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Ford Gives $50K to Soofa to Set Up E-Ink Signs in Miami-Dade

Soofa was one of two winners for Miami-Dade County, Fla.'s challenge in Ford's City of Tomorrow program. Now it will set up its informational displays in different areas of the city for transportation purposes.

Beating out more than 130 proposals, Soofa has won a challenge by Ford Motor Co. to improve mobility in Miami-Dade County, Fla. — and $50,000 to go along with it.

Soofa, which makes solar-powered benches and informational display signs, is one of two winners of the Miami-Dade challenge in Ford’s City of Tomorrow program. Soofa plans on putting up its signs — which use the same kind of e-ink displays found in e-readers — in up to three neighborhoods in the county.

The signs will display bus and train arrival times, alternative modes of transportation available and other kinds of content like events and activities.

“The signs pair [transportation] information with relevant community content — with the goal of not only helping people get from point A to point B, but to let them know what to do when they get there,” reads a blog post from the company.

The other winner of the contest is PikMyKid, which plans to implement school transportation pilot projects in eight to 10 schools in the county.

Ford is poised to announce the winners of two other City of Tomorrow challenges in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Pittsburgh. It has already selected finalists for those challenges.

Ben Miller is the associate editor of data and business for Government Technology. His reporting experience includes breaking news, business, community features and technical subjects. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, and lives in Sacramento, Calif.