Massachusetts-based Soofa has announced design improvements and added capabilities to its solar-powered digital noticeboards for smart cities.

The company’s US reach tripled in 2021 and the platform is now used in 41 cities across 15 states.

“We’ve had rapid growth over the past year as cities look for ways to increase communication with their constituents as well as to deploy sustainable technology in their communities,” said Jason Young, CEO of Soofa. “City communication has become even more vital during the pandemic. It’s important that we continue to innovate and to enhance our platform to meet the evolving needs of our city partners to help inform and enrich their communities.”

The solar-powered digital platform is used by an increasing number of local governments to share hyperlocal information quickly and in real time via Soofa Signs. The platform has been enhanced to make it more user-friendly for city leaders as well as more engaging for community members and businesses.

The additions include:

• Readability and engagement: With a fully refreshed and modern screen layout, Soofa Signs have been enhanced for better readability and engagement and redesigned to display more information.
• Real-time updates: Soofa has added an RSS feed integration, allowing cities to share automatically local updates and information such as upcoming local events and nearby vaccination sites.
• Real-time transit capabilities: Cities utsing Soofa’s transit widget can now automatically display more accurate transit updates thanks to GTFS feed integration to augment static transit timetables with real-time transit information. No more wondering if the bus already came.
• Weather displays: Soofa Signs will now feature local weather displays, showing up to five days of local weather information.

“The responsive team at Soofa is constantly working to improve their already great, user-friendly design,” said Casey Erlenheim from the city manager’s office in San Pablo, California. “Soofa makes up-to-the-minute communication with residents in a clear and simple manner a breeze.”

Staying true to the company’s mission around sustainability, the e-ink screens on Soofa Signs produce less light pollution than traditional kiosks and are dark-sky approved by the International Dark Sky Association, an authority on light pollution.

Soofa, a female-founded start-up out of the MIT Media Lab, operates solar-powered digital platforms and signs with e-ink display. Soofa Signs display a combination of city updates, community-generated content and relevant advertising. They also update passersby on real-time transit information and local events while engaging users with poll questions relevant to their community.