AV1 Group announced that through its wholly-owned subsidiary, XFIRE Smart Systems, it has initiated a pilot program for a major city in Michigan to design and implement its Smart City transition with an estimated order of approximately USD 5.5 million. XFIRE Smart Systems' partner, Apollo Smart Lights, a provider of LED lighting solutions, will manufacture the lighting product for the projects.

(Image: Standards Michigan)

New research predicts the Smart City market will grow nearly 19% over the next 10 years, fueled primarily by governments investing in technology to keep up with urbanization. According to Persistence Market Research, the worldwide Smart City market will grow from its current $622 billion to pass the $1 trillion market in 2019 and eventually reach $3.48 trillion by 2026.

Apollo Smart Light LED Series has the capability to provide street-wide wireless access for many different applications. The Apollo Smart Light design has the ability to have an all-in-one housing that incorporates a wireless MESH radio to allow remote access and monitoring of infrastructure, as well as secure access for the following applications:

Wireless Camera & Lighting Control

The Apollo Smart Light Controller (SLC) is an intelligent wireless controller that uses state-of-the-art self-forming and self-healing mesh networking. It is economical enough to be used on individual lamps for remote operations including dimming. The SLC solution can also be integrated into legacy lighting and surveillance products.

(Image: Apollo Smart Lights)

Smart Parking Meters

Putting quarters in a slot is something of the past. Most meters will now accept more modern types of payment. The wireless integrated Apollo Smart Light Series has the ability to create a MESH network over a city block or a city-wide area.

(Image: Apollo Smart Lights)

Utility Meters

With the integrated Automated Meter Reading/Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMR/AMI) solution, cities can now move away from manual drive-by solutions to digital meters that MESH together and link wirelessly to a central network -- saving time and cost while improving customer service and ability to accurately monitor and control valuable resources. Apollo will work with existing hardware vendors and infrastructures to custom design a solution.

Picocells

The Apollo Picocell is a vendor neutral solution. When used in a cellular network it will extend coverage to places where signals do not reach well. It will also add network capacity in areas with very dense phone usage. Picocells can now provide coverage, capacity, and cost savings (over the more traditional Macrocell approach) in areas that have been difficult or expensive to reach. The average coverage area for the Picocell is about 200m, which is ideal for densely populated areas like train stations, stadiums, or around convention halls.

(Image: Apollo Smart Lights)

This is the seventh of multiple pilots already in process or scheduled through the first quarter of 2018. The Company expects to announce completion of this pilot and sale within the next 30 days.