A new agreement between the city of Albuquerque and Central New Mexico Community College will provide an extended opportunity for students to help create and deploy new Internet of Things(IoT) devices. The partnership began back in March 2020. Now it will be extended for a further five years, according to CNM.
Brian Rashap, an IoT instructor at CNM, told Business First that students get an opportunity to develop solutions to "real-world problems." IoT tech is often referred to as "smart" tech, or devices that are connected to the internet — from consumer tech to devices with more communal impact.
“A number of ideas have come out of the partnership,” Rashap told Business First in a May 12 email. “Earlier this week, we demonstrated a drone-based search and rescue beacon system to assist first responders in finding individuals lost in the mountains.”
Rashap's said in the email that with the new agreement, "we hope to move current and new projects towards being production-ready.”
He highlighted a few concepts such as a "smart parking system" and a "solar-powered wifi-trailer." Workforce development is also in mind.
"The students are able to provide innovative ... ideas to solve a problem. And the city is giving them problems to work on," Rashap said in a subsequent interview. "It really accelerates their education."
A centerpiece of the city's IoT effort is a nondescript testing ground for called the Pino Yards. The area, located off Pino Avenue has roadways, parking spaces and a non-public park that can be used to try out new technology. However, that's just one of the locations where testing occurs, according to Rashap.
Back in March, the city announced it received recognition for its CNM partnership as part of the Smart Cities North America awards from IDC Government Insights. IDC is market analyst firm focusing on information technology, telecom and consumer technology.
“This partnership creates a truly invaluable experience for our students to be able to work on real-world problems and round out their education,” said Brian Osterloh, director of technology and innovation for the city, in a statement provided by CNM.
