entertainment—it’s also about social services,” said Baldwin. “It’s about helping people find that bus. It’s about true communication on so many levels. It’s taken seven years, but the fact of the matter is: IKE’s here and that’s exciting.” And in case you weren’t already convinced, Baldwin maintains,
“Raleigh is cool now.”
“Breaking through the tremendous amount of noise and information can be difficult, but these help us to do so in a way that can better support DTR.” —Bill King, President, DRA
Navigating the Navigation
Users of IKE’s interactive touch screen kiosk will be presented with multiple applications covering everything from activities and events to arts and culture spots to shops and restaurants/bars to places to stay—as well as social service resources (think shelters and the like).
► Browse through the options or use the search bar to find exactly what you’re looking for (like, say, the name of a specific hotel).
► Each kiosk is based on proximity, so the closest spots to the IKE you’re using will appear first.
► Once you select your destination, the kiosk will provide options on how to get there, whether by public transit, scooter or on foot.
► IKE will then provide a QR code you can scan to get the directions directly on your phone.
Related Articles
Share this Post