Kansas City’s status as a Smart City has others watching closely.
Smart kiosks were installed near several streetcar stops. They have touchscreens and provide information about the streetcar and what’s going on in Kansas City. However, like most new technology, there are bugs, and in at least one case, hackers.
Timothy Barman snapped a picture of the kiosk located at 19th and Main over the weekend. The picture shows someone hacked into the computer system and used the kiosk to play solitaire, which is not a normal feature of the kiosks.
Still, this partnership with Cisco and the city to create a “Smart City” is also called a “living lab.” This is new to everyone using them, so there will be trial and error.
Angela Orr tried using the Crossroads kiosk over the weekend but didn’t realize it had been hacked at the time. “Yeah, it was working but it just didn’t have the screen up. So it was kind of just a Mac-based desktop screen that was showing.”
Frank Horiuchi, visiting Kansas City from the Marshall Islands for business, tried using the new kiosk near Union Station but wasn’t exactly sure how to use it.
“That’s very cool,” Horiuchi said, but when asked if he would use it, he replied, “No, this is the first time I’ve seen this kind.”
The city’s new app can also be used alongside the kiosks.
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Shannon Halligan can be reached at shannon.halligan@kshb.com.
