Stafford, VA, June 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stafford County, the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC), and OST celebrated the success of the Virginia Smart Community Testbed today with an anniversary event that gratefully reflected on the support of the Commonwealth, the community, the Federal government through DHS Science & Technology Directorate, and Testbed corporate sponsors Cisco and Verizon. Over the last year, The Testbed, which is the first of its kind in the Commonwealth, became an award-winning Smart Community initiative receiving national recognition.
"Innovation is the key to creating new jobs, driving economic growth, and tackling our biggest challenges," said David Ihrie, VIPC CTO and VP of Strategic Initiatives. “The Virginia Smart Community Testbed serves as a living laboratory that helps communities like Stafford lead in the development and testing of technologies while proving the value of successful public-private partnerships.”
As the established leader of Smart Communities initiatives on behalf of the Commonwealth, VIPC partnered with Stafford on the testbed project in 2019 as part of a comprehensive plan to build the new "smart" community. Stafford is now the first Smart City Testbed in Virginia involving an IoT platform, fully integrated with 5G and other new and emerging technologies that are having a national impact.
“We are delighted to have an opportunity to continue to attract technologists, entrepreneurs and innovators to our community through the Testbed and that our partners from the state and private industry including Cisco and Verizon continue to support us as we grow and expand,” said John Holden, director of economic development and tourism for Stafford County. “We are excited to see the positive impact that this initiative is having on our community. We are leading the way and being recognized as one of the nation's best Smart City initiatives is truly an honor.”
The Virginia Smart Community Testbed received the SMART 50 Award in 2022. The award, in partnership with Smart Cities Connect, Smart Cities Connect Foundation, and US Ignite, annually recognizes smart cities projects around the world and only honors the top 50 most innovative and influential work. In only their first full year as a technology testbed, Stafford was honored as a winner.
The Testbed serves to accelerate technology solutions for the Commonwealth. It provides a place for companies seeking to provide technology solutions to public infrastructure challenges. It provides a space and place to accelerate the commercialization of new products.
The Testbed pilot projects and partnerships in the last year have included more than a dozen technology companies in the development of innovative solutions for public-private, state, and federal opportunities and identified needs. Innovation participants have included: AccessVR, ATA, Breeze Technologies, Express-tek, Helicore, Hire Henry, Intellisense Systems, N5 Sensors, NFF, Onclave, Planet Defense, RIoT, Signify and Traxyl.
About the Smart Community Testbed:
The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) and Stafford County are the Testbed's founding partners. OST, Inc. (OST) is the prime systems integrator and a founding partner. This public-private partnership makes up the Testbed Executive Committee. Stafford County focuses on three key areas for smart community solutions: finding technology and innovative ways to enhance the quality of life for its citizens; building an entrepreneurial ecosystem for start-ups and existing businesses; developing pilot projects for innovators and entrepreneurs deploying cutting-edge smart community solutions for their business or products. www.VirginiaSmartCommunityTestbed.com
About Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)
Our Business: Connecting innovators with opportunities. The nonprofit operations arm of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA), VIPC is the commercialization and seed-stage economic development driver in the Commonwealth that leads funding, infrastructure, and policy initiatives to support Virginia's innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, and market development strategies. VIPC collaborates with local, regional, state, and federal partners to support the expansion and diversification of Virginia’s economy.
Programs include: Virginia Venture Partners (VVP) | Virginia Founders Fund (VFF) |Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) | Smart Communities | Unmanned Systems | Entrepreneurial Ecosystems | Regional Innovation Fund (RIF) | Federal Funding Assistance Program (FFAP) for SBIR & STTR | University Partnerships | Startup Company Mentoring & Engagement. For more information, please visit www.VirginiaIPC.org. Follow VIPC on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
About Smart Stafford
Stafford is a smart place for innovation. Stafford has a rich foundation in cyber technology and intends to enhance that strength with the inclusion of smart-city technology. The vision for Smart Stafford started with the Board's Strategic Plan 2040 to consider opportunities to invest in technologies that will improve the lives of our residents, businesses, and visitors. The Virginia Smart Community Testbed provides the technology that will help us meet that vision. The Testbed in Stafford will unlock critical new resources and foster business investments across Stafford County and the Commonwealth. Learn more about Smart Stafford initiatives. For additional information on Smart Stafford: www.gostaffordva.com | www.VirginiaSmartCommunityTestbed.com
About OST
Based in McLean, VA, OST, Inc. (OST) is a systems integrator that has delivered innovative technology, project management, and consulting and engineering services for more than 20 years. Specializing in advanced technologies such as smart, cybersecurity, cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), predictive analytics, and data visualization, et al, OST consultants and engineers also optimize business processes and staffing to deliver a total business solution. As a strategic partner, OST provides systems integration services for Virginia Smart City Testbed (VSCT) in Stafford County, manages the Smart Airport Testbed at FAA's Tech Center in Atlantic City, and supports federal, state, and local contracts for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Energy (DOE), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (PA), District of Columbia (DC), and others. For additional information about OST: www.ostglobal.com
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- Living laboratory Helps Stafford, Virginia Lead in the Development and Testing of Technologies
- VIPC and Stafford County Prove Public-Private Partnerships Lead to Innovative Solutions
