NYC Payphone
NYC “Payphone”
Backforty’s entry to NYC’s 2013 “Reinvent Payphones Design Challenge”. Employing a single, large, gesture-controlled smart screen, our vision for a universal information and networking hub prefigured the LinkNYC kiosks which came online in 2015 as a response to this competition.
Looking back on this effort from the cusp of Web 3.0, the very thought that a physical station for these services would be desirable now seems anachronistic. Indeed, the LinkNYC program has not succeeded, and is largely viewed by New Yorkers as visual clutter, a symbol of inequity and public/private mismanagement, and a magnet for problematic misuse. LinkNYC’s latest reinvention as a network of 32’ tall 5G towers is an example of the adage “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail”.
Where multiple units were desired, the racked configuration would provide partial protection from the elements and opportunities for solar panel installation.
The unit’s interface was totally flexible based on the user’s needs and inputs. Accessibility features and voice control would allow access for people with disabilities.