Digi International pilot project with CTA, City Tech wins IoT deployment of the year

Digi International®'s pilot project with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and City Tech Collaborative received the IoT Deployment of the Year Award from IoT World. Winners were announced at IoT World’s event in Silicon Valley on November 4, 2021.

“We are proud to be named a winner in this year’s IoT World Awards, particularly for a collaborative project that aimed to solve unique challenges brought on by the pandemic,” said Digi Business Development Director of Government Steve Mazur. “While COVID-19 paused many smart city and transportation projects, it prompted an impactful one in Chicago, where citizens rely heavily on public transit. By taking part in this pilot, Digi helped demonstrate the value of IoT technology in solving current challenges within core functions of society as well as building a solid foundation for future operations that prioritize the greater good.”

Amid the escalation and de-escalation of COVID-19 restrictions, public transit agencies are managing highly variable ridership as well as ensuring public trust in their ability to provide healthy, safe transportation. In response to this, City Tech and the CTA deployed an IoT smart transit pilot on the 79th Street bus route to provide real-time insights on bus occupancy to help the CTA proactively meet route ridership demand, reduce both passenger crowding and wait times and provide a safe, socially distanced rider experience.

Digi routers provided Wi-Fi detection that tracked unique riders while Digi Remote Manager®—the command center of an intelligent network—was utilized to configure, deploy and manage remote devices and assets securely at the edge.

This year, a panel of judges from Omdia, Informa Tech and the industry chose winners based on innovation, market traction and other factors.