Case Study
28th August 2024
Sunderland’s Smart City team is continuously seeking innovative ways to enhance the lives of residents through digital transformation. Our ambition is to make Sunderland a smart place to live, work and play; ensuring no-one and nowhere is left behind as the city continues to advance technologically. This vision extends to ensuring we enrich the lives of people who play across our smart city, bringing the benefits of digital experiences to life.
Sunderland City Council is also committed to promoting an active lifestyle through the Active Sunderland programme. Our ongoing drive to encourage residents to be physically active emphasises the advantages of physical exercise for mental and physical wellbeing.
The Council seeks to maximise the potential of Sunderland’s green spaces, encouraging residents to embrace the outdoors and enjoy the numerous benefits of physical activity in the city’s parks.
The city’s commitment to innovation is supported by a unique 20-year joint venture partnership between Sunderland City Council and Boldyn Networks. This collaboration has facilitated the development of new connectivity networks across the city, enabling smart solutions such as smart playparks, among an array of other smart solutions.
In the summer of last year, Sunderland City Council brought together sport, tech, and fun to create a new smart city experience.
As part of the £740k regeneration work at Southwick’s Thompson Park, the Council invested in the installation of a Yalp Sutu Interactive Football Wall – one of only two such walls in the region.
The Yalp Sutu Interactive Football Wall was selected for its ability to seamlessly blend physical activity with digital engagement. Its 16 impact-sensitive LED panels respond to ball impact, allowing players to engage in a variety of single and multiplayer games. In addition, Thompson Park has been equipped with Sunderland’s free superfast WiFi, providing visitors with an enriched outdoor experience that seamlessly blends physical activity with digital connectivity.
In the year since the installation of our smart, interactive football wall at Thompson Park, it has become one of the most used football walls of its kind globally.
Over the past year, the wall has accumulated nearly 1,200 hours of active playtime, averaging five hours of use per day on weekends – helping our residents have fun and stay active.
Throughout the year, Sunderland’s football wall consistently outperformed the global average usage of other Yalp Sutu Interactive Football Walls, with the most popular game being Unlimited. For instance, in July of last year, the wall was used for an average of 6.5 hours per day, significantly surpassing the global average of 1.5 hours.
This dynamic addition to our smart city not only highlights Sunderland’s commitment to leveraging digital technologies for the benefit of its residents but also underscores the city’s dedication to keeping residents physically active and engaged with outdoor spaces.
Due to the success of the interactive football wall at Thompson Park, Sunderland City Council has installed a Yalp Sona Arch at Seaburn Park, as part of the new plans for an outdoor children’s play park designed with the support of Seaburn schoolchildren. The new play park is located near to the former Pirate Play Park site, just off Dykelands Road and Lowry Road.
This new installation, a dance and play arch, challenges players with a variety of innovative and engaging games. Designed to be inclusive, the Yalp Sona Arch ensures that outdoor play is accessible to everyone, thereby making Sunderland’s play parks more inclusive. This new addition to Seaburn Park offers an exciting activity for everyone who plays in our smart city.
In our smart city of Sunderland, we want to ensure that the experiences of people who live, work and play in the city are informed by and enriched by technology. Our smart city vision ensures that no one and nowhere is left behind, including those residents most invested in leisure and sporting activities.