Leading technology provider deploys an integrated multimedia platform allowing real-time communication and information sharing
Stafford, VA. – Mutualink, Inc., in partnership with Stafford County and Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), successfully deployed and is powering the state’s first Smart City deployment, the Virginia Smart Community Testbed. Mutualink’s secure, intelligent network is the digital backbone for Smart Cities connecting community partners, smart infrastructure, and sustainable IoT technologies in real-time so community leaders can work together to improve livability, workability and resilience.
The Virginia Smart Community Testbed, the first of its kind in the Commonwealth, was formally announced on May 25, 2021 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that drew attendance from state and local leaders including Virginia Secretary of Commerce & Trade Brian Ball, Chairman of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors Crystal Vanuch, and U.S. Representative Rob Wittman. This innovative public/private partnership is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and aims to foster community-driven innovation that improves emergency response.
This Smart City deployment is being introduced to both deliver innovative services to Stafford County and as an environment to pilot new technologies in a real-world setting. During the ceremony, attendees experienced live drone demonstrations, immersive augmented reality displays, and advanced sensor network deployment to monitor flood potential, air quality, and wastewater. Mutualink was on-hand to demonstrate how intelligently integrating these technologies through a single, secure platform can quickly and seamlessly bridge communications, data visibility, and information sharing gaps across agencies and community services.
This opening of the Virginia Smart Community Testbed helps to ensure Virginia maintains a leading role in the nation by demonstrating the future of Smart City technologies, and how they address local issues, support community growth, and drive economic development.
Mutualink’s intelligent network technology can be applied across municipal government to improve public services leading to:
- Safer Communities– Connecting Police, Fire, and EMS systems improves multi-agency response, reduces time to resolution, and saves lives.
- Safer Schools– Connecting smart building systems like air quality sensors, panic alarms, occupancy sensors, and thermal imaging cameras leads to safer indoor spaces for students.
- Resilient Communities– Connecting smart infrastructure systems like flood control sensors allows City/County leaders to make more proactive, informed decisions when mitigating, responding to or recovering from disasters.
“Mutualink is a Smart City enablement framework that empowers us to integrate and deliver a wide range of emerging technologies in a real-world setting,” said David Ihrie, Chief Technology Officer of the Center for Innovative Technology. “We see it as the foundation for a new digital infrastructure.”
“We are excited to partner on Virginia’s first Smart City deployment where our platform will work to foster the coordinated communication that improves quality of life,” said Mutualink President, Joe Mazzarella. “We’ve seen firsthand the power of connecting community partners, every day and in emergencies. Allowing them to instantly communicate and exchange critical information builds stronger, safer communities.”
