Listen: KC transportation leaders examine Smart City, Hyperloop, smart pavement
May 2, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Judging by the popularity of our recent Hyperloop One coverage, the future of transportation has become a hot topic in the metro.
It’s crazy to imagine that, in the near future, we may be living in a world of subsonic rail travel, smart pavement and autonomous vehicles. But before we get too excited about the possibilities, it’s important to check in on where we are now. Government and business leaders alike are currently paving the way for transportation innovation in Kansas City and beyond, but there are many details to sort first.
For the April Innovation Exchange, we dove into the exciting new developments within Kansas City transportation. Touching on ridesharing, Hyperloop One and other futuristic transportation options, Startland editor Bobby Burch held a fireside chat with a variety of local leaders purveying and adapting to rapid changes in how people move from place to place.
Joining in the discussion were: KCMO chief innovation officer Bob Bennett; KC Streetcar Authority Board member Matt Staub; Mid-America Regional Council principal planner Amanda Graor; Integrated Roadways founder Tim Sylvester; and Think Big Partners’ transportation and mobility advisor Hunter Johnston.
If you missed the event, listen to the podcast below. During the discussion, Bob Bennett shares what to expect from phase two of the city’s Smart City Initiative —which just won an Edison Award. Tim Sylvester details why smart infrastructure is crucial to setting up the metro for autonomous vehicles. Amanda Graor explains the nuances of establishing a holistic transportation plan across the Kansas-Missouri border, and how to seamlessly provide mobility to citizens. Matt Staub also explains successes and failures of the streetcar and Hunter Johnson shares the implications of inevitable mass autonomous vehicle use.
The Innovation Exchange is a monthly event put on by Startland News in conjunction with Think Big. It aims to create community conversation and provide context on news in Kansas City’s entrepreneurial community.
Featured Business
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Popular TEDxKC won’t return in 2018; organizers to focus on women, youth events
TEDxKC — one of the largest and most-popular independently-organized TEDx events in the world — won’t be back for 2018. While TEDxYouth@KC and TEDxKCWomen are expected to return in 2018, hitting pause on TEDxKC’s “general ideas” event will allow organizers to reflect on accomplishments, missteps and milestones, said Mike Lundgren, co-founder of TEDxKC. “We asked two…
Fitbit integrating Sickweather illness forecasting into new wearables
Sickweather is stepping into the wearables market. A new partnership with industry leader Fitbit is expected to see the Kansas City-based startup’s illness forecasting technology integrated into Fitbit’s new products. “Smartwatches provide a powerful platform to deliver important health tools that help our users manage conditions more conveniently than ever before,” said James Park, co-founder…
Surveys, rewards dying: Tapyness scores customer feedback with one-tap, 3-second experience
No one takes 15-minute surveys anymore, said Matthew Korte, co-founder of Tapyness, a Lawrence-based customer experience platform that provides real-time feedback via kiosks in client businesses. A typical Tapyness interaction takes three seconds, he said. “We’re down to the millisecond, and we’re aggregating hundreds of tablets simultaneously within one brand to go: ‘Here’s the health…
Lean Lab rebrands to reflect its evolution within education innovation
The Lean Lab has announced a rebranding effort to better reflect and differentiate it from other groups in education innovation, said co-founder Katie Boody. Unveiling a new look in late April, the Kansas City-based organization is now LEANLAB Education, which Boody hopes will better communicate its mission, she said. “We know the nature of our…