Redefining public restroom access in New York City
New York City has under 1400 restrooms for its 8.5 million residents – commuters and tourists aside. To work, live or travel in NYC is to know the pain of trying to find a public restroom, especially one that does not require you to buy a coffee, meal or membership first. Even when you find one, it can be in such disrepair that it is effectively unusable. This barrier to such a basic human right is nothing short of a public health issue.
Over the last few decades, many attempts have been made to solve this issue, but no one has pulled it off. We believe that we are uniquely situated to fix this issue because of the technology that is available today. To address this issue, my co-founder and I are designing ‘Lilac’ - the first IoT-enabled, automated Smart Comfort Station in NYC. These self-cleaning, streetside stations will build on the city’s previous attempts and draw inspiration from cities such as Singapore and Tokyo. Lilac’s focus will be on comfort, cleanliness, and 24/7 accessibility, enabled by the connectivity of a larger IoT network accessible from any smartphone.
Gregory Cartagena graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. After working as an engineer for Amazon Robotics, he currently works for the NBA as a co-lead of a sports technology incubator.
Ryan Guarino graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in History and a minor in Integrative Design, Engineering and Applied Sciences. He currently teaches music technology at Nassau Community College.
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Manhattan, New York, United States
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