CityTree is a Breath of Fresh IoT Air
by Startacus Admin
Can you tell the difference between an Ash tree and an Oak? A Birch and an Aspen? Perhaps, or perhaps not; however, the thing everyone knows about trees is that they absorb CO2 and produce oxygen which, among other things, makes them vital to life on Earth. Life in an urban environment, however, does not feature trees particularly heavily - there’s not much wood in a concrete jungle. So how do we go about improving the quality of air for urbanites?
Germany’s Green City Solutions has come up with a simple and elegant answer: CityTree.
Almost modern art, CityTree is a sculpture containing specific plants that clean up the air, offsetting 240 tonnes of CO2 per year and providing approximately 17°C of cooling. Each CityTree has the same effect as 275 normal trees, taking up only 99% of the space.
Doubling as billboards and/or benches adds even more to a CityTree’s usefulness, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. CityTree is perhaps the world’s first IoT tree. Businesses using the billboard aspect of the trees can add LED lighting and logos, and use the built-in NFC, iBeacon, and WiFi to transmit information to and from passers-by.
But the tree’s tech nature isn’t just good for business - it allows CityTree to be self-sustaining. Solar panels and rainwater retention systems allow the tree’s sensors to measure environmental data and regulate its water and nutrition, reducing the required maintenance massively. Pretty smart city, we hope you agree. 
Earlier this year, Green City Solutions finished a round of funding with a 7-figure sum (their goal was $1.7m), and it’s not hard to imagine that governments, councils, and all sorts of funds around the world will happily fork out when the benefits of CityTrees are demonstrated in those cities already trying them out: Dresden, Hannover, Paris, Modena, Skopje, Hong Kong, and Oslo.
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Published on: 18th April 2017
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